Saturday was a big day for New York City Ballet. Christopher Wheeldon’s new work, “After the Rain,” premiered, and the company announced eight promotions among its ranks. Five soloists were elevated to principal status: Ashley Bouder, Megan Fairchild, Janie Taylor, Joaquin De Luz, and Stephen Hanna. Three members of the corps were made soloists: Teresa Reichlen, Adam Hendrickson, and Daniel Ulbricht.

Some of these promotions make considerably more sense than others. So let’s take them one at a time.

PRINCIPALS

ASHLEY BOUDER Ms. Bouder was made a soloist in February of last year (at the same time as Ms. Fairchild and Mr. Hanna), and she has pretty much been setting the stage on fire since then – even before then, really. A bright, young star, she has quickness, musicality, and showmanship that makes her an athletic, yet sensitive Balanchine dancer. She’s the kind of dancer who burns with joy on stage. She takes risks, plays with timing, and creates fresh artistry on stage. Her promotion was always just a question of “when” not “if.”

MEGAN FAIRCHILD A sweet and charming dancer, Ms. Fairchild has had no shortage of leading roles. But this promotion seems to have come too early. She’s all there in terms of technique and presentation. What she might have gained from another year as a soloist is a greater sense of individuality and more physical strength. She just doesn’t look strong enough in the lower legs to be a principal dancer – which is a rank that demands a certain level of reliability.

A dancer like Alexandra Ansanelli, for example, is so physically strong that she can take risks, wow the audience, surprise her partner. What Ms. Fairchild has yet to achieve in strength, she can make up for in artistry. But will she? Is she motivated enough to do so as a principal – rather than as a soloist striving to get to the next level? We’ll see.

JANIE TAYLOR Ms. Taylor, a soloist since February 2001, is an entirely intriguing dancer. She is blessed with cat-like quickness that allows her to flit and purr around the stage. She handles quirky Balanchine movements with ease – as if they were made on her. She’s surely one of the thinnest dancers at City Ballet, and she wears heavy eyeliner with huge fake eyelashes – all of which make her look like some of the company dancers from the 1960s.

Often Ms. Taylor lacks a sense of warmth, but on Saturday night, she did break into several smiles and turned up the heat. So there’s reason to believe that we’ll be watching more of a creative artist, rather than a machine, in the seasons to come.

JOAQUIN DE LUZ This promotion has the air of “please don’t leave us” – which is not to say it’s not justly deserved. Mr. De Luz joined City Ballet from American Ballet Theatre in 2003, as a soloist. I haven’t done a tally, so I can’t say that he’s been in “few” ballets since then. But I feel that I know his dancing better from ABT – where he was an impeccable show-stopper with as much technique as bravura. He’s able to play character well and has a base of superb training. He’s an asset to the company, and, as a principal, I hope we’ll get to see him more often.

STEPHEN HANNA In the last year, Mr. Hanna has exhibited artistry as an individual and reliability as a partner. That’s a hard combination to find in a male dancer, so it would seem that the minds backstage feel they’ve got a good one here. And they do. One more season of maturation at the soloist level, without the pressure of principal status, though, might have given him more perspective or richness. (And maybe he would wag his head a little less.)

But the company is right to reward and encourage men who can dance and partner equally well. With Peter Boal and Jock Soto leaving in the spring, Mr. Hanna is poised to become one of the company’s leading partners.

SOLOISTS

TERESA REICHLEN This is a well-deserved, well-timed promotion. Ms. Reichlen, who joined the corps in 2001, has emerged as a captivating dancer. She’s quite tall and has a noticeably powerful presence. Her aloof, piercing air keeps you riveted.

ADAM HENDRICKSON AND DANIEL ULBRICHT Both of these come as mild surprises, if only because there are a number of corps de ballet boys who are performing at a similar level. Mr. Ulbricht’s promotion makes more sense, in a way; he has differentiated himself with a noticeable power, especially in his jumps. Mr. Hendrickson registers less on my radar than such corps boys as Antonio Carmena or Amar Ramasar. But here’s hoping I will be shown otherwise.

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There’s nothing like a trip to Washington, D.C., to make you appreciate New York City. Not that our capital doesn’t have its charms, but after being there three days for the inauguration, I found myself quite relived to be on the train coming back to town. The fact is that if you love the arts, your life in this city can be unbelievably rich. And there is just nothing better than that.

This little moment of appreciation came to me as I passed through the snowstorm that was taking shape along the Northeast corridor. All the snow and ice led me to thoughts of Peter Martins’s excellent version of “Swan Lake,” and the grand, cold feeling that the Per Kirkeby sets and backdrops lend that classic ballet. That reminded me that before the ballet was on stage last season, I had gone to Mr. Kirkeby’s gallery (Michael Werner) to look through his catalogs to prepare for a possible interview with him.

I didn’t think much of it at the time, but with a few solitary hours on the train, I realized how extraordinary that was. Where else can you go see a ballet, then walk across a park of unmatched beauty into an art gallery where you can (conceivably) buy a painting by the artist who designed the ballet’s look?

Where else can you watch a ballet set to Gershwin tunes (“Who Cares?), then find yourself in the subway listening to a solo saxophonist playing those same tunes, then emerge on the street to see the architecture that gives those songs their soaring mix of ambition, energy, and wistfulness?

I’m even more aware of the city these days because I’m reading Mark Helprin’s marvelous novel “Winter’s Tale” (Harvest, 688 pages, $17).This snowy valentine to the city is the book to read in the middle of a monumental blizzard. It makes you look up, feel the cold wind on your cheeks, and revel in everything around you – even the dirty slush and the old bum singing “God Bless America” on the corner.

This city is a wonder. And we’re unfathomably lucky to live in it.