It’s a story driven by emotion, passion and poor choices in which timing is everything — not only in the plot but in the number of challenging and intricate pas de deux executed by Houston Ballet’s dancers.

This week heralds two returns. This will be the first time in 17 years that Houston Ballet performs Onegin and as it welcomes back Principal dancer Aaron Robinson who’ll be dancing the title role as Eugene Onegin.

John Cranko choreographed the ballet set to Tchaikovsky’s music in the mid ’60s. “It’s amazing Cranko was coming up with extraordinary lifts at that time, says Robinson who began his professional career with Houston Ballet returns to Houston after a stint with several ballet companies, most recently as a principal with San Francisco Ballet.

“It’s still to this day super challenging. I’d say in terms of pas de deux work, definitely the most challenging,” Robison says, explaining: “It’s probably just the sequence of events. With Cranko’s work, it’s like deceivingly hard. Maybe it’s just in the sequence of how one lift goes into another. Also it’s like coordination and timing with your partner.”

Many of the steps, Robison says, seem to be the opposite of what dancers naturally want to do. “Eventually the penny drops and things start to work and it looks great.”

When the ballet begins, we see Tatiana getting ready for her birthday celebration, along with her sister Olga and mother Madame Larina. Olga is engaged to the young poet Lensky who arrives with a friend, Eugene Onegin who is bored by his life in St. Petersburg.

Tatiana instantly falls in love with Onegin, who does not return her feelings considering her naive and overcome by romantic notions. She goes on to solidify that feeling on his part when that very night she writes him a love letter, asking her nurse to deliver it.

Up to this point, many audience members might well find Onegin’s response understandable. But it’s in Act II when he rips up Tatiana’s letter in front of her at her birthday party that sympathies switch. Onegin makes things even worse by flirting with Olga. Lensky challenges Onegin to a duel and in due course, kills Lensky.  In attendance at the party is Prince Gremlin, a distant relative of Tatiana’s who is in love with her.

Act III takes place years later when Onegin goes to a St. Petersberg ball given by Prince Gremin who has married Tatiana. Onegin regrets his actions, decides he loves Tatiana but she rejects him, ripping up his letter to her. She might still love him but he killed Lensky and she wants nothing to do with him again. She has a new life with the prince.

Asked what makes the story — based upon Alexander Pushkin’s verse novel — so compelling, Robison responds: “I think it’s in a way it’s quite relatable to many people. There might have been a point in their lives they maybe not have treated somebody in the best way.  Maybe someone was in love with them but they maybe didn’t see them in that way and later on regretted what they did and realized too late. And the person has already moved on with their life.

Robison says he doesn’t think his character is necessarily a bad guy. “I think earlier on his actions aren’t very nice. I think he’s quite cynical. He’s not thinking too much of how he’s making other people feel. He’s just all about himself.

“That could be a result of the world he grew up in or a result of him being a city guy and he goes to the countryside and to him she’s just a silly young girl and he doesn’t understand anything about her.  He just wants to have fun nothing too serious. As the story unfolds, he breaks her heart.

“I think the characters in the story are very strong and complex, that’s why people can relate to it. People can change because of events that happen in life.”

Describing his return to Houston as “a full circle moment, Robinson adds: “It’s so nice to be among such hard working committed artists. It’s inspiring. I feel at  this point in my career this is exactly what I needed. It’s nice to be in the studio again with Stanton [Artistic Director Welch]. And obviously starting with this story ballet Onegin which is a role I’ve always wanted to do. Like most dancers I’ve always wanted to have a crack at this one.”

Performances are scheduled for September 5-14 at 7 p.m. Friday, 7: 30 p.m. Saturdays  and 2 p.m. Sundays at the Wortham Theater Center, 501 Texas. For more information, call 713-227-2787 or visit houstonballet.org. $25-$170.