New York City Ballet
Encyclopedia
New York City Ballet is a ballet company
Ballet company
A ballet company is a group of dancers who perform ballet, plus managerial and support staff. Most major ballet companies employ dancers on a year-round basis, except in the United States, where contracts for part of the year are the norm...

 founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine
George Balanchine
George Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...

 and Lincoln Kirstein
Lincoln Kirstein
Lincoln Edward Kirstein was an American writer, impresario, art connoisseur, and cultural figure in New York City...

. Leon Barzin
Leon Barzin
Léon Eugene Barzin was a Belgian-born American conductor and founder of the National Orchestral Association , the oldest surviving training orchestra in the United States...

 was the company's first music director. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins was an American theater producer, director, and choreographer known primarily for Broadway Theater and Ballet/Dance, but who also occasionally directed films and directed/produced for television. His work has included everything from classical ballet to contemporary musical theater...

 are considered the founding choreographers of the company. City Ballet grew out of earlier troupes: the Producing Company of the School of American Ballet
School of American Ballet
The School of American Ballet is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. The school trains students from the...

, 1934; the American Ballet
American Ballet
The American Ballet was the first professional ballet company George Balanchine created in the United States. The company was founded with the help of Lincoln Kirstein and Edward Mortimer Morris Warburg, managed by Alexander Merovitch and populated by students of Kirstein and Balanchine's School of...

, 1935, and Ballet Caravan, 1936, which merged into American Ballet Caravan, 1941; and directly from the Ballet Society, 1946.

History

The company was named New York City Ballet when it became resident at City Center of Music and Drama
New York City Center
New York City Center is a 2,750-seat Moorish Revival theater located at 131 West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Manhattan, New York City. It is one block south of Carnegie Hall...

 in 1948. Its success was marked by its move to the New York State Theater, now David H. Koch Theater, designed by Philip Johnson
Philip Johnson
Philip Cortelyou Johnson was an influential American architect.In 1930, he founded the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and later , as a trustee, he was awarded an American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and the first Pritzker Architecture...

 to Balanchine's specifications. City Ballet went on to become the first ballet company in the United States to have two permanent venue engagements: one at Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...

's David H. Koch Theater on 63rd Street in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

, and another at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Saratoga Performing Arts Center
The Saratoga Performing Arts Center is an amphitheater in Saratoga Springs, New York, which presents summer festivals of all kinds of music , dance, and opera, as well as a Wine & Food Festival...

, in Saratoga Springs, New York
Saratoga Springs, New York
Saratoga Springs, also known as simply Saratoga, is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 26,586 at the 2010 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area. While the word "Saratoga" is known to be a corruption of a Native American name, ...

. The School of American Ballet
School of American Ballet
The School of American Ballet is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. The school trains students from the...

 (S.A.B.), which Balanchine founded, is the training school of City Ballet.

After the company's move to the State Theater, Balanchine's creativity as a choreographer flourished. He created works that were the basis of the company's repertory until his death in 1983. His vision influenced dance both across the United States and in Europe. He worked closely with choreographer Jerome Robbins, who resumed his connection with the company in 1969 after having produced works for Broadway.

NYCB still has the largest repertoire by far of any American ballet company, and it often stages 60 ballets or more in its winter and spring seasons at Lincoln Center each year and 20 or more in its summer season in Saratoga Springs. City Ballet has performed The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...

, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream (ballet)
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a two-act ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Felix Mendelssohn's incidental music for Shakespeare's play of the same name. In addition to the incidental music, Balanchine incorporated other Mendelssohn works into the ballet including Overtures to Athalie, Son...

and many more. City Ballet has trained and developed many great dancers since its formation, including:
  • Allegra Kent
    Allegra Kent
    Allegra Kent is an American ballet dancer and actress.Born in Santa Monica, Kent studied with Bronislava Nijinska and Carmelita Maracci before joining the School of American Ballet. After graduating, she joined the New York City Ballet in 1953 at the age of 15, and was promoted to principal in 1957...

  • Arthur Mitchell
    Arthur Mitchell (dancer)
    Arthur Mitchell is an African-American dancer and choreographer who created a training school and the first African-American classical ballet company, Dance Theatre of Harlem...

  • Edward Villella
    Edward Villella
    Edward Villella is an American ballet dancer and choreographer, frequently cited as America's most celebrated male dancer at the time....

  • Gelsey Kirkland
    Gelsey Kirkland
    Gelsey Kirkland is an American ballerina. Kirkland joined the New York City Ballet in 1968 at age fifteen, at the invitation of George Balanchine. She was promoted to soloist in 1969 and principal in 1972...


  • Jacques d'Amboise
  • Jillana
  • Kyra Nichols
  • Maria Tallchief
    Maria Tallchief
    Maria Tallchief was the first native-American prima ballerina. From 1942 to 1947 she danced with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, but she is best known for her time with the New York City Ballet from 1947 to 1965.-Early life:...


  • Melissa Hayden
    Melissa Hayden (dancer)
    Melissa Hayden was a Canadian ballerina at the New York City Ballet.-Early life:...

  • Merrill Ashley
  • Mikhail Baryshnikov
    Mikhail Baryshnikov
    Mikhail Nikolaevich Baryshnikov is a Soviet and American dancer, choreographer, and actor, often cited alongside Vaslav Nijinsky and Rudolf Nureyev as one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century. After a promising start in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, he defected to Canada in 1974...

  • Patricia McBride
    Patricia McBride
    Patricia McBride is a ballerina who spent nearly 30 years dancing with the New York City Ballet....


  • Suzanne Farrell
    Suzanne Farrell
    Suzanne Farrell is an eminent 20th century ballerina and the founder of the Suzanne Farrell Ballet at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C....

  • Tanaquil LeClerq
    Tanaquil LeClerq
    Tanaquil Le Clercq was a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, but her dancing career was ended when she was stricken with polio and paralyzed from the waist down....

  • Peter Martins
    Peter Martins
    Peter Martins is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was named man of the year by Danish American Society, 1980...

    ,
balletmaster in chief


Salute to Italy



In 1960 Balanchine mounted City Ballet's Salute to Italy with premieres of Monumentum pro Gesualdo
Monumentum pro Gesualdo
Monumentum pro Gesualdo is a ballet by New York City Ballet co-founder and balletmaster George Balanchine to eponymous music by Igor Stravinsky composed in honor of the 400th birthday of Don Carlo Gesualdo and consisting of Stravinsky's orchestrations of Don Carlo's madrigals...

and Variations from Don Sebastian, called the Donizetti Variations since 1961, as well as performances of his La Sonnambula
La Sonnambula (ballet)
La Sonnambula is a ballet by New York City Ballet co-founder and balletmaster, George Balanchine, made to Vittorio Rieti's music using themes from the operas of Vincenzo Bellini including La Sonnambula, Norma, I Puritani, and I Capuleti e i Montecchi and costumes by Karinska...

and Lew Christensen
Lew Christensen
Lewellyn Farr "Lew" Christensen was a ballet dancer, choreographer and director for many companies. He was largely associated with George Balanchine and the San Francisco Ballet, which he directed from 1952–1984...

's Con Amore. The performance was repeated in 1968.

Stravinsky Festival



In 1972 Balanchine offered an eight-day tribute to the composer, his great collaborator, who had died the year before. His programs included twenty-two new works of his own dances, plus works by choreographers Todd Bolender
Todd Bolender
Todd Bolender was a renowned ballet dancer, teacher, choreographer, and director. He was an instrumental figure in the creation and dissemination of classical dance and ballet as an American art form...

, John Clifford
John Clifford (choreographer)
John Clifford, is best known as the creator of “Casablanca, The Dance,” produced by Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, Inc. and his Los Angeles Dance Theater, and founder / artistic director of the original Los Angeles Ballet , and the chamber sized touring ensemble, Ballet of Los Angeles...

, Lorca Massine, Jerome Robbins, Richard Tanner and John Taras
John Taras
John Taras was a prominent American balletmaster and choreographer. Born on the Lower East Side of New York City to Ukrainian parents, he was sent at age 16 to study ballet with Michel Fokine, Anatole Vilzak and Ludmila Shollar, and later to the School of American Ballet...

, as well as repertory ballets by Balanchine and Robbins. Balanchine created Symphony in Three Movements
Symphony in Three Movements
Symphony in Three Movements is a ballet made by New York City Ballet co-founder and balletmaster George Balanchine for opening night of its Stravinsky Festival to the composers's eponymous symphony from 1942–45, and lighting by Mark Stanley...

, Duo Concertant and Violin Concerto for the occasion. He and Robbins co-choreographed and performed in Pulcinella
Pulcinella (ballet)
Pulcinella is a ballet by Igor Stravinsky based on an 18th-century play — Pulcinella is a character originating from Commedia dell'arte. The ballet premiered at the Paris Opera on 15 May 1920 under the baton of Ernest Ansermet. The dancer Léonide Massine created both the libretto and choreography,...

. Balanchine produced an earlier Stravinsky festival as balletmaster of the American Ballet
American Ballet
The American Ballet was the first professional ballet company George Balanchine created in the United States. The company was founded with the help of Lincoln Kirstein and Edward Mortimer Morris Warburg, managed by Alexander Merovitch and populated by students of Kirstein and Balanchine's School of...

 while engaged by the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...

 in 1937. The composer conducted the April 27th premiere of Card Party.

Ravel Festival


In 1975 Balanchine paid his respects to the French composer Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...

 with a two-week Hommage à Ravel. Balanchine, Robbins, Jacques d'Amboise, and Taras made sixteen new ballets for the occasion. Repertory ballets were performed as well. High points included Balanchine's Le Tombeau de Couperin
Le Tombeau de Couperin
Le tombeau de Couperin is a suite for solo piano by Maurice Ravel, composed between 1914 and 1917, in six movements. Each movement is dedicated to the memory of friends of the composer who had died fighting in World War I...

and Robbins' Mother Goose
Mother Goose (ballet)
Mother Goose is a ballet made for New York City Ballet's Ravel Festival by balletmaster Jerome Robbins to Ravel's music and scenario, the Ma Mère l'Oye Suite from 1908, orchestrated by the composer in 1912. The premiere took place on May 22, 1975, at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, with...

.
NYCB is a professional school

Tschaikovsky Festival


In 1981 Balanchine planned a two-week NYCB festival honoring the Russian composer Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky. Balanchine, Joseph Duell, d'Amboise, Peter Martins
Peter Martins
Peter Martins is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was named man of the year by Danish American Society, 1980...

, Robbins and Taras created twelve new dances. In addition to presenting these and repertory ballets, Balanchine re-choreographed his Mozartziana from 1933. Philip Johnson
Philip Johnson
Philip Cortelyou Johnson was an influential American architect.In 1930, he founded the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and later , as a trustee, he was awarded an American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and the first Pritzker Architecture...

 and John Burgee
John Burgee
__notoc__John Burgee is an American architect noted for his contributions to Postmodern architecture. He was a partner of Philip Johnson from 1967 to 1991, creating together the partnership firm Johnson/Burgee Architects. Their landmark collaborations together included Pennzoil Place in Houston...

's stage setting of translucent tubing was designed by to be hung and lit in different architectural configurations throughout the entire festival.

Stravinsky Centennial Celebration

In 1982 Balanchine organized a centennial celebration in honor of his long-time collaborator Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....

 during which twenty-five ballets set to the composer’s music were performed by City Ballet. Balanchine made three new ballets, Tango
Tango (Balanchine)
Tango is a ballet made by New York City Ballet co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine to Stravinsky's Tango for Piano Forte arranged 1953 by the composer...

, Élégie
Élégie
Élégie is a ballet made by New York City Ballet's founding balletmaster George Balanchine to Igor Stravinsky's Élégie for solo viola...

and Persephone, and a new version of Variations
Variations (ballet)
Variations is a ballet made by New York City Ballet co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine to Stravinsky's Variations: Aldous Huxley in memoriam...

.

New York State Theater 20-Year Celebration

On April 26, 1984, NYCB celebrated the 20th anniversary of the New York State Theater. The program started with Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....

's Fanfare for a New Theater, followed by Stravinsky's arrangement of The Star-Spangled Banner
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships...

. The ballets included: three of Balanchine's works, Serenade
Serenade (ballet)
Serenade is a ballet by George Balanchine, subsequently co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet, to Tschaikovsky's 1880 Serenade for Strings in C, Op. 48...

, Stravinsky Violin Concerto
Violin Concerto (Stravinsky)
Igor Stravinsky's Violin Concerto in D is a neoclassical violin concerto in four movements, composed in the summer of 1931 and premiered on October 23, 1931. It lasts approximately twenty minutes.It was used by George Balanchine as music for two ballets....

, and Sonatine; and Jerome Robbins' Afternoon of a Faun
Afternoon of a Faun (Robbins)
Afternoon of a Faun is a ballet made by Jerome Robbins, subsequently ballet master of New York City Ballet, to Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune...

. The performers included Maria Calegari, Kyra Nichols, Heather Watts
Heather Watts
Heather Watts was a principal dancer with New York City Ballet. A native of California, Ms. Watts was born as Linda Heather Watts in Long Beach on September 27, 1953. She started taking up ballet at the age of 10, came to New York at the age of 13 on a Ford Foundation scholarship to attend the...

, Leonid Kozlov
Leonid Kozlov
Leonid Kozlov is a former principal dancer of the Bolshoi and New York City Ballet. He is also a choreographer, and the founder of Kozlov Dance International and Youth Dance Festival of New Jersey.-Biography:...

, Afshin Mofid, Patricia McBride
Patricia McBride
Patricia McBride is a ballerina who spent nearly 30 years dancing with the New York City Ballet....

, Helgi Tomasson, Karin von Aroldingen, Lourdes Lopez, Bart Cook, and Joseph Duell.

American Music Festival

After Balanchine's death in 1983, Peter Martins was selected as balletmaster of the company. For its 40th anniversary, Martins held an American Music Festival, having commissioned dances from choreographers Laura Dean
Laura Dean
Laura Dean is a dancer, choreographer and composer.Dean is the recipient of many awards including the 2008 Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement in Dance. She has also received a "Bessie" New York Dance Award for her work with composer Steve Reich...

, Eliot Feld
Eliot Feld
Eliot Feld is an American modern ballet choreographer, performer and director.-Life and career:Feld was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Alice , a travel agent, and Benjamin Noah Feld, an attorney...

, William Forsythe
William Forsythe (dancer)
William Forsythe is an American dancer and choreographer resident in Frankfurt am Main in Hessen. He is known internationally for his work with the Ballett Frankfurt and The Forsythe Company...

, Lar Lubovitch
Lar Lubovitch
Lar Lubovitch is an American choreographer and founded his own dance company, the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company in 1968. Based in New York City, he and the company have toured worldwide....

 and Paul Taylor. He also presented ballets by George Balanchine
George Balanchine
George Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...

 and Robbins. The programs included world premieres of more than twenty dances. Martins contributed Barber Violin Concerto, Black and White
Black and White (ballet)
Black and White is a ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster, subsequently balletmaster in chief, Peter Martins to some of Michael Torke's eponymous music which was commissioned for City Ballet's American Music Festival; the premiere took place May 7, 1988, at the New York State Theater,...

, The Chairman Dances
The Chairman Dances (ballet)
The Chairman Dances is a ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster in chief Peter Martins to John Adams' eponymous music from 1985. The music was originally written for Adams' opera, Nixon in China, but not used in production: the scene is that in which Mao Zedong dances with his future...

, A Fool for You, Fred and George, Sophisticated Lady, Tanzspiel, Tea-Rose and The Waltz Project.

Jerome Robbins celebration

A major component of the Spring 2008 season was a celebration of Jerome Robbins; major revivals were mounted of the following ballets:
  • 2 and 3 Part Inventions
    2 and 3 Part Inventions
    2 and 3 Part Inventions is a ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster Jerome Robbins on students at its affiliated school, the School of American Ballet, to Bach's Inventions and Sinfonias, BWV 772–801, . The premiere took place on Saturday, June 4th, 1994, at the Juilliard Theater,...

  • Afternoon of a Faun
    Afternoon of a Faun (Robbins)
    Afternoon of a Faun is a ballet made by Jerome Robbins, subsequently ballet master of New York City Ballet, to Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune...

  • Andantino
    Andantino (ballet)
    Andantino, originally titled Pas de Deux, is a ballet made for New York City Ballet's Tschaikovsky Festival by balletmaster Jerome Robbins to the second movement of the composer's Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23...

  • Antique Epigraphs
    Antique Epigraphs
    Antique Epigraphs is a ballet made on New York City Ballet by balletmaster Jerome Robbins to an orchestrated version of Debussy's Six épigraphes antiques, L131, for piano, four hands, from 1914: *“Pour invoquer Pan, dieu du vent d'été”...

  • Brahms/Handel
    Brahms/Handel
    Brahms/Handel is a ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster Jerome Robbins in collaboration with Twyla Tharp to Brahms' Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, op. 24 , orchestrated by Edmund Rubbra...

  • Brandenburg
    Brandenburg (ballet)
    Brandenburg is a ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster Jerome Robbins to music from Bach's Brandenburg Concertos :*Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 BWV 1048 Allegro **Brandenburg Concerto No...

  • The Cage
    The Cage (ballet)
    The Cage is a ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster Jerome Robbins to Stravinsky's Concerto in D for string orchestra, the "Basle Concerto" , which he was commissioned to compose on the twentieth anniversary of the Swiss orchestra; it notably shifts between D major and minor...

  • The Concert
    The Concert (ballet)
    The Concert is a ballet made by Jerome Robbins, subsequently New York City Ballet's balletmaster, to Chopin's: *Tanaquil LeClercq*Todd Bolender*Yvonne Mounsey*Robert Barnett*Wilma Curley*John Mandia*Shaun O'Brien...

  • Dances at a Gathering
    Dances at a Gathering
    Dances at a Gathering is a ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster Jerome Robbins to the music of Chopin: *John Clifford*Robert Maiorano*John Prinz*Edward Villella- 2008 Spring – Jerome Robbins celebration : *Yvonne Borree...

  • Dybbuk
    Dybbuk (ballet)
    Dybbuk is a ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster Jerome Robbins to Leonard Bernstein's eponymous music and taking S. Ansky's play The Dybbuk as a source...


  • Fancy Free
  • Fanfare
    Fanfare (ballet)
    Fanfare is a ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster Jerome Robbins to Britten's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, op.34 in celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II; the premiere took place on Coronation Night, Tuesday, June 2nd, 1953, at City Center of Music and...

  • Four Bagatelles
    Four Bagatelles
    Four Bagatelles is New York City Ballet balletmaster Jerome Robbins' only ballet made to the music of Beethoven, Bagatelles, op. 33 nos. 4 , 5, and 2 and op. 126 no. 4...

  • The Four Seasons
    The Four Seasons (ballet)
    The Four Seasons is a ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster Jerome Robbins to excerpts from Giuseppe Verdi's I Vespri Siciliani , I Lombardi and Il Trovatore...

  • Glass Pieces
    Glass Pieces
    Glass Pieces is a ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster Jerome Robbins to Philip Glass' Rubric and Façades from Glassworks and excerpts from his opera Akhnaten. The premiere took place on Thursday, May 12th, 1983, at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center...

  • The Goldberg Variations
    The Goldberg Variations (ballet)
    The Goldberg Variations is a ballet made by New York City Ballet's ballet master Jerome Robbins to Johann Sebastian Bach's eponymous music from 1742, BWV 988, his only work in the form of theme and variations; the theme is a sarabande he wrote for his second wife...

  • I'm Old Fashioned
    I'm Old Fashioned (ballet)
    I'm Old Fashioned is a ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster Jerome Robbins to Morton Gould's adaptation of a theme by Jerome Kern, “I'm Old Fashioned,” to a Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth sequence from the film You Were Never Lovelier. The premiere took place on Thursday, June 16,...

  • In G Major
    In G Major
    In G Major is a ballet made for New York City Ballet's Ravel Festival by balletmaster Jerome Robbins to the composer's Piano Concerto in G Major . The premiere took place May 15, 1975, at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, with lighting by Mark Stanley...

  • In Memory of ...
    In Memory of ...
    In Memory of ... is a ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster Jerome Robbins to Berg's Violin Concerto of 1935 , based on themes from Mahler, a Carpathian folk song and Bach's O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 20...

  • In the Night
    In the Night
    In the Night is a ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster Jerome Robbins to solo piano music of Chopin: The premiere took place on Thursday, January 29, 1970, at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, with costumes by Anthony Dowell and lighting by Jennifer Tipton...


  • Interplay
    Interplay (ballet)
    Interplay is a ballet made by Jerome Robbins, subsequently balletmaster of New York City Ballet, for Billy Rose's Concert Varieties to Morton Gould's 1945 American Concertette...

  • Ives, Songs
    Ives, Songs
    Ives, Songs is a ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster Jerome Robbins to songs of Charles Ives: *The Children's Hour*Memories, Part A: Very Pleasant*Waltz*The Cage*The See'r*Two Little Flowers*At the River and Serenity*He is There...

  • NY Export: Opus Jazz
    NY Export: Opus Jazz
    NY Export: Opus Jazz is a ballet made by Jerome Robbins, subsequently balletmaster of New York City Ballet, to music of the same title by Robert Prince. The premiere took place June 8, 1958 at the Festival of Two Worlds, Spoleto, performed by Ballets: USA and subsequently on Broadway...

  • Les Noces
    Les Noces (Robbins)
    Les Noces is a ballet made by Jerome Robbins, subsequently New York City Ballet balletmaster, to Stravinsky's eponymous music from 1923 for American Ballet Theatre with sets by Oliver Smith under supervision of Rosaria Sinisi, costumes by Patricia Zipprodt and lighting by Jennifer Tipton. The...

  • Opus 19/The Dreamer
    Opus 19/The Dreamer
    Opus 19/The Dreamer is a ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster Jerome Robbins to Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 1, in D major with costumes by and lighting by Ronald Bates. The premiere took place on June 14, 1979, at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center...

  • Other Dances
    Other Dances
    Other Dances is a ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster Jerome Robbins on Natalia Makarova and Mikhail Baryshnikov to the music of Chopin:...

  • Piano Pieces
    Piano Pieces
    Piano Pieces is a ballet made for New York City Ballet's Tschaikovsky Festival by balletmaster Jerome Robbins to the composer's music:*Danse Characteristique, Op. 72, No. 4*Le Paysan Prelude, Op. 39, No. 12*Chanson Populaire, Op. 39, No. 13...

  • A Suite of Dances
    A Suite of Dances
    A Suite of Dances is a ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster Jerome Robbins on Mikhail Baryshnikov to four movements from Bach's Six Suites for Solo Cello : *Prelude from Suite I in G major, BWV 1007...

  • Watermill
    Watermill (ballet)
    Watermill is a ballet by New York City Ballet balletmaster Jerome Robbins to Teiji Ito's eponymous music from the previous year with costumes by Patricia Zipprodt, lighting by Jennifer Tipton and décor by Robbins in association with Davie Reppa...

  • West Side Story Suite
    West Side Story Suite
    West Side Story Suite is a ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster Jerome Robbins to the 1957 music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics of Stephen Sondheim and extracted from the eponymous musical which he had choreographed, with scenery by Oliver Smith, costumes by Irene Sharaff and lighting...



Dancers' Choice


Friday, June 27, 2008 the first Dancers’ Choice benefit was held for the Dancers' Emergency Fund. The program was initiated by Peter Martins
Peter Martins
Peter Martins is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was named man of the year by Danish American Society, 1980...

, conceived and supervised by principal dancer Jonathan Stafford, assisted by Kyle Froman, Craig Hall, Amanda Hankes, Adam Hendrickson, Ask la Cour, Henry Seth and Daniel Ulbricht, and consisted of:

  • Beethoven Romance
    Beethoven Romance
    Beethoven Romance is a ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster in chief Peter Martins to the composer's Romance in F for violin and orchestra, op. 50...


  • Flit of Fury/The Monarch
    Flit of Fury/The Monarch
    Flit of Fury/The Monarch is a ballet made by New York City Ballet soloist Adam Hendrickson to music by City Ballet corps dancer Aaron Severini for the Spring 2008 Dancers' Choice benefit, which took place on Friday, June 27th, 2008, with women's costume by Magda Berliner, men's costumes by the...

    Flit of Fury/The Monarch
    Flit of Fury/The Monarch
    Flit of Fury/The Monarch is a ballet made by New York City Ballet soloist Adam Hendrickson to music by City Ballet corps dancer Aaron Severini for the Spring 2008 Dancers' Choice benefit, which took place on Friday, June 27th, 2008, with women's costume by Magda Berliner, men's costumes by the...

    : premiere


 
and excerpts from:
  • Ecstatic Orange
    Ecstatic Orange
    Ecstatic Orange is a ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster Peter Martins to Michael Torke's Verdant Music , Purple and Ecstatic Orange for City Ballet's American Music Festival; the second movement, Purple, was to a score commissioned for the occasion...

  • Jewels
    Jewels (ballet)
    Jewels is an award-winning ballet in three parts created for New York City Ballet by co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine. It premièred on Thursday,...

    • (Emeralds)
    • (Rubies)

  • Square Dance
    Square Dance (ballet)
    Square Dance is a ballet made by New York City Ballet co-founder and balletmasterGeorge Balanchine to Antonio Vivaldi's Concerto Grosso in B minor and the first movement of his Concerto Grosso in E major, Op. 3, nos. 10 and 12, respectively; in 1976 he added Arcangelo Corelli's Sarabanda, Badinerie...

  • Interplay
    Interplay (ballet)
    Interplay is a ballet made by Jerome Robbins, subsequently balletmaster of New York City Ballet, for Billy Rose's Concert Varieties to Morton Gould's 1945 American Concertette...

  • Dances at a Gathering
    Dances at a Gathering
    Dances at a Gathering is a ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster Jerome Robbins to the music of Chopin: *John Clifford*Robert Maiorano*John Prinz*Edward Villella- 2008 Spring – Jerome Robbins celebration : *Yvonne Borree...

  • Glass Pieces
    Glass Pieces
    Glass Pieces is a ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster Jerome Robbins to Philip Glass' Rubric and Façades from Glassworks and excerpts from his opera Akhnaten. The premiere took place on Thursday, May 12th, 1983, at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center...


  • Union Jack
    Union Jack (ballet)
    Union Jack is a ballet made by New York City Ballet co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine to traditional British tunes, hornpipe melodies and music-hall songs, ca...

  • Stars snd Stripes
    Stars and Stripes (ballet)
    Stars and Stripes is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine in 1958, using original music by John Philip Sousa and performed in 5 acts . It lasts an average of 28 minutes...

  • Mercurial Manoeuvres
    Mercurial Manoeuvres
    Mercurial Manoeuvres is a ballet made by New York City Ballet's first Artist in Residence Christopher Wheeldon to Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 1 in C minor, op. 35 for City Ballet's Diamond Project...

  • Symphony in C
    Symphony in C (ballet)
    Symphony in C, originally titled Le Palais de Cristal, is a ballet made by New York City Ballet co-founder and balletmaster George Balanchine to Bizet's Symphony in C , which he wrote at the age of 17 while studying with Charles Gounod at the Paris Conservatory...


Sunday June 14, 2009 the second Dancers’ Choice benefit was held at a special evening performance, the program included: Sleeping Beauty and Union Jack
Union Jack (ballet)
Union Jack is a ballet made by New York City Ballet co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine to traditional British tunes, hornpipe melodies and music-hall songs, ca...

. This program was supervised by principal dancer Jenifer Ringer.

Programming

NYCB performs winter and spring repertory seasons at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...

 as well as George Balanchine's Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...

during November and December; they have a summer residency at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Saratoga Performing Arts Center
The Saratoga Performing Arts Center is an amphitheater in Saratoga Springs, New York, which presents summer festivals of all kinds of music , dance, and opera, as well as a Wine & Food Festival...

 and regularly tour internationally.

Fourth Ring Society and Talks

City Ballet's Fourth Ring Society offers discounted tickets to members. Membership is open to the general public.

Introductory talks about the current performance, called Dancer Chats or First Position Discussions, are held before some performances or during some intervals; the docents are volunteers and include laymen as well as former dancers.

New York Choreographic Institute

City Ballet's Choreographic Institute was founded by Irene Diamond and Peter Martins in 2000 . The institute has three main programmatic programs: choreographic sessions, providing choreographers with dancers and studio space; fellowship initiatives, annual awards in support of an emerging choreographer affiliated with a ballet company; and choreographic forums, symposia and round-table discussions on choreography, music, and design elements.

Balletmaster in chief

Peter Martins
Peter Martins
Peter Martins is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was named man of the year by Danish American Society, 1980...

, who first danced with City Ballet in 1967 joined the company as a principal dancer in 1970, in 1981 was named balletmaster, a title shared with Balanchine, Robbins and John Taras
John Taras
John Taras was a prominent American balletmaster and choreographer. Born on the Lower East Side of New York City to Ukrainian parents, he was sent at age 16 to study ballet with Michel Fokine, Anatole Vilzak and Ludmila Shollar, and later to the School of American Ballet...

. Martins served as co-balletmaster in chief with Robbins from 1983 to 1989 and assumed sole directorship of the company in 1990.

Balletmasters

  • Karin von Aroldingen
  • Jean-Pierre Frohlich

  • Susan Hendl
  • Lisa Jackson

  • Russell Kaiser
  • Sara Leland

  • Christine Redpath
  • Richard Tanner
  • Kathleen Tracey


Teaching associate

  • Merrill Ashley



Principal dancer
Principal dancer
A principal dancer is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company....

s



  • Jared Angle
  • Tyler Angle
  • Ashley Bouder
  • Joaquín De Luz
    Joaquin de Luz
    Joaquín De Luz formerly with the American Ballet Theater , is currently a Principal Dancer with the New York City Ballet .-Background:...

  • Megan Fairchild
    Megan Fairchild
    Megan Fairchild is a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. She studied at the Ballet West Conservatory in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she was born, and later on attended the School of American Ballet as a boarding student. She went to high school at the Professional Children's School. ...


  • Robert Fairchild
  • Gonzalo Garcia
  • Sterling Hyltin
  • Maria Kowroski
    Maria Kowroski
    Maria Kowroski is a principal ballerina at the New York City Ballet.Ms. Kowroski's training in ballet began at the School ofthe Grand Rapids Ballet and subsequently the School of American Ballet in 1992; became an apprentice with New York City Ballet in 1994 and joined the corps de ballet in 1995....

  • Sébastien Marcovici
  • Sara Mearns

  • Benjamin Millepied
    Benjamin Millepied
    Benjamin Millepied is a French danseur, best known for his work as choreographer in the movie Black Swan .-Early life:...

  • Tiler Peck
  • Amar Ramasar
    Amar Ramasar
    Amar Ramasar is a principal dancer of the New York City Ballet. In 2010, Dance Magazine reported that Ramasar was one of the few Asian American professional ballet dancers...

  • Teresa Reichlen
  • Jenifer Ringer
  • Jennie Somogyi

  • Abi Stafford
  • Jonathan Stafford
  • Janie Taylor
  • Daniel Ulbricht
  • Andrew Veyette
  • Wendy Whelan
    Wendy Whelan
    Wendy Whelan is a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet and guest artist with Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company.-Early life:A native of Louisville, Kentucky , she began her dance training with local teacher Virginia Wooton at the age of three...



Soloists
Soloist (ballet)
In ballet, a soloist is a dancer in a ballet company above the corps de ballet but below principal dancer....

 



  • Antonio Carmena
  • Adrian Danchig-Waring
  • Chase Finlay
    Chase Finlay
    Chase Finlay is a soloist with the New York City Ballet. While still a member of the corps de ballet, he has soloed in the George Balanchine's Apollo. .-External Links:* * , Gia Kourlas, June 2, 2011...


  • Craig Hall
  • Adam Hendrickson
  • Anthony Huxley

  • Rebecca Krohn
  • Ask la Cour
  • Savannah Lowery

  • Kathryn Morgan
  • Erica Pereira
  • Ana Sophia Scheller
  • Sean Suozzi


Corps de ballet
Corps de ballet
In ballet, the corps de ballet is the group of dancers who are not soloists. They are a permanent part of the ballet company and often work as a backdrop for the principal dancers. A corps de ballet works as one, with synchronized movements and corresponding positioning on the stage...

 


  • Sara Adams
  • Devin Alberda
  • Marika Anderson
  • Daniel Applebaum
  • Faye Arthurs
  • Callie Bachman
  • Likolani Brown
  • Zachary Catazaro
  • Stephanie Chrosniak
  • Maya Collins
  • Cameron Dieck
  • Alina Dronova
  • Emilie Gerrity

  • Kaitlyn Gilliland
  • Sam Greenberg
  • Amanda Hankes
  • Brittany Hillyer
  • Spartak Hoxha
  • Ralph Ippolito
  • Ashly Isaacs
  • Dana Jacobson
  • Russell Janzen
  • Megan Johnson
  • Emily Kikta
  • Lauren King
  • Claire Kretzschmar

  • Ashley Laracey
  • Austin Laurent
  • Megan LeCrone
  • Lauren Lovette
  • Meagan Mann
  • Jenelle Manzi
  • Gwyneth Muller
  • Lars Nelson
  • Vincent Paradiso
  • Georgina Pazcoguin
  • Justin Peck
  • Allen Peiffer
  • Brittany Pollack
  • David Prottas

  • Shoshana Rosenfield
  • Troy Schumacher
  • Andrew Scordato
  • Kristen Segin
  • Mary Elizabeth Sell
  • Gretchen Smith
  • Taylor Stanley
  • Joshua Thew
  • Lara Tong
  • Christian Tworzyanski
  • Giovanni Villalobos
  • Sarah Villwock
  • Lydia Wellington
  • Stephanie Zungre


Former principal dancers

  • Albert Evans
    Albert Evans (dancer)
    Albert Evans began his ballet training at Terpsichore Expressions in his native Atlanta and was awarded a full scholarship to the School of American Ballet in 1986...

  • Alexandra Ansanelli
    Alexandra Ansanelli
    Alexandra Ansanelli was a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet and at The Royal Ballet, London. She trained at City Ballet's affiliated School of American Ballet before joining NYCB and in 2003 was named one of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch"....

  • Allegra Kent
    Allegra Kent
    Allegra Kent is an American ballet dancer and actress.Born in Santa Monica, Kent studied with Bronislava Nijinska and Carmelita Maracci before joining the School of American Ballet. After graduating, she joined the New York City Ballet in 1953 at the age of 15, and was promoted to principal in 1957...

  • Arthur Mitchell
    Arthur Mitchell (dancer)
    Arthur Mitchell is an African-American dancer and choreographer who created a training school and the first African-American classical ballet company, Dance Theatre of Harlem...

  • Bart Cook
  • Charles Askegard
    Charles Askegard
    Charles Askegard was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and began his dance training at the age of five with Loyce Houlton and the Minnesota Dance Theatre. He continued his studies in Minneapolis until the age of 16, spending one summer at the School of American Ballet in 1983Mr...

  • Damian Woetzel
    Damian Woetzel
    Damian Woetzel, former ballet star, is a producer and director of dance and music performances. Among his recent projects was directing the first performance of the White House Dance Series in September 2010, which took place in the East Room of the White House and was hosted by First Lady Michelle...

  • Daniel Duell
  • Darci Kistler
    Darci Kistler
    Darci Kistler is a noted American ballerina. She is often said to be the last muse for legendary choreographer George Balanchine.-Biography:...

  • Edward Villella
    Edward Villella
    Edward Villella is an American ballet dancer and choreographer, frequently cited as America's most celebrated male dancer at the time....

  • Gelsey Kirkland
    Gelsey Kirkland
    Gelsey Kirkland is an American ballerina. Kirkland joined the New York City Ballet in 1968 at age fifteen, at the invitation of George Balanchine. She was promoted to soloist in 1969 and principal in 1972...

  • Gen Horiuchi
    Gen Horiuchi
    Gen Horiuchi is a Japanese ballet dancer and choreographer. He was a principal dancer of the New York City Ballet and is artistic director of the Saint Louis Ballet Company.-Biography:Gen Horiuchi was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan...


  • Jacques d'Amboise
  • James Fayette
  • Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux
    Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux
    Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux is a French ballet dancer and instructor. He is currently the artistic director at the North Carolina Dance Theatre and the Chautauqua Institution. At 14, Bonnefoux joined the Paris Opera Ballet, and became a star dancer at age 21. Under the direction of George Balanchine,...

  • Jillana
  • Jocelyn Vollmar
    Jocelyn Vollmar
    Jocelyn Vollmar is an American ballerina, known for her career with the San Francisco Ballet.-Career:Vollmar began dancing with the San Francisco Ballet at age 12...

  • Jock Soto
    Jock Soto
    Jock Soto is a former American ballet dancer and current ballet instructor.-Career:Soto danced featured roles in over 40 ballets, of which more than 35 were created for him....

  • John Clifford
    John Clifford (choreographer)
    John Clifford, is best known as the creator of “Casablanca, The Dance,” produced by Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, Inc. and his Los Angeles Dance Theater, and founder / artistic director of the original Los Angeles Ballet , and the chamber sized touring ensemble, Ballet of Los Angeles...

  • Judith Fugate
  • Karin von Aroldingen
  • Kyra Nichols
  • Leonid Kozlov
    Leonid Kozlov
    Leonid Kozlov is a former principal dancer of the Bolshoi and New York City Ballet. He is also a choreographer, and the founder of Kozlov Dance International and Youth Dance Festival of New Jersey.-Biography:...


  • Lourdes Lopez
  • Margaret Tracey
  • Maria Calegari
  • Maria Tallchief
    Maria Tallchief
    Maria Tallchief was the first native-American prima ballerina. From 1942 to 1947 she danced with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, but she is best known for her time with the New York City Ballet from 1947 to 1965.-Early life:...

  • Melissa Hayden
    Melissa Hayden (dancer)
    Melissa Hayden was a Canadian ballerina at the New York City Ballet.-Early life:...

  • Merrill Ashley
  • Mikhail Baryshnikov
    Mikhail Baryshnikov
    Mikhail Nikolaevich Baryshnikov is a Soviet and American dancer, choreographer, and actor, often cited alongside Vaslav Nijinsky and Rudolf Nureyev as one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century. After a promising start in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, he defected to Canada in 1974...

  • Miranda Weese
  • Monique Meunier
  • Nikolaj Hübbe
    Nikolaj Hübbe
    Nikolaj Hübbe is artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet. He was born on 30 October th, 1967, and raised in Copenhagen, Denmark. He began his dance training at age 10 at the Royal Danish Ballet School and became an apprentice to the Royal Danish Ballet in 1984. He was promoted soloist in 1988....

  • Nilas Martins
  • Patricia McBride
    Patricia McBride
    Patricia McBride is a ballerina who spent nearly 30 years dancing with the New York City Ballet....

  • Patricia Neary

  • Peter Boal
    Peter Boal
    Peter Boal is artistic director of Pacific Northwest Ballet and director of its affiliated school in Seattle, Washington. He was born in Bedford, New York, in 1965 and began studies at the School of American Ballet at age nine.Mr...

  • Peter Martins
    Peter Martins
    Peter Martins is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was named man of the year by Danish American Society, 1980...

  • Philip Neal
    Philip Neal
    Philip Neal was a principal dancer with New York City Ballet. He studied from age 11 at the Richmond Ballet School. After six years of study there, Edward Villella arranged a summer scholarship for him at NCYB's School of American Ballet...

  • Robert La Fosse
  • Robert Tewsley
  • Robert Weiss
    Robert Weiss (choreographer)
    Robert Weiss is an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and Artistic Director of Carolina Ballet. He began his professional career at age 17 joining the New York City Ballet under George Balanchine, eventually becoming a Principal Dancer. Balanchine created several roles for him, including Ballo...

  • Sofiane Sylve
  • Stephen Hanna
  • Suzanne Farrell
    Suzanne Farrell
    Suzanne Farrell is an eminent 20th century ballerina and the founder of the Suzanne Farrell Ballet at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C....

  • Tanaquil LeClerq
    Tanaquil LeClerq
    Tanaquil Le Clercq was a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, but her dancing career was ended when she was stricken with polio and paralyzed from the waist down....

  • Yvonne Borree
    Yvonne Borree
    Yvonne Borree is a former principal dancer at New York City Ballet and was raised in Norfolk, Virginia, where she began her dance studies with the Tidewater Ballet Association at four years of age....

  • Yvonne Mounsey


Former soloists

  • Ellen Bar
  • Elyse Borne
  • Jason Fowler
    Jason Fowler (dancer)
    Jason Fowler studied ballet at the Dallas Ballet Center and entered the School of American Ballet in 1993. While there he danced selections from Balanchine's Agon, Cortège Hongrois, The Nutcracker and A Midsummer Night's Dream...

  • Jean-Pierre Frohlich

  • Susan Gluck
  • Tom Gold
  • Gloria Govrin
  • Susan Hendl

  • Arch Higgins
    Arch Higgins
    Arch Higgins was a soloist with New York City Ballet. He began his study at eight years with Berkeley Ballet Theater with former City Ballet dancer Sally Streets. From 1982 he attended summer courses at the School of American Ballet which he entered full-time on scholarship four years later. He...

  • Katrina Killian
  • Carla Körbes
  • Edwaard Liang
    Edwaard Liang
    Edwaard Liang is a Tawanese-American dancer and choreographer. He grew up in Marin County, California.-Training:He began dance training at the age of five at Marin Ballet. In 1989, Liang entered the School of American Ballet....

  • Seth Orza

  • Christine Redpath
  • Rachel Rutherford
    Rachel Rutherford
    Rachel Rutherford is a soloist with New York City Ballet. She began her training at age eight at the Joffrey Ballet School, entered the School of American Ballet in 1987, where she received the D.A.N.C.E. scholarship allowing her to study in Spring 1992 at the Royal Danish Ballet...

  • Carol Sumner
  • Jennifer Tinsley-Williams
  • Diana White


Former corps de ballet

  • Aaron Severini
  • Amy Barker
  • Briana Atkins
  • Briana Shepherd
  • Cara Copeland
  • Courtney Muscroft
  • Darius Barnes

  • Dara Johnson
  • Darla Hoover
  • Deborah Wingert
  • Dena Abergel
  • Elizabeth Walker
  • Ellen Ostrom
  • Glenn Keenan

  • Henry Seth
  • Katie Bergstrom
  • Kristin Sloan
  • Kyle Froman
  • Lindy Mandradjieff
  • Mary Helen Bowers
  • Matthew Renko

  • Max van der Sterre
  • Pauline Golbin
  • Rachel Piskin
  • Sarah-Rose Williams
  • Saskia Beskow
  • Sophie Flack
    Sophie Flack
    Sophie Flack is a performance and visual artist, author and former dancer with the New York City Ballet.- Early life :Born in Watertown, Massachusetts in 1983, Sophie Flack began her dance training at age 7 at the Boston Ballet School...

  • Tabitha Rinko-Gay


External links

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