Best Balanchine
Maya Plisetskaya was the fiery, iconic prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet for decades, renowned for her explosive technique, dramatic intensity, and breathtaking athleticism. Her career, spanning from the 1940s into the 1990s, was a testament to her powerful will and resilience within the Soviet...
Balanchine’s *The Prodigal Son* is a ballet based on the biblical parable of Marya's return after years of exile. The work explores themes of repentance and familial reconciliation through dramatic choreography and Prokofiev’s evocative score. Featuring a significant violin part, it’s notable for it...
*Jewels* is a neoclassical ballet created by choreographer Frederick Ashton. It adapts Georges Bizet’s opera *Carmen*, utilizing music from both works to evoke themes of intense emotion and dramatic narrative. Aubrey Beardsley's distinctive designs for the sets and costumes are particularly notable,...
Agon, created by William Forsythe in 1990, is a significant neoclassical ballet that examines the dynamics of rivalry and physical interaction. The work’s innovative use of rotating sets and fragmented movement sequences, alongside music by Igor Stravinsky, distinguishes it within the 20th-century b...
Mark Morris’s *Apollo* is a significant neoclassical ballet created in the 20th century. The work explores Greek mythology through a dramatic narrative centered on the god Apollo’s travels. A chorus of muses adds to the complexity and scale of the piece. It's primarily intended for experienced balle...
Balanchine’s “The Four Temperaments” is a neoclassical ballet built upon ancient humoral theory. The work depicts four distinct personalities—sanguine, choleric, melancholic, and phlegmatic—represented through contrasting movement vocabulary and Hindemith's score. It’s notable for its abstract explo...
Suzanne Farrell was an American ballet dancer and choreographer whose career significantly shaped American dance. She is best known for her close collaboration with George Balanchine, creating a unique style within the Théâtre des Arts Ballet. Farrell’s interpretations of Balanchine's works were hig...
Serenade is a significant neoclassical ballet created by George Balanchine in 1936. The work utilizes Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 4 to evoke an abstract pastoral setting. Dancers portray shepherds and musicians within this evocative choreography. It's primarily for audiences interested in class...
George Balanchine’s Symphony in Three Movements is a neoclassical ballet built upon Maurice Ravel’s *La Mer*. The work translates the composer’s evocative musical score into a purely abstract dance experience through rapid shifts in tempo and texture mirroring the sea's changing moods. It is notable...
Balanchine’s *A Midsummer Night’s Dream* is a full-length ballet adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy. The production, originally staged in 1947, features a substantial corps de ballet and complex choreography inspired by Mendelssohn's score. It portrays the whimsical and often disruptive relationship...
Liebeslieder Walzer is a neoclassical ballet created by Jiří Kylián in 1994. It features choreography set to selections from Johannes Brahms’s Lieder und Fugen (Songs and Fugues). The work portrays a delicate courtship with precise partnering and restrained movement, notable for its evocative use of...
The Violin Concerto is a ballet score by Igor Stravinsky composed for Benjamin Britten’s 1967 production. It tells the story of John the Baptist through dramatic movement and music, featuring a central role for the solo violin to represent spiritual and emotional states. The work is notable for its...
Vienna Waltzes is a full-length ballet choreographed by Jiří Kylián. It utilizes music from Johann Strauss II to portray the refined social customs of Viennese ball culture in the late nineteenth century. The work, notable for its neoclassical style and influence of George Balanchine’s approach, is...
Concerto Barocco is a neoclassical ballet created by Leonardo Sacripante in 1984. The work utilizes Igor Stravinsky's "Pulcinella" alongside Johann Sebastian Bach’s music to depict abstract narratives of social disparity and human interaction. It is notable for its dynamic choreography and stark vis...
*Symphony in C* is a ballet by George Balanchine commissioned for Michel Leroux’s 1963 production. The work adapts Stravinsky's Symphony in C to create an abstract narrative centered on themes of instinct and conflict. It utilizes stark black-and-white design, reflecting the neoclassical style and e...
Jacques d’Amboise was a highly influential American ballet dancer. He spent much of his career as principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre, performing iconic roles and collaborating extensively with George Balanchine. His technical skill and adaptability made him a pivotal figure in 20th-ce...
*Davidstädtische Tänze*, choreographed by George Balanchine, is a neoclassical ballet set to Johann Strauss II’s six waltzes from 1827. The work captures the spirit of Vienna's Davidstädt district and represents an early example of Balanchine’s adaptation of classical music into dance. It is primari...
Igor Stravinsky’s Divertimento No. 15, created in 1919, is a neoclassical ballet score. The work utilizes a propulsive rhythmic style and sharp melodic lines characteristic of its 20th-century composition. Balanchine choreographed the one-act piece for the New York City Ballet. It’s suitable for per...
Vaslav Nijinsky’s *La Valse* is a neoclassical ballet composed for the 1915 Sergei Diaghilev Company. It tells a story of escalating horror through a waltz, set to Maurice Ravel's music. The work explores themes of love and destruction within a rapidly collapsing social environment. Choreographed wi...
Edward Villella was an influential American dancer and choreographer whose career spanned nearly seven decades. He is best known for his pivotal role as principal dancer with the New York City Ballet under George Balanchine, establishing a new level of athleticism and expressiveness in classical bal...
The New York City Ballet, founded by George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein, is celebrated for its distinctive neoclassical style. Balanchines choreography, characterized by speed, athleticism, and a focus on musicality, remains central to the companys repertoire. While upholding classical tradition...
George Balanchine's Movements for Piano and Orchestra, created in 1937, is a seminal neoclassical ballet. It showcases a dynamic relationship between a solo piano part by Stravinsky and the dancers’ movements on a stark stage. The work’s intricate rhythms and abstract design make it notable within t...
Balanchine’s *Orpheus* is a neoclassical ballet based on the Greek myth. The work features a primarily male company exploring themes of love and loss through precise, angular choreography set to Stravinsky's score. It is notable for its dramatic interpretation of the Orpheus and Eurydice narrative a...
Chaconne is a one-act ballet by George Balanchine composed in 1957. It draws heavily from Gluck’s opera Orfeo ed Euridice, utilizing its famous chaconne theme. The work is recognized for its demanding partnering and the composer's deliberate use of string orchestration to generate intense rhythmic d...
George Balanchine's “Theme and Variations” explores Tchaikovsky’s music through a single-act ballet. The work utilizes a core musical theme transformed into several distinct dance variations, highlighting the composer’s melodic ideas in movement. It is notable for its streamlined narrative and exemp...
Patricia McBride was an American dancer recognized as a principal ballerina with the New York City Ballet for over two decades. Her performances, particularly under George Balanchine, were noted for their exceptional technical skill and nuanced interpretations of classical ballet roles. She is prima...
Violette Verdy was a pioneering French ballerina renowned for her innovative and intensely expressive interpretations of classical roles like Giselle and Carmen, particularly celebrated for her emotionally raw physicality and unconventional stage presence.
Sergei Balanchine’s *Kammermusik No. 2* (1967) is a stark and angular ballet set to György Ligeti's unsettling electronic score, depicting a chaotic and violent encounter through precise, fragmented movements of the dancers.
Benjamin Britten’s ballet *Don Quixote* (1965), choreographed by George Balanchine, portrays the delusional knight’s tilting at windmills and his passionate, albeit misguided, pursuit of Dulcinea, set to a score featuring distinctive Spanish influences.
*Episodes*, choreographed by George Balanchine in 1935, depicts a stark and emotionally restrained pas de deux set to Olivier Messiaen’s *Quartet for the End of Time*, exploring themes of isolation and resilience through precise movement and minimalist staging.
