“Petal,” “Petite Mort,” “Paquita”
American Ballet Theatre
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
October 25, 2026

In programming Helen Pickett’s stripped-down, richly hued “Petal” and Jiří Kylián’s curious “Petite Mort” with Natalia Makarova’s tired staging of “Paquita,” ABT, perhaps inadvertently, made the best case yet for a slick (and sensual) modern direction. The dancing was most multilayered and revealing of the dancers in those works, and while the company danced the lone classical offering well

"Femme Fatale"
Tom Gold Dance
The Goldman-Sonnenfeldt Family Auditorium
Marlene Meyerson JCC
New York, NY
October 29, 2026

Tom Gold, a former New York City Ballet soloist, has been choreographing for his small pick-up company since 2008, an impressively resilient number.  His insistence on live music is equally impressive, and his choice of chamber works had led to some fine and interesting discoveries.  For “Femme Fatale”, he chose small violin and piano works by the famous

"Birthday Offering", "Mercurial Son", "Ballet Imperial"
American Ballet Theatre
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026, matinee

Perhaps coincidentally, the “Neoclassical Works” program with ballets from three very different choreographers (Sir Frederick Ashton, Kyle Abraham, and Balanchine) all featured glimpses of men alone on stage searching yearningly or restlessly for something.  Ashton’s “Birthday Offering” (1956), a radiantly abstract celebration of classical ballet, had an anonymous cavalier looking longingly around the empty

"Petal", "Petite Mort", "Paquita"
American Ballet Theatre
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
October 22, 2026

ABT’s optimistically named “Fresh Visions and Timeless Classics” program included ABT’s first performances of Helen Pickett’s “Petal”, originally choreographed in 2008 for the Aspen/Santa Fe Ballet, Jiří Kylián’s “Petite Mort”, first danced in 1991 by the Nederlands Dans Theater, and a revival of Natalia Makarova’s 1983 staging for ABT of the final act of Petipa’s “Paquita”

“The Four Temperaments,” “Each In Their Own Time,” “Once with you,” “Agon”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
October 18, 2026

It is rare for ballet stars to time a retirement well. Most often, it comes either too soon or when the peak of their creative form is meaningfully behind them. Adrian Danchig-Waring set his date a year ago. In 2024 a spinal infection nearly killed him, and he promised himself that if he

“Oscar”
The Australian Ballet
New York City Center
New York, NY
October 11, 2026 (matinee)

By the time the moon began to weep red tears, it was clear how much of himself Christopher Wheeldon had put into his “Oscar.” The 2024 work was danced by The Australian Ballet, which returned to New York for the first time in more than a decade thanks to its new Artistic Director, David Hallberg. Though the city saw it a mere five times, at

"La Sonnambula," "Pithoprakta," "The Unanswered Question," "Theme and Variations"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
October 8, 2026

Amid premieres and a retirement, one of the most talked-about ballets of NYCB’s fall season was the revival of George Balanchine’s 1968 “Pithoprakta,” which the company saved for week five. Made back then on the legendary Suzanne Farrell, the work left the company’s repertory a year later, as did the ballerina. Now, decades

"La Sonnambula", "Pithoprakta", "The Unanswered Question", "Theme and Variations"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
October 13, 2026

Perhaps coincidentally all four ballets in this all-Balanchine program featured women in white. Most of these women were mysteriously unavailable; only the couple in the final “Theme and Variations” seemed set for a happy life, and that was a fairy tale romance, as the ballet is essentially a quick tour of the highlights Petipa’s “The

"Pulcinella Variations," "Auspicy," "Shared Rain," "Love Letters (On Shuffle)"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
October 6, 2026

As New York City Ballet’s Contemporary Choreography program wore on, I kept wondering what Mr. B would say if he were watching. Two new works, Alysa Pires’s “Auspicy” and Jennifer Archibald’s “Shared Rain,” were sandwiched between two recent ones, Justin Peck’s “Pulcinella Variations” and Kyle Abraham’s “Love Letter (on shuffle).” All four

"Continuum", "Solitude", "Bourrée Fantasque"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
October 7, 2026

The heart of this triple bill was the central work, Alexei Ratmansky’s searing “Solitude”, his powerfully understated reaction to wartime’s destruction.  It opened with Christopher Wheeldon’s abstract exercise “Continuum”, one of his sparest and most inventive works, and ended with the rarely seen “Bourrée Fantasque”, Balanchine’s 1949 ballet buffa.  The evening ricochetted between comedy and tragedy,

"Mazurkas", "Join"
Limón Dance Company
The Joyce Theater
New York, NY
October 6, 2025

The Limón Dance Company, like many other modern companies, is working its way through the issue of how to preserve its past while not being completely tied to it.  This program tried to balance the past with the future, with one major revival, José Limón’s 1958 “Mazurkas” and one new work, Aszure Barton’s 2025 “Join”, which was inspired by “Orestes”, a lost work

"Pulcinella Variations", "Auspicy", "Shared Rain", "Love Letter (on Shuffle)"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
October 4, 2026

Since 2012, NYCB’s annual Fall Gala has featured new ballets with costumes by contemporary fashion designers; these galas have, reportedly, raised considerable amounts of money, though artistically, the results have been mixed at best, and few of the new works have long endured.  This evening’s program included two veteran fashion gala works, Justin Peck’