“Swan Lake”
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
July 17 and 19, 2025
In a move full of risk and opportunity, American Ballet Theatre bookended its Met season with two blocks of its production of “Swan Lake,” now in its 25th year. The immortal classic, even in ABT’s flawed rendition, remains a tried-and-true blockbuster, but more crucially serves as an unforgiving vehicle for showcasing and assessing a company’s talent. While all eyes this
American Ballet Theatre
“Sylvia”
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
July 10, 2025
“Sylvia” was American Ballet Theatre’s marquee offering this season, at least if you were trying to draw a conclusion from the company’s marketing and the sheer saturation of this ballet across the media. Presented by ABT for the first time in almost a decade, this Frederick Ashton ballet had many debuts, some misses, and a truly mesmerizing partnership in Chloe Misseldine as Sylvia and
American Ballet Theatre
"Sylvia"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
July 8, July 9 matinee, July 10, July 11, 2025
ABT presented Sir Frederick Ashton’s luminous ballet “Sylvia” after a 10-year hiatus, which meant that most of the dancers had to start from scratch to absorb the elegant style and fiendishly difficult choreography of the multi-layered ballet; their work certainly paid off, as the audience cheered wildly at the curtain calls. Ashton created the ballet in 1952
“The Winter’s Tale”
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
July 3, 2025
Christopher Wheeldon’s “The Winter’s Tale,” set to original music by Joby Talbot, graced the stage during American Ballet Theatre’s Met season only seven times, but it was clear that this addition to the company’s repertory is a worthy one. Set to Shakespeare’s story but danced with Wheeldon’s modern language, it is precisely the kind of vehicle the company
American Ballet Theatre
"The Winter's Tale"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
July 1, 2025
ABT has added Christopher Wheeldon's “The Winter’s Tale”, based on the Shakespeare play, to its repertoire. Wheeldon is quoted in the program as saying that he got the idea to choreograph the work, often categorized as a “problem play”, from the theatrical director Nicholas Hytner, who said it might work better “if there’s no one actually talking” which is rather like
Giselle"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
June 26, June 28, matinee, and evening, 2025
ABT’s sturdy production of “Giselle” was given ten times this season, with ten different Giselles scheduled (Catherine Hurlin’s illness gave Devon Teuscher two performances). Though “Giselle” is one of ABT’s more frequently performed works, this meant that each dancer has very few opportunities to explore and experiment with their approaches, so it was impressive to see how
“Anna Karenina”
The National Ballet of Canada
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Toronto, Canada
June 13, 2025
When “Anna Karenina” appeared on the National Ballet of Canada’s season schedule, it was a surprise that it was not the John Neumeier version that the company co-produced in 2018 alongside the Bolshoi Ballet and Hamburg Ballet. Instead, the NBoC announced that it would present the North American premiere of Christian Spuck’s 2014 version, originally created for Ballet Zürich
Paul Taylor Dance Company
Program A: "Polaris", "Tablet", "Cloven Kingdom"
Program B: "Tablet", "Churchyard", "Esplanade"
Paul Taylor Dance Company
Joyce Theater
New York, New York
June 19, 2025 (Program A) and June 21, 2025, evening (Program B)
The Paul Taylor Dance Company faces the same problem that all companies built around a founding choreographer face when that choreographer is no longer around—how to keep the company fresh without ignoring the past. Michael Novak, the current director, has been looking both
“Woolf Works”
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
June 17, 2025
In a full lineup of classics or classical-feeling story ballets, Wayne McGregor’s “Woolf Works” to Max Richter’s music stood as American Ballet Theatre’s one edgy and daring offering this season. Rooted in literary works by Virginia Woolf and wholly embedded in McGregor’s signature pliant style, this ballet showcased the company at its versatile best, with deeper and more seasoned interpretation from how
American Ballet Theatre
"Swan Lake"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
June 11, matinee 2025
After last year’s New York debut in “Swan Lake”, the critics all raved about Chloe Misseldine’s performance and her on-stage promotion to principal. I didn’t see it so wondered if her 2025 “Swan Lake” would live up to the hype. The answer is “No”—it far exceeded it. Not since the old Royal Ballet’s performances
"Raymonda Variations", "Cortège Hongrois (excerpt)", "Schubert Symphony", "Glass Pieces (excerpt)"
School of American Ballet Workshop
Peter Jay Sharp Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
June 7, matinee, 2025
With the exception of the opening “Raymonda Variations”, with its pas de deux and sparking female variations, this year’s SAB workshop featured ensembles, so not many individual dancers stood out. What did shine was beautifully cohesive dancing and a warm spirit—the anonymous couples all looked at each other, the
Adieu: A Celebration of Guillaume Côté
“Bolero”, “Reverence”, “King’s Fall”, “Grand Mirage”
The National Ballet of Canada
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Toronto, Canada
May 30, 2025
Guillaume Côté has been a household name in Canadian ballet almost since the start of his career at The National Ballet of Canada 26 years ago. Chosen for prime principal roles early on, his range and depth as a dancer lived up to and surpassed the promise of those early