New York City Ballet

“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

"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,

"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’

"La Source", "The Four Temperaments", "The Concert"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
October 3, 2026 matinee

This performance featured three varied works, one each from the 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s—it is astounding to realize that the most recent one, Balanchine’s “La Source” (1968), is almost 60 years old.  The dancing however was vibrant and fresh, with a number of debuts.  It was a finely balance and varied

"Jewels"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
September 24, 2026

“Jewels” is famously described as a full-length abstract ballet, but that doesn’t mean it’s about nothing, and many of the dancers in this performance gave such detailed and nuanced attention to their performances that there were hints of narratives and emotional arcs that illuminated their dancing in fascinating ways.  The was especially true in "Rubies", where Alexa Maxwell, in her debut

"Jewels"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
September 23, 2026

NYCB opened its Fall season with a week of performances celebrating the 60th anniversary of the ever-popular “Jewels”, a nod perhaps to its traditional gift of diamonds.  “Jewels” is about more than diamonds, though, it is about mood and atmosphere and in this performance “Emeralds” gleamed the brightest.  Its low-key, slightly melancholy nostalgia will probably never evoke the raucous cheers that

"Opus 19/The Dreamer,” “Standard Deviation,” “Symphonie Espagnole”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
May 17, 2026 (matinee), May 28, 2026

For her much-promoted sophomore piece at NYCB – “Symphonie Espagnole” to Éduard Lalo’s eponymous music – Tiler Peck said she wanted to go big, filling the stage with dancers.  By coincidence or design, the two works accompanying the buzzed-about creation – Jerome Robbins's "Opus 19/The Dreamer" and Alysa Pires's "Standard

"Divertimento No. 15,” “Zakouski,” “Composer’s Holiday,” “Heatscape”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
May 26, 2026

If nothing else, a program that started with George Balanchine's enthralling "Divertimento No. 15" and ended with Justin Peck's "Heatscape" showed how far away from its foundation the company has traveled with its repertory.  The distance was thrown into sharp relief by what came between: Peter Martins's "Zakouski," which felt experimental by comparison, and

"Concerto Barocco,” “The Goldberg Variations”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
May 16, 2026

There is a particular clarity that comes when NYCB programs its two founders together, and when they share a single composer, the company's bedrocks come into clear focus.  The All Bach evening set Balanchine's stripped-down, mathematically precise “Concerto Barocco” against Robbins's studied and at times theatrical “Goldberg Variations” – one choreographer distilling Bach's nuance in movement,