New York City Ballet

"Dig the Say," "This Bitter Earth," "The Naked King," “Everywhere We Go"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
February 7, 2026 (matinee)

In a program of works by Justin Peck, Christopher Wheeldon, and Alexei Ratmansky, New York City Ballet displayed the choreographic bedrock of the company’s current, post-Balanchine era. Fiercely technical, with a focus on musicality and sometimes drama, the direction is a formidable one when executed well. With Ratmansky’s new ballet

"The Sleeping Beauty"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
February 13, 2026

Peter Martins’ 1991 production of “The Sleeping Beauty” returned to City Ballet for two well-sold weeks; it has remained basically unchanged for 25 years, with the same strengths and weaknesses.  Fortunately this performance, with Indiana Woodward and Chun Wai Chan as the royal couple and Ashley Laracey as the Lilac Fairy, and a number of debuts in supporting roles, was definitely

"Dig the Say", "This Bitter Earth", " "The Naked King", "Everywhere We Go"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
February 5th and February 8th, 2026

Alexei Ratmansky’s new ballet “The Naked King”, a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s always timely “The Emperor Has No Clothes”, is another of his explorations of ballet’s history.  Shortly before he died Diaghilev had come up with the idea of using the Andersen story for a ballet,

"Walpurgisnacht Ballet," "Flower Festival in Genzano Pas de Deux," "The Wind-Up," "Opus 19/The Dreamer"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
January 30, 2026

On a night abundant with debuts, including an all-new second cast for Justin Peck’s “The Wind-Up” which premiered a day earlier, the real revelations came from the repertory. While Peck's latest work stumbled through familiar choreographic territory, the dancers once again proved that a company’

"Serenade", "The Prodigal Son", "Paquita"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
January 31, 2026 matinee

The programming gods, who can sometimes be arbitrary, provided an outstanding triple bill, a perfect example of scheduling a complete meal.  It opened with “Serenade”, a most luscious appetizer, followed by the dramatic meat of “The Prodigal Son”, and ended with a fine dessert, the Spanish frivolity of Ratmansky’s take on the Grand Pas of Petipa’s “Paquita”

"Walpurgisnacht Ballet", "Flower Festival in Genzano Pas de Deux", "The Wind-Up", "Opus 19/The Dreamer"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
January 29, 2026

The premiere of Justin Peck’s new ballet “The Wind-Up”, was the centerpiece of this program. He used the first movement of Beethoven’s “Eroica Symphony” and a cast of six of the most interesting and vibrant of NYCB’s currently packed roster.  Balanchine’s “Walpurgisnacht Ballet” which

"Kammermusik No. 2", "Le Tombeau de Couperin", "Antique Epigraphs", "Raymonda Variations"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
January 23, 2026

The four ballets (three by Balanchine and one—“Antique Epigraphs”—by Robbins) on this program were all plotless explorations of the different atmospheres created by the composers, ranging from the jagged tones of Hindemith’s “Kammermusik No. 2”, the classical calm of Maurice Ravel’s “Le Tombeau de Couperin”, the mysterious Grecian echoes of Claude

"Serenade", "Prodigal Son", "Paquita"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
January 22, 2026

This evening’s ballets were a a series of firsts and lasts; Balanchine’s “Serenade” (1935) is the first ballet he made in the US, his “Prodigal Son” is the last of his works performed by the Diaghilev company, and Alexei Ratmansky’s “Paquita” (2025), while certainly not the first or the last work he has made for NYCB, is the first

“Voices,” “Composer’s Holiday,” “Herman Schmerman Pas de Deux,” “Foreseeable Future”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
October 10, 2025

There is no such thing as too much new dance, but that does not always lessen one’s longing for the old. For its last program of the fall season, New York City Ballet presented three works from the last decade, including a premiere from its Fall Gala this season by Jamar Roberts, and William

"Voices", "Composer's Holiday", "Herman Scherman Pas de Deux", "Forseeable Future"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
October 9, 2025

The current City Ballet practice of programming ballets by themes meant that the evening, called “Contemporary Choreography I”, had no tutus, limited point shoes, fantastic dancing, and a gradually diminishing audience.  Contemporary, in this case, ranged from 1993 (William Forsythe’s “Herman Schmerman pas de deux”) to yesterday (Jamar Roberts’ “Foreseeable

“Square Dance”, “Episodes”, “Western Symphony”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
September 20, 2025, matinee

New York City Ballet’s second all-Balanchine program of the Fall season showed two variations on bouncy American square dances (the serenely classical “Square Dance” from 1957 and the raucous “Western Symphony” from 1954), sandwiching the austere, angular “Episodes” (1959) to selections of Anton Webern—something for everyone.  I do miss the old weekly smorgasbord

“Donizetti Variations”, “Ballade”, “Swan Lake”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
September 16, 2025

New York City Ballet opened its Fall season with an all Balanchine evening, showing three variations of love, both lost and found, all set to nineteenth-century music.  There were two standards, “Donizetti Variations” and “Swan Lake”, and one rare revival, the 1980 “Ballade”, set to “Ballade for Piano and Orchestra” by Gabriel Fauré.  “Donizetti Variations”