673 shows
Clear filtersAt an auction of Marguerite Gautier’s belongings, her former lover Armand recalls their story. He falls in love with the Parisian courtesan, and they begin a life together in the country. At her father’s request, Marguerite leaves Armand without explaining the truth. Later Armand courts her friend Olympe in revenge; Marguerite, gravely ill, returns to him, but leaves again after a dream of Manon Lescaut. Armand is left alone.
The plot centres around a group of ballet dancers who have been sent to provide sophisticated entertainment on a new Soviet collective farm during their harvest festival. The workers, along with two older residents of a nearby dacha, welcome the city dancers, with special welcome given to the troupe's ballerina who was the former dance teacher of Zina. Zina introduces the ballerina to her husband, Pyotr, and Pyotr immediately begins to flirt with the ballerina. Hurt, Zina removes herself from the celebrations and is comforted by the ballerina. The ballerina suggests a plan in which she will dress as her dance partner, her dance partner will dress as a female dancer, and Zina will dress as the ballerina. They will fool Pyotr and the two dacha dwellers and Pyotr will realize his mistake. The woes of two other couples with overly-assured men are also resolved through the plan. After this all has been accomplished, there is a grand celebration which, in the Ratmansky production, includes the grim reaper who, after a scare, is banished.
Ivan the fool, helped by a magical horse, defeats an evil khan and wins the Tsar Maiden. Ivan eventually replaces the incompetent tsar and becomes tsar himself.
A six-scene danced drama by John Weaver, conveying its story through dance, gesture, and music alone and drawing on Peter Anthony Motteux’s play of the same title.
Act I is set in a cave inhabited by several sorceresses. Act II presents various games — croquet, bingo, billiards, a spinning top, draughts, cards, and others — all allegorically played by various dancers. Act III features the Kingdom of the Laces, which presents a large variety of laces made by different nationalities, including Russian, French, Spanish, and Italian, in a series of dances.
The ballet is set in France in 1860. A world-famous toymaker has created exquisite dancing dolls in his magic toyshop. The automata perform various dance routines for the prospective customers. At first the toys entertain two English ladies and an American family. Some dolls perform a tarantella for the guests, followed by other dolls dressed as playing cards who dance a mazurka. Then two dolls come in and perform another routine involving a snob and a melon vendor. New customers arrive, a Russian family, and everyone welcomes them. Five Cossack dolls enter and perform a traditional dance, followed by an animal act featuring two dancing poodles.
A two-act ballet adaptation of Mordicai Gerstein’s picture book, conceived, choreographed, and directed by Paule Turner; it uses puppetry especially for the wirewalking sequence.
Preparing and serving a meal becomes a dance about bodies, labour, pleasure, and hierarchy. The performance challenges the expectations of ballet and the social divisions between those who create and those who consume.
An ante-room in the Pontevedrian Embassy in Paris in 1905 A ball is to be held that evening at the Pontevedrian Embassy to celebrate the birthday of the Grand Duke, the sovereign of the Grand Duchy of Pontevedro, and Kromow and Pritschitsch are keen to leave their desk work and join the festivities. Camille is also anxious to leave work. However, before they can leave, Njegus arrives and instructs the three men to return to the desk to take care of some extra papers he is carrying. Discovering that Danilo is missing, Njegus enquires where he is, and Kromow and Pritschitsch comment that Danilo is out drinking. Njegus sits at Danilo's post at the desk, and together the four men go through the paperwork, following which Njegus informs them that Pontevedro is bankrupt. Baron Zeta arrives, carrying a telegram and mentioning that a rich Pontevedrian widow, Hanna Glawari, is to attend the embassy ball. The Baron wants Count Danilo to marry the widow so that her money will stay in Pontevedro. Valencienne comes into the room and then everyone drinks to the health of the Duke. The men then leave — except for Camille, who has some extra paperwork to do. Valencienne, who has deliberately lagged behind the others in their departure, flirts with Camille, trying to distract him from his work. Camille tries to keep on working, but eventually gives up and goes to Valencienne — and then Valencienne half-heartedly keeps showing Camille her wedding ring. While the couple are flirting, Njegus, who has some further work to do, comes back into the room unnoticed, and without noticing the lovers. Suddenly becoming aware of the presence of Camille and Valencienne, Njegus hides in a cupboard underneath the desk. The couple end up on the desk with Camille kissing Valencienne and the two hugging each other, at which point Njegus suddenly confronts them, much to their surprise and embarrassment. Camille leaves immediately. Valencienne pleads with Njegus to keep what he has seen a secret — to which Njegus agrees — and then Valencienne also leaves. While Njegus is finishing his tasks, Danilo enters the room, having just arrived from Maxim's. Danilo is drunk and is finding it difficult to stand without falling over. Baron Zeta and Valencienne then enter the room — and the Baron, seeing that Danilo has returned to the embassy, attempts, unavailingly, to tell Danilo that he is to marry a wealthy widow. Finally giving up, the Baron asks Njegus to sober Danilo up before the ball. The Ballroom in the Pontevedrian Embassy The ball begins and Baron Zeta dances with his beautiful wife. However, he has trouble with rheumatism and he asks Camille to dance with Valencienne in his place. Camille does so with enthusiasm, and Njegus, who is watching the pair closely, is unimpressed by the open display of Camille's and Valencienne's affection for each other. The Baron does not seem to notice anything amiss, but he does get upset at the amount of time the two of them dance together, and he makes an effort to remind Camille that Valencienne is married to him. The widow, Hanna Glawari, arrives, amidst a stir from the hopeful young bachelors. Baron Zeta introduces Hanna to Danilo, not knowing that Hanna and Danilo had previously been romantically involved with each other. Both Hanna and Danilo are stunned to see each other. Danilo is thrilled, and tells Hanna that he loves her, but Hanna accuses him of only wanting her for her money. Upset about this, Danilo mops the sweat from his forehead with a kerchief, which Hanna instantly recognises as a keepsake she had given to Danilo the last time they had seen each other (when Danilo's aristocratic uncle had forbidden their romance and had forbidden Danilo to marry Hanna, because Hanna was a poor peasant girl). Hanna takes back the kerchief from Danilo and then leaves the room. Danilo remembers Hanna the way she used to be — as a young peasant girl — and he remembers, with fondness, the way she had given him the kerchief - these memories are danced as a pas de deux. When Danilo returns to the ballroom, it is time for the 'ladies choice' dance. Hanna chooses Danilo to dance with, and curtsies to him, expectantly, but, still upset with what Hanna had said to him, Danilo snubs her and dances with somebody else. Feeling hurt because of Danilo's actions, Hanna dances with Camille — an action which upsets Valencienne. Valencienne and Danilo then dance together, and they effect a change of partners. Before Hanna can react, Valencienne and Camille go off together. Eventually, though, Hanna dances with Danilo. The garden of Hanna's Villa The following night, Hanna gives a party in the garden of her Parisian villa, and she and all her guests wear Pontevedrian clothes, so that they can celebrate the birthday of the Grand Duke in Pontevedrian fashion. There are many Pontevedrian folk dances, including one in which Danilo and Hanna dance together — at the end of which Hanna mops her forehead with her kerchief. Later, Hanna returns the kerchief to Danilo in exactly the same way as she had originally given it to him, following which both leave the garden. Entering the garden together, Camille and Valencienne are no longer concealing their passion for each other. Camille entices Valencienne to enter the pavilion in the garden with him. Njegus, arriving for a meeting in the pavilion with the Baron and Danilo, sees what happens and goes to the pavilion door to peep though the keyhole. Baron Zeta and Danilo arrive, and, seeing Njegus at the door, they go to join him, as they think that Njegus is opening the door. Njegus quickly locks the door, and, when Baron Zeta and Danilo find the door is locked, they demand he unlock the door for them. Njegus refuses to do so. As the Baron and Danilo discuss what to do with Njegus, he breaks away from them and looks around desperately for help. Seeing Hanna, who has just arrived in the area, Njegus explains the situation to her and asks her to change places with Valencienne in the pavilion. Hanna agrees to do so. Baron Zeta and Danilo catch up with Njegus, and demand that he hand them the key. Shaking his head in refusal, Njegus puts the key in his mouth. Baron Zeta and Danilo pick up Njegus and hold him upside down and shake him until the key drops onto the ground. Baron Zeta picks up the key and he and Danilo then go to the door of the pavilion. Meanwhile, Hanna changes places with Valencienne through a door on the other side of the pavilion. Hanna presumably explains to Valencienne what is going on, and the escaped Valencienne joins a returning group of friends, so that she will appear innocent. The Baron opens the door and Camille leaves the pavilion, followed by Hanna. Danilo is stunned to see that Hanna is the woman with Camille, and Hanna states that she and Camille are engaged. Camille looks startled at this unexpected announcement and Valencienne faints with shock at her lover committing himself to another woman. Baron Zeta is horrified at the thought of Pontevedro losing all Hanna's money to a foreigner and also faints. Danilo is furious. Hanna explains to Camille why she pretended that they were engaged, and Camille, looking relieved, smiles. Baron Zeta, Valencienne and Njegus then leave in a huff. All the guests congratulate Hanna and Camille on their 'engagement' and then leave — followed by the swift departure of Camille. Finally, the jealous Danilo throws down the kerchief and storms off in a rage. The delighted Hanna then picks up the kerchief knowing that Danilo truly loves her. Chez Maxim The maître d' is welcoming his patrons as they arrive, and the waiter rushes around serving drinks. Camille arrives. Shortly after, Baron Zeta, Valencienne and Njegus arrive, and they openly show their contempt for Camille. With the fear that Pontevedro will become bankrupt as a result of Hanna's marriage to a non-Pontevedrian, Njegus and Zeta lower the Pontevedrian flags. Soon after, Danilo arrives and is aggressively approached by Camille. The two men fight, in the middle of which they are both restrained. Then Hanna arrives and, when she accepts the arm of Camille, Danilo wants to hit Camille with his gloves and challenge Camille to a duel. Baron Zeta's eyes are finally opened to what is happening between Camille and Valencienne, when Valencienne shields Camille from the angry Danilo. Hanna dances with Camille, while Danilo dances with Valencienne. Gradually, however, the dance brings Hanna and Danilo together — and Camille and Valencienne likewise end up together. Resignedly, the upset Baron accepts the romance between his wife and Camille, and the three leave together. Hanna is left alone in the room, feeling dejected. Then Danilo quietly returns and folds Hanna in his arms, and all ends in blissful happiness. Njegus and Zeta, who have also quietly returned to the room, are delighted at the outcome and raise the Pontevedrian flags on either side of the stage in celebration.
The Middle Duo (Middle Duet) (choreographer Alexei Ratmansky, composer Yuri Khanon) — is a one-act ballet staged at the Mariinsky Theater in November 1998 to the music of the first movement of the Middle Symphony. The ten-minute production became Ratmansky's debut as a choreographer at the Mariinsky Theater. In 2000, the Middle Duet received a Golden Mask Award nomination in the “best ballet” category. After his appointment as chief choreographer of the Bolshoi Theater, Ratmansky transferred “The Middle Duet” to this stage, and then to the New York City Ballet (2006). Two or three years after the premiere, “The Middle Duet” became a kind of calling card for Ratmansky as a choreographer and followed him on all the stages on which he worked, and then was included in the program of the farewell concert “Ratmansky Gala” on the New Stage of the Bolshoi Theater before his leaving the post of chief choreographer and moving to New York. In addition to the theatrical version with scenery and orchestra, for ten years the Middle Duet was shown around the world as a concert number, not only on theater tours, but also in numerous enterprises, earning a reputation as one of the best one-act ballets in Russia at the beginning of the 21st century. From the moment the ballet was staged at the Mariinsky Theater until the last performance, music was used in the ballet without drawing up a contract. As a result of systematic violation of the composer's copyright and counterfeit use of music, in 2010 “Middle Duet” was banned from performance and removed from all stages.
Beginning—Curtain rises First seduction game Second seduction game Third seduction game—the Mandarin enters Dance of the girl The chase—the tramps leap out Suddenly the Mandarin's head appears The Mandarin falls to the floor After an orchestral introduction depicting the chaos of the big city, the action begins in a room belonging to three tramps. They search their pockets and drawers for money, but find none. They then force a girl to stand by the window and attract passing men into the room. The girl begins a lockspiel—a "decoy game", or saucy dance. She first attracts a shabby old rake, who makes comical romantic gestures. The girl asks, "Got any money?" He replies, "Who needs money? All that matters is love." He begins to pursue the girl, growing more and more insistent until the tramps seize him and throw him out. The girl goes back to the window and performs a second lockspiel. This time, she attracts a shy young man, who also has no money. He begins to dance with the girl. The dance grows more passionate, then the tramps jump him and throw him out too. The girl goes to the window again and begins her dance. The tramps and girl see a bizarre figure in the street, soon heard coming up the stairs. The tramps hide, and the figure, a mandarin (wealthy Chinese man), stands immobile in the doorway. The tramps urge the girl to lure him closer. She begins another saucy dance, the Mandarin's passions slowly rising. Suddenly, he leaps up and embraces the girl. They struggle and she escapes; he begins to chase her. The tramps leap on him, strip him of his valuables, and attempt to suffocate him under pillows and blankets. However, he continues to stare at the girl. They stab him three times with a rusty sword; he almost falls, but throws himself again at the girl. The tramps grab him again and hang him from a lamp hook. The lamp falls, plunging the room into darkness, and the Mandarin's body begins to glow with an eerie blue-green light. The tramps and girl are terrified. Suddenly, the girl knows what they must do. She tells the tramps to release the Mandarin; they do. He leaps at the girl again, and this time she does not resist and they embrace. With the Mandarin's longing fulfilled, his wounds begin to bleed and he dies.
The Moor's Pavane is a 20-minute ballet based upon the tragedy Othello by William Shakespeare. The ballet was choreographed by José Limón in 1949 to music from Henry Purcell's Abdelazer, The Gordion Knot Untied, and the pavane from Pavane and Chaconne for Strings, arranged by Simon Sadoff. This ballet is José Limón's most famous work and his influence from Doris Humphrey is evident in his choreography. It was created on the Limón Company. There are only four dancers who appear in this rendition of Othello. These dancers represent The Moor, originally played by Limón himself, Desdemona, originally played by Betty Jones, Iago, originally played by Lucas Hoving, and Emilia, originally played by Pauline Koner. Desdemona, an innocent character and tragic victim, is betrayed by Iago who hints that she has been unfaithful. This causes Othello to murder her. These dramatic actions and events take place in the form of a pavane, which is a type of courtly dance. The stately and formal choreography provides a stark contrast to the emotional and passionate characters and the violent story. The work premiered at the Connecticut College American Dance Festival on August 17, 1949. American Ballet Theatre was the first company outside Limon's company to include the work in its repertory. Notable interpreters of the Moor include Rudolf Nureyev and Cynthia Gregory. Since its creation, The Moor's Pavane has been added to the repertories of many different companies, including major ballet companies, showing the fading divisive line between modern dance and ballet.
In a joyless kingdom ruled by Karl, a contest offers half the kingdom and the Princess’s hand to whoever invents the most incredible thing. Leo wins with a clock displaying twelve visions, but Karl smashes it; the judges award Karl the prize, and Leo is imprisoned. Three muses help Leo rebuild the clock, enabling creativity to overcome destruction and Leo and the Princess to reunite.
A German ballet adaptation of Michael Ende’s novel, with music composed by Siegfried Matthus.
A ballet by Miriam Mahdaviani set to David Diamond’s Rounds for String Orchestra.
A ballet based on Oscar Wilde’s short story of the same name, created to music commissioned from Bright Sheng for New York City Ballet.
In Balanchine’s staging, Clara/Marie and the Nutcracker Prince are children, and the Journey Through the Snow is replaced by a scene in which Clara’s bed moves across the stage as the Nutcracker transforms into the Prince.
Christensen’s production was the first complete staging of The Nutcracker in the United States and used the ballet’s original plot.
A one-act comic ballet with libretto and choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Cesare Pugni.
The Path of Thunder is a ballet in three acts with libretto by Yuri Slonimsky, music by Gara Garayev and choreography by Konstantin Sergeyev. Inspired by the 1948 eponymous novel of Peter Abrahams, the ballet tells the story of a forbidden love between a black teacher and a white girl in 1940s Apartheid South Africa. The ballet premiered at the Mariinsky Theatre (called S. M. Kirov Leningrad State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet at the time) in Saint Petersburg (Leningrad at that time). Garayev used a soft, melodic music, which turns lyrical and passionate in the love scene, while the conflict with the girl's father and the other whites is accompanied by harsh, dissonant music. The lovers die in the course of conflict, but the people rise up against the racial prejudices towards them, leading themselves to the Path of Thunder, the way of liberation. Many other versions of the ballet have been staged throughout the former Soviet Union, and in 1967 it won the Lenin Prize.
During a safari, an English lord takes opium in a pyramid and dreams he is Ta-Hor, an ancient Egyptian who rescues Princess Aspicia from a lion. They fall in love and flee her betrothed, the King of Nubia. Aspicia escapes into the Nile, where the river spirits dance for her, and returns in time to save Ta-Hor from execution. The Pharaoh permits their marriage; the opium dream ends and the lord leaves the pyramid remembering their love.
A Jerome Robbins ballet choreographed to Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto.
An Emperor must decide which of his two daughters should inherit the throne, and he chooses the evil older sister Belle Epine over the young and beautiful Belle Rose. Belle Rose is taken by magical flying frogs to Pagoda Land, and meets the Prince of Pagoda Land who is in the guise of a Salamander. Belle Rose and the Prince return to the land of her father and confront her evil sister, in the end driving her away.
Kenneth MacMillan’s Royal Ballet production is based on John Cranko’s 1957 ballet, with a scenario by Colin Thubron and music by Benjamin Britten.
A full-length ballet by Twyla Tharp, co-commissioned by Atlanta Ballet and Royal Winnipeg Ballet, based on George MacDonald’s novel.
The Prospect Before Us is a one act comic ballet in seven scenes, choreographed for the Vic-Wells Ballet by Ninette de Valois to music by William Boyce arranged by Constant Lambert.
The Quest is a ballet score by William Walton, written for a ballet of the same title, now lost, choreographed by Frederick Ashton in 1943. Two versions of the score exist: one for the small orchestra for which Walton wrote (because of wartime constraints), and a posthumously constructed version rescored for an orchestra of the larger size usually favoured by the composer. The ballet, with a scenario by Doris Langley Moore, was based on The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser. It was first given by the Sadler's Wells Ballet company.
St George and Una are separated by the magician Archimago and the false Una, Duessa. After a sequence of encounters with the knights and the Seven Deadly Sins, St George recognizes the deception, reunites with Una, and departs on a quest after pledging himself to England.
A ballet conceived from William Hogarth’s A Rake’s Progress paintings. Its eight numbers include a reception, dancing lesson, orgy, gambling den, scenes outside prison and a madhouse.
On Hainan Island during the Chinese Civil War, Wu Qinghua escapes an abusive landlord and joins the Red Army's Women's Detachment. After an impulsive attack endangers a mission, she is retrained and fights alongside the unit. Commissar Hong Changqing is captured and executed, but the Red Army defeats the landlord's forces; Wu succeeds Hong and continues the cause.
The ballet takes place at a seaport in 1920s-era Republican China. Ships carrying sailors from many lands, including the Soviet Union, are docked in a Chinese seaport. The Captain of the Soviet Ship notices a group of half-starved, overworked coolies being brutally driven to work even harder by their cruel harbormaster. One night while dancing for the sailors aboard the ship, the beautiful Taï-Choa (Pinyin: Taohua) notices the Soviet Captain trying to rescue the poor Coolies from the Harbormaster. Impressed by the captain's act of kindness she gives him a red poppy as a symbol of her love. When Taï-Choa's fiancé, the adventurer Li-Chan-Fou learns of this, he is jealous and orders her to kill the captain. She refuses and is later killed when a riot breaks out on the dock — thus sacrificing her life for the captain. As she dies, she gives another red poppy flower to a young Chinese girl as a sign of love and freedom.
The ballet is set in London, Monte Carlo and Villefranche-sur-Mer in the period of the late 1940s to early 1950s. The ballerina Victoria Page is talent-spotted by the ballet impresario Boris Lermontov, who is based in Monte Carlo. He commissions the composer Julian Craster to compose a ballet based on Hans Christian Andersen's tale, The Red Shoes. Victoria takes the lead in the ballet, and she and Craster fall in love. Victoria has to choose between her love and her career. Having returned to London to be with Craster, she ekes out a career dancing in a music hall. The chance of dancing for Lermontov again lures her to return to his ballet company to dance once more in The Red Shoes. Craster pursues her to persuade her to return to him. In her confusion and indecision, fleeing from Lermontov she falls beneath an oncoming train and is killed.
Ballerina Victoria Page is discovered by impresario Boris Lermontov, who commissions Julian Craster to compose a ballet based on Andersen’s tale. Victoria takes the lead and falls in love with Craster, but faces a choice between love and her career. She returns to Lermontov’s company and, fleeing in confusion, is killed by an oncoming train.
The Revolt of the Harem depicts women revolting from a harem in Muslim Granada.
The Ring (Ринг) is a ballet staged by choreographer Alexei Miroshnichenko and the musical group 2H Company (Ilya Baramia, Alexander Zaitsev and Mikhail Fenichev) with the participation of beatboxer Sergei Galunenko. The premiere took place in April 2007 at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. Many publications called The Ring the world's first rap ballet. The choreographer and musicians were awarded the Sobaka.ru TOP 50 award.
The Rite of Spring (Le Sacre du printemps) is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Vaslav Nijinsky with stage designs and costumes by Nicholas Roerich. When first performed at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées on 29 May 1913, the avant-garde nature of the music and choreography caused a sensation. Many have called the first-night reaction a "riot" or "near-riot", though this wording did not come about until reviews of later performances in 1924, over a decade later. Although designed as a work for the stage, with specific passages accompanying characters and action, the music achieved equal if not greater recognition as a concert piece and is widely considered to be one of the most influential musical works of the 20th century. Stravinsky was a young, virtually unknown composer when Diaghilev recruited him to create works for the Ballets Russes. Le Sacre du printemps was the third such major project, after the acclaimed Firebird (1910) and Petrushka (1911). The concept behind The Rite of Spring, developed by Roerich from Stravinsky's outline idea, is suggested by its subtitle, "Pictures of Pagan Russia in Two Parts"; the scenario depicts various primitive rituals celebrating the advent of spring, after which a young girl is chosen as a sacrificial victim and dances herself to death. After a mixed critical reception for its original run and a short London tour, the ballet was not performed again until the 1920s, when a version choreographed by Léonide Massine replaced Nijinsky's original, which saw only eight performances. Massine's was the forerunner of many innovative productions directed by the world's leading choreographers, gaining the work worldwide acceptance. In the 1980s, Nijinsky's original choreography, long believed lost, was reconstructed by the Joffrey Ballet in Los Angeles. Stravinsky's score contains many novel features for its time, including experiments in tonality, metre, rhythm, stress and dissonance. Analysts have noted in the score a significant grounding in Russian folk music, a relationship Stravinsky tended to deny. Regarded as among the first modernist works, the music influenced many of the 20th century's leading composers and is one of the most recorded works in the classical repertoire.
The scenario follows the original ballet’s spring ritual, with three Elders replacing the Sage and the Chosen One’s selection and sacrificial dance moved earlier in the action.
The Runaway is a one-act contemporary ballet choreographed by Kyle Abraham, to music by Nico Muhly, James Blake, Jay-Z and Kanye West, and costumes designed by Giles Deacon. The ballet premiered on September 27, 2018, at the David H. Koch Theater, performed by the New York City Ballet. It is Abraham's first piece for a ballet company, and made him the first black choreographer to work with the company in over a decade.
The Sacrifices to Cupid (AKA L'Offrande à l'Amour or The Offerings to Cupid; ru: "Жертвы Амуру, или Радости любви") is a "grand ballet" in 1 Act/1 scene with choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Ludwig Minkus. The ballet was first presented by the Imperial Ballet on July 22/August 3, 1886, in honour of Empress Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar of Denmark), at Petergof by the Imperial Ballet, and on November 25/December 7 (Julian/Gregorian calendar dates), 1886 at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre. Principal Dancers: Eugeniia Sokolova (as Chloë)
In Ina Lowther’s scenario, a man quarrels with his lover, becomes fascinated by Echo, and is killed by Pan; Pan flees with Echo while the lover grieves.
The Seagull is a ballet in two acts by Rodion Shchedrin based on the 1896 play The Seagull of Anton Chekhov. The authors of the libretto: Rodion Shchedrin and Valery Levental. It was composed in 1980 and premiered on 27 May 1980 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, choreographed by Maya Plisetskaya. With her experience with the ballet Anna Karenina, Plisetskaya created the choreography and performed the title role. After the premiere, ballet critic Natalia Krymova wrote: "Maya Plisetskaya's role in this performance is fully consistent with the spirit of the play and expresses the diversity of emotions so important to the author. Plisetskaya as a choreographer clearly professes what Treplev says: "new forms are needed." Thus, she breaks the traditional canons of ballet, replacing them with pantomime. Personifying Nina Zarechnaya, she dances only what "flows freely from the soul." Plisetskaya's dance in "The Seagull" can rightly be attributed to these words: "the life of the human spirit." A curious event occurs at the Bolshoi premiere. A woman fell asleep in the audience at the orchestra. She dreams that a gas cylinder explodes in her country house and she screams throughout the hall. Hundreds of spectators stared at her, hanging on their boxes. Everyone on stage froze, but the orchestra continued to play. And she screamed when the sound engineer very resolutely imitated a shot at a seagull.
A two-act ballet adaptation of Chekhov’s play. Maya Plisetskaya’s choreography rejects traditional ballet conventions in favor of pantomime and emphasizes the characters’ emotional lives.
The Seasons is a ballet with music by John Cage and choreography by Merce Cunningham, first performed in 1947. It was Cage's first piece for orchestra and also the first to use what Cage later called the gamut technique, albeit in an early form.
An allegorical ballet in four seasonal scenes: winter’s companions vanish when a fire is lit; spring dances with Zephyr and flower fairies; summer’s flowers are rescued from satyrs and fauns by Zephyr; autumn ends in a bacchanal, followed by an apotheosis of stars.
The Seasons' Canon is a contemporary ballet choreographed by Crystal Pite to Max Richter's recomposition of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. The ballet is Pite's first work made for the Paris Opera Ballet, and premiered in 24 September 2016 at the Palais Garnier. Pite won the Prix Benois de la Danse for Best Choreographer.
Two sisters, Anna I and Anna II, travel through seven American cities to earn money for their family’s new house. Each scene confronts Anna II with one of the deadly sins, while Anna I’s practical demands and Anna II’s artistic impulses reveal them as a divided personality.
An orchestral ballet adaptation of Eudora Welty’s children’s novel about a parrot in a shoe store who talks with other birds about shoes.
A one-act ballet divertissement choreographed by Marius Petipa to music by Cesare Pugni.
The Spider's Feast (Le Festin de l'araignée), Op. 17, is a 1912 "ballet-pantomime" with music by the French composer Albert Roussel (1869–1937) to a scenario by Gilbert de Voisins.
The Steadfast Tin Soldier is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Bizet's Jeux d'enfants, based on Hans Christian Andersen's 1838 fairytale of the same name of the love between a tin soldier and a paper-doll ballerina. The ballet premiered on July 30, 1975, at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, with New York City Ballet's Patricia McBride and Peter Schaufuss.
A ballet based on the Ural folk tale The Stone Flower by Pavel Bazhov.
After attending a party, an unnamed man decide to go home by swimming in various pools, only to discover his home is gone. At the end of the ballet, a projection shows a man in the ocean.
The Tale of the Stone Flower, Op. 118 (Сказ о каменном цветке), is Sergei Prokofiev's eighth and last ballet, written between 1948 and 1953. It is based on the Russian Ural folk tale The Stone Flower by Pavel Bazhov and is also the last of the trilogy of ballets Prokofiev wrote in the Russian ballet tradition. It was premiered posthumously in 1954, conducted by Yuri Fayer.
A stage adaptation by Anthony Dowell of Frederick Ashton’s 1971 film ballet based on Beatrix Potter’s animal stories; the stage production uses animal masks and costumes.
The goddess Amravati sends her daughter Niriti to earth to test her heart against mortal love, giving her a talisman for protection. When Maharajah Noureddin finds it, Niriti must remain on earth; she ultimately chooses life with him over returning to heaven.
The setting is Padua, a city in northern Italy, not far from Venice. Three suitors — Hortensio, Lucentio, and Gremio — come to Baptista's house to serenade Bianca, his younger daughter. Baptista declares that Bianca shall not marry until her older sister, Katherina, is wed. An ensuing rumpus is dispelled when Katherina angrily sends everyone packing. In a tavern, a tipsy Petruchio is robbed of his money. Hortensio, Lucentio, and Gremio offer to introduce him to an heiress. He accepts and determines to "wive it wealthily in Padua." At Baptista's house, Petruchio asks for Katherina's hand. After a stormy courtship, she agrees. Bianca's three suitors press their case. Bianca favors Lucentio. The first act culminates at Katherina and Petruchio's wedding, where he arrives late and behaves outrageously. He carries off his bride without waiting for the festivities to begin. At Petruchio's house, the newly wedded couple are at supper, but he does not allow her to eat, protesting that the food is not good enough. She refuses to consummate the marriage and spends the night on the kitchen floor. Then, at a carnival, Lucentio tricks Hortensio and Gremio into marrying two ladies of the street, thus clearing his way to woo Bianca on his own. Petruchio's mockery and trickery continue to provoke Katherina. Eventually she surrenders, and they admit that they love each other. On the way to Bianca's wedding, Petruchio indulges in some whims, but Katherina has learned to humor him. At the wedding, Bianca treats her husband scornfully, but Katherina shows her how a wife is expected to behave. Left alone, she and Petruchio revel in their new-found love.
After a short fanfare, the curtain rises revealing a mill in Andalusia. The miller is trying to teach a pet blackbird to tell the time. He tells the bird to chirp twice, but instead it chirps three times. Annoyed, the miller scolds the bird and tells it to try again. The bird now chirps four times. The miller gets angry at the bird again and his wife offers it a grape. The bird takes the grape and chirps twice. The miller and his wife laugh over this and continue their work. Soon the magistrate, his wife, and their bodyguard pass by, taking their daily walk. The procession goes by and the couple returns to their work. The dandified, but lecherous, magistrate is heard coming back. The miller tells his wife that he will hide and that they will play a trick on the magistrate. The miller hides and the magistrate sees the miller's wife dancing. After her dance, she offers him some grapes. When the magistrate gets the grapes, the miller's wife runs away with the magistrate following her. Finally, he catches her, and the miller jumps out of a bush with a stick. The miller chases the magistrate away and the miller and his wife continue working. That night, guests are at the miller's house. The miller dances to entertain them. His dance is interrupted by the magistrate's bodyguard, who has come to arrest him on trumped-up charges. After the miller is taken away, the guests leave one-by-one. The miller's wife goes to sleep and soon the magistrate comes to the mill. On his way to the door, the magistrate trips and falls in the river. The miller's wife wakes up and runs away. The magistrate undresses, hangs his clothes on a tree, and goes to sleep in the miller's bed. The miller has escaped from prison and sees the magistrate in his bed. The miller thinks that the magistrate is sleeping with his wife and plans to switch clothes with the magistrate and avenge himself by seducing the magistrate's wife. The miller leaves, dressed as the magistrate, and the magistrate soon wakes up. He goes outside and sees that his clothes are gone, so he dresses in the miller's clothes. The bodyguard comes and sees the magistrate dressed as the miller and goes to arrest him. The miller's wife sees the bodyguard fighting with what looks like her husband and joins in the fight. The miller comes back and sees his wife in the fight and joins it to protect her. The magistrate explains the entire story and the ballet ends with the miller's guests tossing the magistrate up and down in a blanket.
The Times Are Racing is a one-act ballet by Justin Peck, to "USA I-IV" from Dan Deacon's album America, with costumes designed by Humberto Leon from the fashion label Opening Ceremony and lighting design by Brandon Stirling Baker. It premiered on January 26, 2017 at the David H. Koch Theater, danced by the New York City Ballet.
The Triumph of Death is a Danish ballet from 1971 with choreography by Flemming Flindt and music by Thomas Koppel recorded by The Savage Rose. Libretto by Flemming Flindt, based on Eugène Ionesco's play Jeux de massacre.
The Two Stars or The Stars or The Two Little Stars (aka Les Deux étoiles) is an Anacreontic ballet in 1 act, with choreography by Marius Petipa, and music by Cesare Pugni. Libretto by Marius Petipa, based on an ancient Greek myth. First presented by the Imperial Ballet on January 31/February 6 (Julian/Gregorian calendar dates), 1871 at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia. Principal Dancers- Ekaterina Vazem (as the First Star), Alexandra Virginia (as The Second Star), and Pavel Gerdt (as Apollo)
A ballet by Eliot Feld set to seven works by Charles Ives, including The Unanswered Question, Calcium Light Night, From the Housatonic at Stockbridge, and Remembrance.
The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude is a ballet choreographed by William Forsythe to the finale of Schubert's Symphony No. 9. The ballet was choreographed for 's programme Six Counter Points, and was presented as a ballet "in the Manner of the late 20th Century." Danced by a cast of five, the ballet features classical and technically demanding choreography. It premiered on 20 January 1996, at Frankfurt. It had since been performed by many other ballet companies.
Lise and Colas are in love and want to marry. However, the Widow Simone wants Lise to marry the dimwitted, but extremely rich, Alain, and has arranged (with Alain's father Thomas) for a marriage contract between Lise and Alain. The Widow Simone does her best to keep Lise and Colas apart, but is unsuccessful in her attempts to do so. At harvest time the Widow Simone and Lise are taken to the field for a picnic lunch by Thomas and Alain. The farm workers join in a ribbon dance around a maypole, and the girls also join in a clog dance with the Widow Simone. There is a thunderstorm and everyone rushes for shelter. Alain is carried away on the wind by his open umbrella. The Widow Simone and Lise return to their home. The widow wants Lise to sit down at the spinning wheel and spin, but Lise spins while she is up dancing, nearly strangling the widow. After a while, the widow wants Lise to dance, and Lise shows signs of unhappiness, but obliges. The widow takes a tambourine to play in time with Lise's dancing. When the widow is asleep, Lise tries to steal the key from the widow's pocket, to prevent the widow from locking her in, but is unsuccessful. The crops are brought in by the farm workers, and the widow then leaves the house (after locking the door behind her to prevent Lise from leaving the house). Lise thinks about Colas and mimes being the mother of a large number of children. To her embarrassment, Colas suddenly rises from the stacked crops. At the sound of the Widow Simone's returning to the house, Lise and Colas look around desperately for a place where he can hide. Not finding anywhere suitable in the living room, Lise takes Colas to her room, and she returns to the living room just before Widow Simone enters the house. The Widow Simone orders Lise to go to her room and put on her wedding dress for her forthcoming marriage to Alain. The horrified Lise tries to remain where she is, but the Widow Simone pushes Lise into her room and locks the door. Thomas arrives with his son Alain (who is still clutching his umbrella). They are accompanied by a notary who is to act as witness to the marriage. The farm workers (friends of both Lise and Colas) also arrive. The Widow Simone gives Alain the key to Lise's room. When Alain unlocks the door to Lise's room, Lise appears in her wedding dress, accompanied by Colas. Thomas and Alain take offence, and the enraged Thomas tears up the marriage contract. Thomas, Alain and the notary leave the house in dudgeon. Lise and Colas then beg the Widow Simone to look favourably upon their suit. Love conquers all and the widow relents. Joyfully celebrating the happy outcome for Lise and Colas, everyone leaves, and the house is left quiet and empty, until Alain returns for his umbrella which he had accidentally left behind. So Alain is also happy with the love of his life – his umbrella.
The Whims of the Butterfly (also known as The Caprices of a Butterfly, or Les Caprices du Papillon) is a ballet in 1 act, with choreography by Marius Petipa, and music by Nikolai Krotkov. Libretto by Marius Petipa, based on the poem The Grasshopper Musician by Yakov Polonsky. First presented by the Imperial Ballet on June 5/17 (Julian/Gregorian calendar dates), 1889 for the Imperial court at the theatre of Peterhof Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. The ballet was given a second premiere for the general public at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre on October 25/November 6, 1889 with the same cast. Principal Dancers - Varvara Nikitina (as the Butterfly), Pavel Gerdt (as the Phoenix Moth), Sergei Litavki (as the Grasshopper), Maria Anderson (as the Fly), Alexander Shiraev (as the Spider), and Sergei Legat (as the Nightingale).
The Winter's Tale is a ballet in three acts choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon to a commissioned score by Joby Talbot. The ballet is based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare. With scenery and costumes designed by Bob Crowley, lighting designed by Natasha Katz, and special stage effects designed by Daniel Brodie and Basil Twist, it was a co-production of the Royal Ballet and the National Ballet of Canada. It was first presented at the Royal Opera House, London, on 10 April 2014. The North American premiere occurred the following year.
A one-act ballet based on the biblical Parable of the Ten Virgins. Ashton selected movements from Bach cantatas and chorale preludes, including Sheep May Safely Graze, to accompany the story.
The Witch is a ballet made by John Cranko to Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto in G Major (1931). The premiere took place Friday, 18 August 1950 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London.
A prince falls in love with a princess, but is stopped from reaching her by a fairy who makes a forest and a stream rise against him. To attract the princess' attention, the prince hangs his cloak on a staff and fixes a crown and locks of his hair to it. The princess catches sight of this "wooden prince" and comes to dance with it. The fairy brings the wooden prince to life and the princess goes away with that instead of the real prince, who falls into despair. The fairy takes pity on him as he sleeps, dresses him in finery and reduces the wooden prince to lifelessness again. The princess returns and is finally united with the human prince.
Theme and Variations is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to the final movement of Tchaikovsky's Orchestral Suite No. 3. The ballet was created for Ballet Theatre (now American Ballet Theatre), and first performed in 1947. The ballet was greeted as a masterpiece at its premiere, has been staged since then by ballet companies around the world, and has remained a favorite of both critics and audiences. In 1970, Balanchine incorporated Theme and Variations into Suite No. 3 (now titled Tschaikovsky Suite No. 3), performed by the New York City Ballet, though Theme and Variations continues to be performed on its own as well.
A ballet set to songs by Richard Rodgers, arranged by Glen Kelly and orchestrated by Don Sebesky. The music is performed by an onstage trio and two singers.
A ballet by Mark Morris set to George Gershwin’s Three Preludes, created for Morris’s company and presented as a piece d’occasion by New York City Ballet.
Tiresias enters on a scene of young girls engaged in vaulting over the horn of bull. After a solo and a dance for Tiresias and male corps de ballet, priestesses and a young virgin come on the scene. The Neophyte gives him a wand and departs. Tiresias spots two snakes copulating and in a rage he strikes the female snake with his staff and is thus changed into a woman. Following a pastoral interlude, shepherds and shepherdesses enter and dance with Tiresias. Her lover appears, and they dance a climactic pas de deux. Then there is a bacchanale celebrating their happiness, at the end of which two snakes enters, engaged as before. Tiresias strikes the male snake with her staff, and is restored to his original self. Another interlude transforms the scene to a palace courtyard where Zeus and Hera are arguing whether men or women get most pleasure in sex. Called to be judge Tiresias declares that women do, and Hera angrily blinds him, but Zeus bestows the gift of prophecy on Tiresias and he departs.
Tom Sawyer: A Ballet in Three Acts premiered on October 14, 2011 at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Missouri. The score is by composer Maury Yeston, with choreography by William Whitener, artistic director of the Kansas City Ballet. The ballet is based on Mark Twain's 1876 novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. A review by Alastair Macaulay in The New York Times observed: "It’s quite likely that this is the first all-new, entirely American three-act ballet. It is based on an American literary classic, has an original score by an American composer and was given its premiere by an American choreographer and company... both the score and the choreography are energetic, robust, warm, deliberately naïve (both ornery and innocent), in ways right for Twain. Paul Horsely in Dance Magazine writes “Tom Sawyer is an inventive amalgam of ballet, folk dance, pantomime, comedy, games, and narrative. It’s also injected with the youthful playfulness that has been Whitener’s signature in works like Gingham Shift, the piece that brought Whitener to Yeston’s attention. 'We’re focusing on a boy’s passage from childhood to his teenage years,' Whitener says, 'and taking responsibility when he and Becky are trapped in the cave—having to grow up quickly.' The ballet is also about “the power of the Mississippi and the grandeur of the great outdoors—and the charm and vitality of youth.” The design team were all Americans as well, consisting of Holly Hynes, (Costumes), Walt Spangler (Set) and Kirk Bookman (Lighting). A two-disc 90-minute premiere recording of the complete score was recorded at Skywalker Sound with Martin West conducting the seventy-piece San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, and released on the PS Classics label on August 27, 2013. The first act musically depicts the sunny days of Tom in school, his infatuation with Becky Thatcher, and rafting on the river with Huck Finn. The second reveals the boys' witnessing a murder and a frame up at midnight in the cemetery, and the third dramatizes Tom's exonerating testimony at the trial of Muff Potter, and his subsequent discovery of gold in a cave, leading to an ultimate town celebration along the Mississippi. Yeston has subsequently created a 21-minute long Tom Sawyer Suite as a Pops Orchestra offering. Upon hearing the score William Whitener, Artistic Director of Kansas City Ballet, agreed to choreograph and mount the production, saying "When I first heard Maury Yeston's score for Tom Sawyer, I realized that we had a grand opportunity to bring this classic story to life as a dance-drama. The wit and beauty within Mr. Yeston's music, and the charm and playfulness of Mark Twain's novel make an ideal match for a ballet".
A David Parsons ballet for New York City Ballet set to music by Richard Peaslee.
Trapèze (Трапе́ция) is a ballet by Sergei Prokofiev. Closely related to his Quintet, Op. 39 (1924), it contains eight movements (in five parts) and lasts 20–25 minutes. The complete ballet in eight movements was first performed in Gotha, a German town near Hanover, on 6 November 1925.
A ballet adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer’s book, created by choreographer Wayne McGregor with composer Jamie xx and visual artist Olafur Eliasson.
Inspired in part by Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire and his observations and experiences during the First World War, Oskar Schlemmer began to conceive of the human body as a new artistic medium. He saw ballet and pantomime as free from the historical baggage of theatre and opera and thus able to present his ideas of choreographed geometry, man as dancer, transformed by costume, moving in space. The idea of the ballet was based on the principle of the trinity. It has 3 acts, 3 participants (2 male, 1 female), 12 dances and 18 costumes. Each act had a different colour and mood. The first three scenes, against a lemon yellow background to affect a cheerful, burlesque mood; the two middle scenes, on a pink stage, festive and solemn and the final three scenes, on black, were intended to be mystical and fantastic. He saw the movement of puppets and marionettes as aesthetically superior to that of humans, as it emphasised that the medium of every art is artificial. This artifice could be expressed through stylised movements and the abstraction of the human body. His consideration of the human form (the abstract geometry of the body e.g. a cylinder for the neck, a circle for head and eyes) led to the all-important costume design, to create what he called his ‘figurine'. The music followed and finally the dance movements were decided. Schlemmer saw the modern world driven by two main currents, the mechanised (man as machine and the body as a mechanism) and the primordial impulses (the depths of creative urges). He claimed that the choreographed geometry of dance offered a synthesis, the Dionysian and emotional origins of dance, becomes strict and Apollonian in its final form.
A ballet by Robert La Fosse and Robert Garland set to Mozart’s Divertimento No. 11 in D, K. 251.
A ballet by Christopher d’Amboise created for the School of American Ballet workshop, set to selections from Bach’s keyboard works and concertos. The listed program also includes a movement from Alessandro Marcello’s Oboe Concerto in D minor, arranged for piano by Bach.
A New York City Ballet work made by Jerome Robbins, Peter Martins, and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, conceived and supervised by George Balanchine, to music by Georges Auric.
Trilby is a ballet in 2 acts and 3 scenes. It was the final ballet that Marius Petipa choreographed and staged for the Imperial Bolshoi Ballet during the two years he was commissioned to create new works for the Moscow stage. And the music was by Yuli Gerber. Libretto by Marius Petipa, based on the 1822 novella Trilby, ou Le Lutin d'Argail by Charles Nodier. The ballet was first presented by the Ballet of the Moscow Imperial Bolshoi Theatre on January 25/February 6 (Julian/Gregorian calendar dates), 1870, in Moscow with Polina Karpakova as Trilby and Ludiia Geiten as Miranda. It was later restaged by Petipa for the Imperial Ballet at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre on January 17–29, 1871 in St. Petersburg with Adèle Grantzow as Trilby and Lev Ivanov as Count Leopold. Petipa made a more direct adaptation of Nodier’s novella. The famous variation for the male dancer in the Le Corsaire pas de deux is from Gerber's score for Trilby; a painting of dancers from the ballet in costume (as fledglings emerging from the shell) by Viktor Hartmann was one of the paintings which inspired Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky.
A Christopher d’Amboise ballet set to Béla Bartók’s Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, created for New York City Ballet’s Diamond Project.
Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to a composition by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky originally intended for act 3 of Swan Lake (Op. 20, 1875–76). With costumes by Barbara Karinska and lighting by Jack Owen Brown, it was first presented by New York City Ballet at the City Center of Music and Drama, New York, on 29 March 1960. Robert Irving conducted the New York City Ballet Orchestra. The dancers were Violette Verdy and Conrad Ludlow.
Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2, also titled Ballet Imperial, is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 2. Ballet Imperial was choreographed for American Ballet Caravan's 1941 South American tour, and was aimed at showing that the Americans were capable of the classical ballet traditions. The ballet pays tribute to Tchaikovsky, the classical ballet choreographer Marius Petipa, and Imperial Saint Petersburg, where Balanchine received his ballet training. The ballet featured academic steps and alludes to Imperial Russia through the costumes and scenery. Ballet Imperial premiered on June 25, 1941, at Teatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro. In 1973, Balanchine, believing the audience no longer needed elaborate costumes and scenery to understand a ballet, removed all allusions to Imperial Russia and renamed it Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2, with the ballet now standing in relation to the music alone. The ballet has been performed by several ballet companies, including Balanchine's New York City Ballet, though some troupes still perform the ballet as Ballet Imperial, including American Ballet Theatre.
A Balanchine ballet set to Tchaikovsky’s Suite No. 3 for Orchestra in G major. Its fourth and final movement incorporates the choreography of Theme and Variations, which Balanchine had created in 1947.
Created for Barnard College dance students as an homage to George Balanchine, the ballet opens with a series of solos, followed by a pas de deux and a finale. Its score is Mozart’s Variations on “Ah vous dirai-je, Maman,” also known as “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”
A Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux ballet for New York City Ballet’s Diamond Project, set to two poems from the Song dynasty and “Chi Lin’s Dance” from Bright Sheng’s Flute Moon.
Translated to English as Telemachus on the Island of Calypso, the French ballet is based on the story from Greek mythology where Telemachus, the son of Odysseus, visits the island of Calypso. Act I opens on Calypso's island, where a storm subsides. Mentor and Telemachus, survivors of a shipwreck, arrive on the shore, mourning their lost companions. Mentor warns of the island’s dangers, but Calypso and her nymphs greet them warmly. Calypso, recognizing Telemachus as Odysseus's son, takes a special interest in him. She organizes games, where nymph Eucharis wins multiple contests and captures Telemachus’s attention. Despite Mentor’s warnings, Telemachus is drawn to her. Calypso confesses her love and offers him immortality. The act ends with festivities fading into the night. The second act begins with Telemachus sleeping in a garden, and Calypso, in love, has nymphs prepare a garland for him. He meets Eucharis and, though charmed, remains cautious. Meanwhile, Venus grants Calypso Cupid’s power, causing romantic confusion among the nymphs. Telemachus and Eucharis's attraction deepens, leading to a passionate exchange. Mentor manipulates Calypso's jealousy to help Telemachus escape. Reluctantly, Calypso allows his departure, and preparations for a ship are made. The act ends with Calypso’s anguish and ominous threats to Eucharis. In act III, Eucharis prepares for a hunt in her grotto, with help from Venus, Love, and the Graces. Calypso, disguised as Diana, confronts her out of jealousy, but Telemachus steps in to protect her. Calypso hesitates to act. Mentor, disguised as Minerva, completes a ship to take Telemachus away. Love and the nymphs seduce Telemachus back into Eucharis's arms, causing him to change his mind. Calypso, pretending to repent, manipulates them into hiding Eucharis on the ship. The ship is set ablaze by Bacchantes, but Love rescues Eucharis. As the ship burns, Telemachus and Mentor jump into the sea, and the curtain falls on the chaos.
A contemporary dance work for eight dancers, built from small choreographic units and ensemble movement. Gallotta described it as balancing abstract and theatrical tendencies, drawing on the figures of Homer’s Odyssey and James Joyce’s Ulysses.
Balanchine’s celebration of British musical traditions uses Scottish military tattoos and folk-dance forms, hornpipes, sea songs, work chants, jigs, and music-hall songs. At the finale, the ensemble spells “God Save the Queen” in semaphore as the Union Jack unfurls.
A one-act Royal Ballet work by Kenneth MacMillan, set to excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s Hamlet and Souvenir de Florence and Martinů’s Double Concerto. Its story is loosely based on Giorgio Bassani’s novel The Garden of the Finzi-Continis.
A Peter Martins ballet set to Sibelius’s Valse triste and “Scene with Cranes” from his incidental music for Kuolema. The crane is described as a symbol of death in Finnish literature.
A New York City Ballet work by George Balanchine set to Igor Stravinsky’s Variations: Aldous Huxley in memoriam (1963–64). Balanchine created a new version for the 1982 Stravinsky Centennial Celebration.
George Balanchine’s final ballet, set to Igor Stravinsky’s Variations: Aldous Huxley in memoriam (1963–64).
Frederick Ashton’s commemorative ballet is set in the garden of William Walton’s home on Ischia. It depicts a mild flirtation between La Capricciosa and Lo Straniero.
A ballet conceived as dance visions from two centuries. Choreographers Pia and Pino Mlakar proposed reconstructing choreography from Couperin's era using Feuillet's Chorégraphie; Richard Strauss composed additional dances and incidental music.
The ballet begins with a male lead dancing and interacting with an onstage piano; musicians and dancers are gradually added, forming supple group shapes. The work is described as witty and neo-Futurist, neo-Dada, and neo-Absurdist.
An eight-tableau patriotic ballet celebrating Britain and Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. Its historical scenes move from Druid rites in Ancient Britain through Elizabethan May Day, Herne’s hunt, Charles II-era Christmas revels and Victoria’s coronation to a final tableau of British and colonial troops, sailors, and Britannia. The score combines English tunes and Sullivan’s music.
Vienna Waltzes is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to music by Johann Strauss II, Franz Lehár and Richard Strauss, made as a tribute to Austria. It premiered on June 23, 1977 at the New York State Theater, performed by the New York City Ballet, and was an immediate success among the public.
Subtitled Theme and Variations, the ballet was danced in nine sections: Vision, Toil, Famine, Blasphemy, Ruthlessness, Pestilence, Mourning, Prayer and Death. Graham did not appear in the dance, which was performed by Kitty Reese and company members. Each episode was intended to reflect the emotional experiences of "a young monk contemplating the sorrows of the world." Elevated on a platform above stage level, Reese portrayed the monk, reacting to the dancers below by means of pantomime. The chorus was costumed in black and gray, which combined with the "wooden impersonality and drive" of its movements, created a sinister mood.
Voices of Spring is a short pas de deux ballet by Sir Frederick Ashton, set to the music of the Frühlingsstimmen waltz by Johann Strauss II. It was originally written to be included as a divertissement in a 1977–78 production of Strauss's operetta Die Fledermaus by the Royal Opera, alongside an adaptation of the Explosions-Polka, and first performed as an independent piece by the Royal Ballet in late 1978.
Set to Gounod's ballet music from Faust, this ballet builds on the joyful revelry of Walpurgisnacht, the folk celebration before May Day, when the dead are said to wander briefly.
Watermill is a ballet choreographed by Jerome Robbins when he was balletmaster at the New York City Ballet and set to a musical piece written a year earlier by Teiji Ito (also entitled “Watermill”), with costumes by Patricia Zipprodt, lighting by Jennifer Tipton and décor by Robbins in association with Davie Reppa. The ballet premiered on Thursday, February 3, 1972, at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center.
West Side Story Suite is a ballet suite choreographed by Jerome Robbins. Robbins conceived, directed and choreographed the 1957 musical West Side Story, then co-directed its 1961 film adaptation, before including parts of the choreography in the anthology Jerome Robbins' Broadway. Robbins developed the latter to the ballet West Side Story Suite for the New York City Ballet, which premiered on May 18, 1995, at the New York State Theater.
Western Symphony is a ballet made by New York City Ballet co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine to American folk tunes arranged by Hershy Kay. It premiered on September 7, 1954 at the City Center of Music and Drama in New York. The ballet was originally presented in practice clothes without scenery. Scenery by John Boyt and costumes by Karinska were added in 1955. Lighting was originally by Jean Rosenthal and subsequently Mark Stanley. Set in the Western United States, the ballet features cowboys and dance hall girls (or saloon girls).
Who Cares? is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to songs by George Gershwin that were orchestrated by Hershy Kay. The ballet is split in two parts, the first danced by an ensemble, and the second focuses on four principal dancers. Who Cares? premiered on February 5, 1970, at the New York State Theater, danced by the New York City Ballet.
A New York City Ballet work choreographed by Benjamin Millepied to Thierry Escaich's commissioned score The Lost Dancer.
Eliza's wicked stepmother turns her eleven brothers into swans. To break the spell and restore them, Eliza must knit magic shirts from stinging nettles.
Olga, the eldest of the three sisters, is the matriarchal figure of the Prozorov family, though she is still a young woman. She has given up hope of marriage and has dedicated herself to the exhausting life of a high-school teacher. Masha, the middle sister, finds herself trapped in an unbearable marriage to a boring schoolmaster. She falls passionately in love, for the first time, with the idealistic Colonel Vershinin, the commander of the local army garrison. They begin a clandestine affair. When he is transferred away, she is crushed but returns to life with her forgiving husband. Irina, the youngest sister, has a romantic view of life. While longing for the excitement of Moscow, she works in a dreary job with the local town council. Just as she is about to escape to a marriage of convenience with Baron Tusenbach, he is killed in a duel with a rival suitor. The sisters' brother, Andrey, is married to Natasha, a social climber who has ambitions of taking over the family home. Observing the passions and disappointments of them all are Doctor Chebutykin, a family friend, and Anfisa, the sisters' former nanny.
Within the Golden Hour is a one-act contemporary ballet choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, composed by Ezio Bosso and featured music by Antonio Vivaldi. The ballet premiered in 2008 at the War Memorial Opera House, danced by the San Francisco Ballet.
A Robert La Fosse ballet set to Edward MacDowell's 1896 musical work of the same title, created for New York City Ballet's American Music Festival.
Woolf Works is a full-length contemporary ballet choreographed by Wayne McGregor, composed by Max Richter, and inspired by Virginia Woolf's novels, letters, essays and diaries. The premiere took place on 11 May 2015 at the Royal Opera House. It was McGregor's first full-length ballet for The Royal Ballet, and won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production.
A ballet set to John Adams's Violin Concerto, commissioned jointly by the Minnesota Orchestra and New York City Ballet. Since June 1995, it has been performed as the third movement of Peter Martins's Adams Violin Concerto ballet.
Year of the Rabbit is a ballet choreographed by Justin Peck to music from Sufjan Stevens's album, Enjoy Your Rabbit. The ballet premiered on October 5, 2012, at the David H. Koch Theater, danced by the New York City Ballet.
Yugen is a one-act ballet by Wayne McGregor, to Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms. The ballet premiered on 15 March 2018 at the Royal Opera House, danced by The Royal Ballet.
A Peter Martins ballet set to four pieces: Rachmaninoff's Vocalise, Parasha's Song from Stravinsky's Mavra, the fourth of Prokofiev's Cinq Mélodies, and Tchaikovsky's Valse-Scherzo.
A pas de deux created for Richard Rodgers's musical On Your Toes, where it was titled La Princesse Zenobia Ballet. Balanchine used it to parody Oriental-style ballets such as Schéhérazade.
Zoraiya, the Moorish Girl in Spain is a grand ballet in 4 acts/7 scenes, with choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Ludwig Minkus. The ballet was first presented by the Imperial Ballet on February 1/13 (Julian/Gregorian calendar dates), 1881 at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Balanchine's neoclassical ballet is set to Stravinsky's solo viola composition. The first version was a pas de deux; a later version was a solo, and a third version returned to a pas de deux.
Études is a one-act ballet choreographed by Danish dancer and choreographer Harald Lander to piano studies by Carl Czerny arranged for orchestra by Knudåge Riisager. It is considered Lander's most famous choreographic work and brought him international fame. The work premiered on 15 January 1948 at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen with the Royal Danish Ballet, with scenery and costumes by Rolf Gerard and lighting by Nananne Porcher. Études is considered an homage to classical ballet training. It begins with traditional ballet exercises at the barre and ends with spectacular bravura displays. The original cast included: Margot Lander, Hans Brenaa, Svend Erik Jensen, Inge Sand and Inge Goth. Its ABT premiere at the 54th Street Theatre in New York took place on 5 October 1961 and featured dancers Toni Lander, Royes Fernandez, Bruce Marks, Eleanor D'Antuono and Elisabeth Carroll.
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