673 shows
Clear filters
Giselle falls for a young man she believes to be a fellow villager, unaware that he is a nobleman with another life. When the deception is revealed, their story passes into a supernatural realm ruled by the Wilis. Adolphe Adam’s score accompanies a ballet about betrayal, devotion, and mercy.
At a Christmas celebration, a young girl receives a wooden nutcracker from the mysterious Drosselmeyer. As night falls, the familiar room becomes a place of battles, transformation, and wonder. Set to Tchaikovsky’s score, the ballet travels from a family party into an enchanted world of snow and sweets.
The fairy Carabosse curses Princess Aurora, but the Lilac Fairy softens the spell into a sleep lasting a hundred years. A prince’s journey offers the possibility of an awakening. Tchaikovsky and Petipa’s fairytale ballet brings together courtly celebration, opposing magical powers, and a story of enduring hope.
A ballet created for students of the School of American Ballet, set to Johann Sebastian Bach's Inventions and Sinfonias, BWV 772–801.
A Fairy Tale or A Magic Tale (Un Conte de fées), a ballet fantastique, was a ballet in one act choreographed by Marius Petipa to music by (?) Richter. The ballet was first presented as an examination piece by students of the Imperial Ballet School on April 4/16 (Julian/Gregorian calendar dates), 1891, in the theatre of the Imperial Ballet School, St. Petersburg, Russia. Anna Pavlova participated in this ballet when she was ten years old during her first year as a student at the Imperial Ballet School. It was the first ballet she ever danced in at the Mariinsky Theatre. (Her last performance at the Mariinsky would be as Nikiya in La Bayadère in 1914.)
Birthe flirts with Mogens while her betrothed Ove remains behind near an elf-hill. Enchanted by elf maidens, Ove is rescued by Hilda, who discovers she is a human changeling raised among trolls. After Hilda and Ove reunite, Mogens marries Birthe, revealed to be the troll child, and Hilda and Ove celebrate their wedding.
A Marriage During the Regency (Un Mariage sous la Régence, Брак во времена регентства) is a ballet in 2 acts, with libretto and choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Cesare Pugni. The ballet was first presented by the Imperial Ballet on December 18/30 (Julian/Gregorian calendar dates), 1858, at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. Principal dancers: Mariia Surovshchikova-Petipa (as the Countess Matilda) and Christian Johansson (as the Count), Timofei Stukolkin, Marfa Muravyova, Anna Prikhunova, and Lev Ivanov. In 1870 Marius Petipa restaged this ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre.
The first act follows Shakespeare's familiar story of lovers and fairies. The second act is a classical wedding celebration, omitting Shakespeare's play-within-a-play finale.
At a Russian country house in 1850, Natalia falls for Belaiev, her son's young tutor. A series of relationships and pas de deux lead to Belaiev's departure after the household discovers their embraces. Natalia despairs, but Belaiev returns unseen to leave her the rose she gave him.
Melissa Barak’s ballet to Benjamin Britten’s 1934 Simple Symphony for string orchestra, inspired by Balanchine’s La source and Raymonda Variations. Barak also designed the women’s costumes.
A Suite of Dances is a ballet choreographed by Jerome Robbins to Johann Sebastian Bach's Cello Suites. The ballet was created for Mikhail Baryshnikov and premiered on March 3, 1994, at the New York State Theater.
A couturier despairs when his work is disliked and kills himself with a pair of scissors. The ballet drew inspiration from the story of chef François Vatel, who died by suicide after a delayed fish delivery for a royal banquet.
In this five-scene ballet based on the Faust legend, a female devil persuades Faust to trade his soul for sexual fulfillment and renewed youth. After Faust falls in love with Marguerite, he tears up the contract; both die as a result.
Adagio Hammerklavier is a ballet choreographed by Hans van Manen to the Adagio from Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 29, Hammerklavier. The ballet is plotless and danced by three couples. Van Manen made Adagio Hammerklavier for the Dutch National Ballet, and it premiered on 4 October 1973, at the Stadsschouwburg, Amsterdam.
The ballet is an allegory of the cycle of man’s life; the world in which he lives is represented by a stage on which a ballet is being created: Adam is cast as the principal dancer, Omnipotence is represented by the Stage Director and Adam’s Fates by the Designer, Wardrobe Mistress and Dresser. Adam falls in love, marries, and achieves power, but his triumph is brief; his world crumbles about him, he is stripped of his glory, and a new generation (Understudy) takes his place. He seeks distraction in dissipation but everyone deserts him and he is left alone to face Death.
A 'space age quintet' ballet set to John Adams's 1994 Violin Concerto. The concerto's third movement had previously been performed as the separate ballet X-Ray.
Adolescence (Prelude and Song) was an early modern dance solo choreographed by Martha Graham to music by Paul Hindemith. It premiered on March 2, 1929, at the Booth Theatre in New York City. The all-solo program included two other new works, Danza and Resurrection, and eight previously performed pieces: Dance, Immigrant, Valses Sentimentales, Four Insincerities, Tanagra, Two Variations from Sonatina, Fragilité and Fragments. Seattle's Week Town Crier described the work as depicting youth, "curious, yearning, fearful, swept away by strange visions and dreams. A very difficult, complex thing made sweepingly beautiful by its utter simplicity and sincerity." Dance Magazines reviewer called the solo "delicate and sensitive." The New York Times critic wrote, "The dancer has achieved an exquisite result. Simple and stark in design, it is at the same time warm and tender in mood, childishly frank and yet deft and penetrating. It is the happiest use Miss Graham has yet made of her economy of movement, and perhaps the least inclined in the direction of ugliness."
A ballet set to Ravel's orchestration of Valses nobles et sentimentales, an eight-waltz suite.
After the Rain is a ballet choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon on New York City Ballet to music of Arvo Pärt, including Tabula Rasa (first movement, Ludus) and Spiegel im Spiegel. The ballet premiered on January 22, 2005, at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center. The final pas de deux is commonly performed separately from the remainder of the ballet.
Afternoon of a Faun is a neoclassical ballet choreographed by Jerome Robbins to Claude Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune. The ballet features two young dancers meeting at a rehearsal studio. Robbins was influenced by Stéphane Mallarmé's poem L'après-midi d'un faune, the inspiration for Debussy's score, as well as Vaslav Nijinsky's 1912 ballet to the same score, and his own observation of dancers. The ballet was made for the New York City Ballet, and premiered on May 14, 1953, at the City Center of Music and Drama, with the two roles of the ballet originated by Tanaquil Le Clercq and Francisco Moncion. Afternoon of a Faun has since been performed by various other ballet companies.
A faun/dancer capers and bathes within three pools of light that appear successively at center, left and right stage. The setting differs from Nijinsky's version and uses similar costuming.
Agon is a 25-minute ballet for twelve dancers, with music by Igor Stravinsky and choreography by George Balanchine. It was recognized as a landmark at its premiere and has continued to be regarded as such ever since. The score was commissioned by the New York City Ballet. Stravinsky began composition in December 1953 but was interrupted the next year; he resumed work in 1956 and concluded on April 27, 1957. The music was premiered in Los Angeles at UCLA's Royce Hall on June 17, 1957, conducted by Robert Craft. Stravinsky himself conducted the sessions for the work's first recording the following day. Agon was first performed on stage by the City Ballet at the City Center of Music and Drama on November 27, 1957. The composition's long gestation period covers an interesting juncture in Stravinsky's composing career, in which he moved from a diatonic musical idiom to one based on twelve-tone technique; the score thus demonstrates a unique symbiosis of musical idioms. The work's title, agon, is a Greek word that means “contest," “protagonist," “anguish” or “struggle." The ballet has no story, but consists of a series of dance movements in which various groups of dancers interact in pairs, trios, quartets, etc. A number of the movements are based on 17th-century French court dances – saraband, galliard and bransle. Agon was immediately hailed as a groundbreaking triumph. John Martin in The New York Times described the choreography as "complex, ingenious and fantastically off the beaten path formally," and the music as "a marvelous piece of consistent construction." Edwin Denby, writing a short while after the premiere, reported that the work had been "given an enormous ovation last winter by the opening-night audience. The balcony stood up shouting and whistling when the choreographer took his bow. Downstairs, people came out into the lobby, their eyes bright as if the piece had been champagne. Marcel Duchamp, the painter, said he felt the way he had after the opening of Le Sacre. At later performances, Agon continued to be vehemently applauded." Alastair Macaulay, in a Times article marking the premiere's 50th anniversary, characterized the work as "astounding, full of shapes, phrases, rhythms, sounds that hadn't been encountered before but embodied New York modernism itself.... Arlene Croce, later dance critic of The New Yorker, said she did not sleep for a week." During the years since it was introduced, Agon has remained in the City Ballet repertoire, has been performed all over the world, and is regularly described using language such as "an instant classic," "Balanchine's 1957 masterpiece," and "one of the greatest of Balanchine's achievements."
Alice's parents are holding a garden party. She is very upset to see her friend Jack, the gardener's boy, dismissed by her mother on a false charge of stealing a jam tart. Lewis Carroll, a friend of the family, is present and to console her he offers to take her photograph. Alice is surprised to see him emerge from his camera cloth as a White Rabbit and when he disappears into his camera bag she follows him and falls down into Wonderland. She sees a magical garden which she cannot enter because all the doors are locked. Jack appears, transformed into the Knave of Hearts, and accused by the Queen of Hearts of stealing a tray of tarts. He is fleeing from her, her guards and the White Rabbit. Alice tries to follow but the door closes before her. She is too big to get through the only unlocked door. She is given a bottle and when she drinks from it she becomes too small to reach the door handle. She then successively becomes very large and so small that she can swim, together with various animals, in a lake formed by her tears. After this, she arranges a race to dry them off. The White Rabbit then leads her further into Wonderland, where she is given a piece of paper inviting a Duchess to attend the Queen of Hearts' croquet party. Alice carries the invitation into a cottage, where she finds the Duchess nursing a baby while a cook makes sausages. The duchess is delighted at the invitation, while the cook is resentful, and the atmosphere becomes violent apart from an interval when a mysterious Cheshire Cat appears. Alice tries to protect the baby, but it turns into a pig and the Duchess takes it to be turned into sausages. The White Rabbit reappears, and then the Knave, who is carrying the tarts and pursued by the Queen's guards. The White Rabbit conceals them and then has to go to the garden party. Alice wants to go with him but the White Rabbit and Knave agree that it is too dangerous for her to be in the presence of the bad-tempered Queen and blindfold her to stop her. Alice asks the Cheshire Cat for directions where to go, but his instructions are vague and confusing. She then finds herself at the tea party of a Mad Hatter, a March Hare and a Dormouse. She escapes and then finds herself alone and lost, but her spirits are lifted by a caterpillar perched on a mushroom, who gives her a piece of mushroom. She eats the mushroom and the doors and walls disappear so that at last she is able to enter the magic garden. The Knave appears, still pursued by the Queen and her guards, and he escapes, followed by the White Rabbit and Alice. Alice is in the Queen's garden, and she finds the gardeners painting the roses red, as they have mistakenly planted white ones even though the Queen detests them. The Queen arrives, together with the King, the Duchess and the cook. The gardeners have not finished painting the roses and the Queen orders their execution. Alice and the White Rabbit smuggle the gardeners away while the executioner is distracted by the seductive cook. The Queen shows off her skill at dancing, after which she plays croquet with the Duchess. Flamingos are the mallets and hedgehogs the balls. The knave has taken a great risk to be with Alice and they are reunited. The Duchess is much better than the Queen at croquet, who resorts to cheating. The Duchess challenges the Queen, who orders her execution, but Alice helps the Duchess to escape while the King calms the Queen down. The Knave is again reunited with Alice but he is caught and the Queen orders him to be taken to the castle to stand trial. The Cheshire Cat reappears and Alice follows the Knave to the castle. At the trial, the witnesses accuse the Knave. The King insists that the Knave is heard in his own defence, but this produces little effect and so Alice intervenes, and together they win over everyone but the Queen, who seizes an axe to carry out the execution herself. The knave and Alice try to escape with the help of the White Rabbit and the witnesses, but the Queen finds them. Unable to escape, Alice pushes over a witness, who falls on someone else and starts a chain reaction of all the court falling over. They are only playing cards. Alice wakes up.
Allegro Brillante is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 3. The ballet is danced by a principal couple and a corps de ballet of eight. Balanchine said it "contains everything I knew about classical ballet." Allegro Brillante was made for the New York City Ballet, and premiered on March 1, 1956, at the City Center of Music and Drama, with Maria Tallchief and Nicholas Magallanes originating the two principal roles.
American Document is a modern dance work choreographed by Martha Graham in response to rising Fascism in 1930s Europe. The piece premiered on August 6, 1938 at the Vermont State Armory in Bennington, Vermont. The ballet features spoken word excerpts from the Declaration of Independence and Emancipation Proclamation, among other texts. The set was created by Arch Lauterer; the costumes were designed by Edythe Gilfond. The original music was written by Ray Green. Graham extensively reworked the choreography in 1989. John Corigliano's Oboe Concerto replaced Green's music for the revised version.
American Lyric was a modern dance work choreographed by Martha Graham to music of Alex North with costumes by Edythe Gilfond. The piece premiered on December 26, 1937, at the Guild Theatre in New York City. The ballet was subtitled Dance of Assembly. In some programs, the work also included the statement, "This dance has as its theme the basic American right—freedom of assembly." Graham choreographed the piece for soloist (herself) and ensemble. The original group consisted of Anita Alvarez, Thelma Babitz, Ethel Butler, Jane Dudley, Nelle Fisher, Nina Fonaroff, Natalie Harris, Marie Marchowsky, Sophie Maslow and Marjorie Mazia. Although the dance did not remain in Graham Company repertory, American Lyric is noted as an important milestone in the career of the composer. At the time, Alex North became very friendly with Graham and her musical director, the composer Louis Horst. The dance was hailed for its anti-war, anti-Fascist theme, however, the choreography reportedly did not reflect this facet of the ballet. Left-wing critic Blanche Evan saw "no substantive difference in Graham's relation to social realities." In an article for The New Masses titled Her Chosen Theme, Evan wrote, "This dance has as its theme the basic American right - freedom of assembly - so reads the program note. But again, the movement symbols employed in the dance are not symbols expressive of the theme. They are movements from the composer's predetermined category of pure 'kinesthetic,' detached and abstract and intellectually unsatisfied." Today, American Lyric is categorized as part of Graham's Americana period, a phase that includes American Document (1938), American Provincials (1934), Frontier (1935), Panorama (1935), Horizons (1936), El Penitente (1940), Letter to the World (1940), Salem Shore (1943) and Appalachian Spring (1944). The ballet meshes with Graham's stated goal to create a "uniquely American" dance form, to help "bring forth an art as powerful as the country itself."
An American in Paris is a one-act ballet choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, to the eponymous music by George Gershwin, costumes designed by Holly Hynes, sets designed by Adrianne Lobel and lighting designed by Natasha Katz. The ballet premiered on May 4, 2005, at the New York State Theater. Wheeldon later directed and choreographed the musical adaptation of the An American in Paris film.
In the 1967 one-act ballet, Anna Anderson, who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia, is confined in a Berlin mental institution and struggles to recover her memory. The 1971 expansion adds two acts depicting her life—or remembered image of it—before the Russian Revolution.
Andantino, originally titled Pas de Deux, is a ballet choreographed by Jerome Robbins to the second movement of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. The ballet was made for the New York City Ballet's Tchaikovsky Festival, and premiered on June 4, 1981, at the New York State Theater, originated by Darci Kistler and Ib Andersen.
Boris Eifman’s ballet adaptation of Tolstoy’s novel, choreographed to music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
A New York City Ballet work by Jerome Robbins set to an orchestration of Debussy's Six épigraphes antiques—six short pieces originally for piano four hands—and his unaccompanied flute melody Syrinx.
Apollo (originally Apollon musagète and variously known as Apollo musagetes, Apolo Musageta, and Apollo, Leader of the Muses) is a neoclassical ballet in two tableaux composed between 1927 and 1928 by Igor Stravinsky. It was choreographed in 1928 by twenty-four-year-old George Balanchine, with the composer contributing the libretto. The scenery and costumes were designed by André Bauchant, with new costumes by Coco Chanel in 1929. The scenery was executed by Alexander Shervashidze, with costumes under the direction of Mme. A. Youkine. The American patron of the arts Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge had commissioned the ballet in 1927 for a festival of contemporary music to be held the following year at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The story centres on Apollo, the Greek god of music, who is visited by three Muses: Terpsichore, muse of dance and song; Polyhymnia, muse of mime; and Calliope, muse of poetry. The ballet takes Classical antiquity as its subject, though its plot suggests a contemporary situation. It is concerned with the reinvention of tradition, since its inspiration is Baroque, Classical, or even post-baroque/rococo/galant. It is scored for chamber orchestra of 34 string instruments (8.8.6.8.4).
A New York City Ballet Diamond Project work made to excerpts from Edgar Meyer and Mark O'Connor's Appalachia Waltz.
Appalachian Spring is an American ballet created by the choreographer Martha Graham and the composer Aaron Copland, later arranged as an orchestral work. Commissioned by Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, Copland composed the ballet music for Graham; the original choreography was by Graham, with costumes by Edythe Gilfond and sets by Isamu Noguchi. The ballet was well received at the 1944 premiere, earning Copland the Pulitzer Prize for Music during its 1945 United States tour. The orchestral suite composed in 1945 was played that year by many symphony orchestras; the suite is among Copland's best-known works, and the ballet remains essential in the Martha Graham Dance Company repertoire. Graham was known for creating the "Graham technique" of dance; in the 1930s, she began commissioning scores from various composers, often related to American history and culture. Around the same time, Copland incorporated relatable and accessible musical characteristics of the Americana style to increase his music's appeal to the general public; he first implemented this in earlier ballets like Billy the Kid and Rodeo. The initial scenario for Appalachian Spring devised by Graham was revised many times by both her and Copland; the title characters' names were changed numerous times and other characters from the early revisions were cut in the final production. Originally orchestrated for a thirteen-piece chamber orchestra, the score was arranged into various suites by Copland for different purposes; the original ballet featured eight episodes, three of which were cut in the well-known orchestral suite. The ballet takes place in a small Appalachian settlement in 19th-century Pennsylvania. There are four main characters: the Bride, the Husbandman, the Pioneer Woman, and the Revivalist; the last is accompanied by four Followers. Appalachian Spring follows the Bride and the Husbandman as they get married and celebrate with the community. Themes of war are present throughout the story; it is suggested that the Husbandman leaves for war, causing worry and anxiety among the community. Shaker themes also influenced the ballet, notably in the music, where Copland incorporated a theme and variations on the common Shaker tune "Simple Gifts".
One Thousand and One Nights (sometimes referred to as Arabian Nights) Arabian Nights is a two-part ballet written in 1979. The music of the ballet was written by Fikret Amirov, and the libretto was written by Magsud and Rustam Ibrahimbeyov based on the fairy tale " Arabian Nights”. The premiere of the ballet took place in 1979 at the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater. Captivating melodies, colorful harmonic language and orchestration, the alternation of sincere lyrical scenes with folk scenes and household scenes are the main features of the Arabian Nights ballet. Expressing very complex and deep ideas through dance is the greatest achievement of the composer in this genre.
A ballet set to Stravinsky’s Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments.
Aschenbrödel (Cinderella) is a ballet written by Johann Strauss II. He had written all the principal parts of the ballet, and was intending to fill in the orchestration as time permitted. However, he died in 1899, and it was finished by composer Josef Bayer in 1900.
A ballet choreographed by Peter Martins to Michael Torke’s 1991 composition Ash; it was the fourth collaboration between the choreographer and composer.
A live multimedia ballet with a specially commissioned rock score, composed and performed by Crome Syrcus, alongside film projections.
A ballet adaptation of Ian McEwan’s novel, choreographed by Cathy Marston to a score by Laura Rossi. Michael Levine designed the sets and Bregje Van Balen the costumes.
Diana, tormented by the chastity imposed on her, rejects the bow her companions give her and goes alone into the forest to hunt; her companions fall asleep.
Babak succeeds the dying rebel Javidan and leads resistance against the Abbasid Caliphate and local feudal lords for more than twenty-two years. Betrayed by Afshin, he is captured and executed, while his legend endures.
Bacchanale was an ensemble work created by Martha Graham to music by Wallingford Riegger. It premiered on February 2, 1931, at the Craig Theatre in New York City. The work was danced by Martha Graham and Group, the forerunner of the Martha Graham Dance Company. Troupe members, all female, were Lillian Shapiro, Mary Rivoire, Dorothy Bird, Sydney Brenner, Louise Creston, Ailes Gilmour, Mattie Haim, Lily Mehlman, Sophie Maslow, Pauline Nelson, May O'Donnell, Lillian Ray, Ethel Rudy, Gertrude Shurr, Anna Sokolov and Joan Woodruff. The work was also known as Bacchanale No. 2., and was presented with that title beginning June 2, 1932, at a performance in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Information on much of Graham's work from the 1920s and 1930s, including Bacchanale, has been lost. Writing generally about her work of the period, Stark Young of The New Republic noted, "Her dancing is pictorial necessarily, since one understands it through the eyes. It is not pictorial in the sense of being representative, but pictorial as is an abstract painting, or a pattern in design."
Bacchus and Ariadne (Bacchus et Ariane), Op. 43 is a ballet score by the French composer Albert Roussel written in 1930. A late work, the piece reflects Roussel's distinctive orchestration style and his preference for late classical rhythms and harmonies. Its composition roughly coincides with that of Roussel's Symphony No. 3. It describes the abduction of Ariadne by Dionysus. The Paris Opera premiered the two-act work under the direction of Philippe Gaubert on 22 May 1931, with choreography by Serge Lifar and sets by Giorgio de Chirico.
A ballet by Eliot Feld set to Paul Lansky’s “Idle Chatter Junior.”
A five-and-a-half-hour court spectacle inspired by Circe in the Odyssey, combining poetry, music, design, and dance. Circe represents civil conflict, while the ballet’s ending presents the restoration of peace.
Ambrosio is a respected member of the community who attends a grand fiesta with Karime, but a mysterious woman in white captures his attention. The program notes describe his shift from superficial pleasures toward recognizing what matters, even at the cost of losing everything; the story is loosely based on Mexican folklore.
The Ballet Royal de la Nuit (Royal Ballet of the Night), Ballet Royal de la Nuict in its original spelling and often referred to simply as the Ballet de la Nuit, is a ballet de cour with a libretto by Isaac de Benserade and music by Jean de Cambefort, Jean-Baptiste Boësset, Michel Lambert and possibly others, which premiered on February 23, 1653, at the Salle du Petit-Bourbon in Paris. It took 13 hours to perform and included the debut of the fourteen-year-old Louis XIV as Apollo, the Sun King (Le Roi Soleil).
The Ballet de la Merlaison (Ballet of the Blackbird Hunt) is a ballet de cour first performed on 15 March 1635 at the Château de Chantilly, during the reign of – and commonly attributed to – Louis XIII. It was later performed at Royaumont. “Merlaison” is a word coined by Louis to designate the feast which was held after a blackbird hunt. Louis created the scenario, wrote the music and the words, devised the choreography, designed the costumes, and danced roles as a woman, a merchant, a tax collector, and a mischievous blackbird, adept at avoiding traps. It is the most popular ballet performed during the reign of Louis XIII and marked an important development of the ballet de cour.
The ballet opens with Bertram, Robert le Diable's father, entering the ruined cloister of Sainte-Rosalie. He summons the ghosts of nuns who have violated their vows. They rise from their graves. He orders them to seduce his son Robert into accepting a deadly talisman. The Abbess Helena orders the ghosts to waltz. In spite of their sacred vows, the nuns waltz. The dead nuns give themselves over to unholy thrills. Robert enters. The nuns hide, but return to prevent his escape. Robert stands terrified before a saint's tomb. The Abbess lures him towards the talisman in the saint's hand. Robert seizes it. The nuns continue their dance, fluttering like white moths. Their graves open and they sink into the earth. Stone slabs slide into place, covering the dead. A choir of demons is heard.
Ballo della Regina is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine. Set to the ballet divertissement from Giuseppe Verdi's opera Don Carlos, the Balanchine ballet is plotless but alludes to the grotto setting of the divertissement. The ballet is danced by a lead couple and an all-female ensemble, with choreography that showcases the speed and precision of the lead ballerina. Ballo della Regina was made for the New York City Ballet, and premiered on January 12, 1978, at the New York State Theater, with Merrill Ashley and Robert Weiss in the two lead roles.
A ballet adaptation of Bambi composed by Lydia Auster and premiered at Vanemuine Theatre in Tartu.
At a bar inspired by Manet’s painting, the barmaid leaves her counter to dance with the waiter Valentin. When the can-can dancers arrive, she retreats behind the bar; Valentin then falls for La Goulue, leaving the barmaid heartbroken. After the others leave, she resumes the pose of Manet’s painting.
Barbe-bleue (Синяя борода) is a ballet-féerie in three acts and seven scenes, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of. The libretto was created by the author and dramatist Countess Lydia Pashkova from the fairy tale Bluebeard by Charles Perrault. The ballet was first presented by the Imperial Ballet on at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, the first performance being a benefit in honor of Marius Petipa's fiftieth anniversary in service to the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres.
A ballet for two contrasting couples—one classical and one modern—who perform a series of mixed pas de deux to Barber’s Violin Concerto. The classical dancers wear pointe shoes and ballet slippers; the modern dancers are typically barefoot, with the man bare-chested.
A ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Virgil Thomson’s Acadian Songs and Dances.
A ballet by Peter Martins set to Beethoven’s Romance in F for violin and orchestra, Op. 50.
Bella Figura is a contemporary ballet choreographed by Jiří Kylián to music by Lukas Foss, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Alessandro Marcello, Antonio Vivaldi and Giuseppe Torelli. The ballet was made for the Nederlands Dans Theater, and premiered on 12 October 1995, at, The Hague.
A one-act ballet in seven scenes inspired by Adalbert Stifter’s novella Bergkristall, using music adapted from Bussotti’s earlier Nottetempo con lo scherzo e una rose.
A four-part ballet set to Prince's music. Its sections are “Sometimes It Snows in April,” choreographed by Laura Dean; “Thunder,” by Charles Moulton; “Slide,” by Margo Sappington; and “Willing & Able,” by Peter Pucci. The score uses existing recordings and includes a specially orchestrated extended version of “Thunder.”
Setting: New Mexico and Arizona, 1870s and 1880s The story follows the life of the infamous outlaw Billy the Kid. It begins with "The Open Prairie" and shows many pioneers trekking westward. The action shifts to a small frontier town, in which a young Billy and his mother are present. His mother is killed by a stray bullet during a gunfight and he stabs her killer, then goes on the run. The next scene shows episodes in Billy's later life. He is living in the desert, is hunted and captured by a posse (in which the ensuing gun battle features prominent percussive effects) and taken to jail. He manages to escape after stealing a gun from the warden during a game of cards and returns to his hideout, where he thinks he is safe, but sheriff Pat Garrett catches up and shoots him to death. The ballet ends with "The Open Prairie" theme and pioneers once again travelling west.
Birthday Offering is a pièce d'occasion in one scene choreographed by Frederick Ashton to music by Alexander Glazunov, arranged by Robert Irving. The ballet was created in 1956, to celebrate the Royal Ballet's 25th anniversary. The first performance took place on 5 May 1956 at the Royal Opera House, London.
A ballet choreographed by Peter Martins to Michael Torke's eponymous music, commissioned for New York City Ballet's American Music Festival.
Blake Works I is a ballet choreographed by William Forsythe to seven songs from James Blake's album The Colour in Anything. The ballet was made for the Paris Opera Ballet, Forsythe's first work for the company since 1999, and premiered on 4 July 2016, at Palais Garnier.
In the printed premiere scenario, dancers gather inside a Spanish tavern. A woman leaps onto a long table and her dancing grows increasingly animated as the crowd urges her on.
A ballet by Jerome Robbins and Twyla Tharp set to Johannes Brahms's Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24, orchestrated by Edmund Rubbra.
Brahms–Schoenberg Quartet is a one-act ballet by George Balanchine, to Johannes Brahms's Piano Quartet No. 1, orchestrated by Arnold Schoenberg. The ballet premiered on April 21, 1966 at the New York State Theater, performed by the New York City Ballet.
Brandenburg is a neoclassical ballet choreographed by Jerome Robbins to compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. Danced by a cast of twenty, the plotless ballet is set to Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, as well as individual movements from Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 1, 2 and 6. The ballet premiered on January 22, 1997, at the New York State Theater, danced by the New York City Ballet. Brandenburg is Robbins' last work.
Broken Wings is a one-act ballet about Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, dramaturged by Nancy Meckler and designed by Dieuweke van Reij. The music was composed by Peter Salem, and featured Mexican folk song "La Llorona" sung by Chavela Vargas. The ballet premiered on 13 April 2016 at the Sadler's Wells Theatre, danced by the English National Ballet, with Tamara Rojo as Kahlo and Irek Mukhamedov as Kahlo's husband, Diego Rivera. Lopez Ochoa then created a three-act version titled Frida for the Dutch National Ballet, premiered in 2020.
A ballet choreographed to Toshiro Mayuzumi's eponymous music; its title refers to bugaku, the dance component of gagaku.
A four-movement dance symphony conceived around the effects of mechanization on modern Mexico, with dances including a tango, huapango, sandunga, and a finale depicting men and machines.
Café Müller is a dance choreographed by Pina Bausch set to the music of Henry Purcell. It has been performed regularly since its creation in May 1978, and in May 1985 the dance was performed and filmed at the Opernhaus Wuppertal, and broadcast on German television in December of that year.
Camargo (or La Camargo) is a grand ballet in three acts and nine scenes, with choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Ludwig Minkus. The libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Marius Petipa is based on an incident in the life of the 18th-century dancer Marie Camargo, in which she and her sister Madeleine were abducted by the Comte de Melun in May 1728 and taken to his mansion. The ballet was first presented by the Imperial Ballet on December 7/19 (Julian/Gregorian calendar dates), 1872 at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Principal Dancers were Adèle Grantzow (as Marie Camargo), Alexandra Virginia (as Madeleine Camargo), Lev Ivanov (as Vestris, the Maître de Ballet) and Timofei Stukolkin (as the Comte de Melun).
The first scene is set in a street in Seville (Sevilla), Spain, where the dancing of a crowd is interrupted by a girl being chased by Carmen. Their fight is only stopped by the arrival of Don José, who assists Carmen's defeated opponent. As he is about to arrest Carmen he is struck by her allure and arranges an assignation for later. That evening in the tavern Don José enters and dances a zapateado to the music of the habanera. Carmen next appears and dances, ending at Don José's feet; he lifts her up and they go up to the bedroom. The customers dance and when Carmen and Don José return they join in before José wraps Carmen in his cape and they go off. The third scene is in Carmen's bedroom. After a passionate pas de deux, three of Carmen's friends come in and invite her to go outside. At night in the street, Carmen, Don José and the friends prepare to rob a passer-by. Using a dagger Carmen has given him, Don José stabs a man, and after the women have taken his purse, they all flee. The final scene is set outside the bull-ring where girls await the arrival of their hero, the toreador. He enters and greets them but is fascinated by the indifference shown by Carmen. José enters and notices their looks. The toreador moves into the arena whereupon Don José threatens Carmen, and in a fight to the death he overcomes her. As she dies, hats are tossed from the bull-ring to land at his feet.
Place: Seville, Spain, and surrounding hills Time: Around 1820 Alonso's scenario centers on Carmen, Don José and the bullfighter Escamillo. Carmen is a passionate, free-spirited woman in contrast to the temperamental and fickle Don José. Fate, a ballerina dressed in black and a representation of Carmen's alter ego, tells Carmen's fortune with a deck of cards. A fight with tobacco dealers leads to Carmen's arrest by Captain Zúñiga. In jail, she seduces Don José and convinces him to release her. Carmen is subsequently caught in a love triangle between Don José and popular bullfighter Escamillo. Boris Messerer's sets included a mock bullring which symbolizes life, uniting the bullfight and Carmen's destiny in a sinister personage. Masked spectators and a uniformed judge represent society's disapproval for the unconventional behavior of Carmen and her lovers. Fate reappears in the final act playing the role of a bull and the three main characters meet in the arena. Carmen dances alternatively with Fate, Escamillo and Don José until she is stabbed. She dies caressing Don José's face, revealing him as the assassin.
Carnaval (Russian: Карнавал) is a ballet based on the music of Robert Schumann's piano suite Carnaval, Op. 9, as orchestrated by Alexander Glazunov, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Anatoly Lyadov and Alexander Tcherepnin. It was choreographed by Michel Fokine to his own libretto, with costumes designed by Léon Bakst, and premiered in Pavlovsk on 5 March (old style, 20 February) 1910. The leading dancers of the Imperial Ballet were engaged in the production: Tamara Karsavina (Columbine), Leonid Leontiev (Harlequin), Vera Fokina (Chiarina), Ludmilla Schollar (Estrella), Bronislava Nijinska (Papillon), Vsevolod Meyerhold (Pierrot), Vasily Kiselev (Florestan), and Alexander Shiryaev (Eusebius). The ballet became world-famous due to its production by Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes (Theater des Westens, Berlin, 20 May 1910), with new sets and costumes by Bakst, with Lydia Lopokova as Columbine and Fokine himself as Harlequin.
Oliver Pendleton Percy III, a little boy, falls asleep during a visit to the American Museum of Natural History. The narrator appears as the school nurse who transforms into a female elephant.
Caroline Mathilde is a two-act ballet to music by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. Its original choreographer was Flemming Flindt in 1991. It tells the story of the eighteenth-century English princess Caroline Mathilde (sister of George III), who in 1766 was sent to Denmark aged 15 to be married to the 17-year-old schizophrenic Danish king, Christian VII. The ballet portrays her unhappy marriage, the king's growing madness and her fatal love-affair with Struensee, the king's influential physician, which ultimately leads to their arrest, his execution and her exile at the age of 20, separated from her two young children. As with Davies' earlier ballet, Salome, it was a commission by the Royal Danish Ballet. It was first performed on 14 March 1991 at the Royal Danish Theatre, Copenhagen. The orchestra was conducted by Markus Lehtinen. Davies prepared two concert suites, each based on an act of the ballet.
Carousel (A Dance) is a ballet made by New York City Ballet resident choreographer Christopher Wheeldon to the music of Carousel Waltz and If I Loved You (1945) by Richard Rodgers, arranged and orchestrated by William David Brohn. The music used in the ballet is from Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic 1945 musical Carousel. The premiere took place Tuesday, 26 November 2002, at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center.
Catarina ou la Fille du bandit is a ballet in three acts and four scenes, with libretto and choreography by Jules Perrot and music by Cesare Pugni. The libretto is based on an incident in the life of the Italian painter Salvator Rosa. The work was first presented by the Ballet of Her Majesty's Theatre on 3 March 1846 in London, England, with Lucile Grahn (as Catarina, leader of the bandits), Louis-François Gosselin (as Salvator Rosa), and Jules Perrot (as the Lieutenant Diavolino).
A three-act ballet inspired by an incident in the life of painter Salvator Rosa, with Catarina portrayed as the leader of a band of outlaws.
Cave of the Heart is a one-act ballet choreographed by Martha Graham to music (Medea suite) by Samuel Barber. It was first performed on May 10, 1946, with the title Serpent Heart, at the second annual Festival of Contemporary American Music in the McMillin Theater of Columbia University. Serpent Heart was commissioned by the festival sponsor, The Alice M. Ditson Fund.
Chaconne is a ballet made by New York City Ballet co-founder and ballet master George Balanchine to ballet music from Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice (Vienna, 1762; Paris, 1774). The premiere took place Wednesday, 22 January 1976 at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, with lighting by Ronald Bates; Robert Irving conducted. Chaconne was danced in practice clothes at its premiere; Karinska's costumes were added in the spring season. The finale to Orfeo ed Euridice is a chaconne, a dance form built on a short bass phrase and often used by 17th and 18th century opera composers to achieve a festive mood at the end. The choreography was first performed at the Hamburgische Staatsoper in their 1963 production of Orpheus und Eurydike and somewhat altered in Chaconne, especially that for the principal dancers. Balanchine added the pas de deux for Suzanne Farrell and Peter Martins to the 1976 ballet and the opening ensemble (to the 1774 Dance of the Blessed Spirits) for the Spring season. Balanchine's first Orpheus and Eurydice was made on the Metropolitan Opera in 1936; his approach, the singers remaining in the pit while the action was danced on stage, was not well received; the production had only two performances. He choreographed Orphée et Eurydice for the Théâtre National de l'Opéra, Paris in 1973 and Orfeo ed Euridice for the Chicago Lyric Opera in 1975 as well.
Medhi Walerski’s ballet draws on the ritual and primal energy of The Rite of Spring, set to a score by Joby Talbot.
The ballet combines moral and political themes, celebrating the triumph of rightful rule over usurpation. As punishment, the illegitimate ruler is publicly displayed in an iron cage to the people's satisfaction.
The ballet follows artist Charlotte Salomon as she creates Life? Or Theater? in 1941–42, then depicts her life and death at the Drancy internment camp in 1943 during the Holocaust.
The premise of the ballet is that the chess pieces become animated and act out human emotions. The main conflict of the story concerns the Red Knight's love for the Black Queen. In the Prologue, two chess players are shown, ready to do battle. The player in gold represents Love and chooses the red side. The player in black represents Death and takes the black side. The ballet proper begins with the Red Pawns assembling on the chessboard. The Red Knights arrive on the scene, afterwards joined by the Black Knights. The Black Knights prostrate themselves at the entry of the Black Queen, who fills them with fear. The Black Queen makes advances to the Red Knight and tosses him a rose, and the Red Knight becomes infatuated with the Black Queen. The Red King and Red Queen arrive, with the old Red King requiring assistance. An initial "game" between the two sides finishes as the Black Queen has the Red King in a "check" position. This game leads to a duel between the Red Knight and the Black Queen, where the Red Knight is victorious over the Black Queen. However, he cannot bring himself to kill her because of his love for her. In one moment, he turns his back and recalls the rose from the Black Queen. The Black Queen takes advantage and fatally stabs the Red Knight. The funeral cortège for the Red Knight is described as "Death leading, Love at the end of the procession". The Black Queen then turns on the Red King, and the Black forces surround him. The Red King has one last moment of recalling his youth before the Black Queen stabs him in the back with a spear, in the final "checkmate".
A ballet by Peter Martins set to Leonard Bernstein's choral work Chichester Psalms, performed with the Juilliard Choral Union.
Chorale is a modern dance work choreographed by Martha Graham to music by César Franck. The piece premiered on April 18, 1926, at New York's 48 Street Theater in the first independent concert presented by Graham. Members of the newly formed Martha Graham Concert Group, Thelma Biracree, Evelyn Sabin and Betty Macdonald, also appeared in the piece. A critic for The Democrat-Chronicle reported the dance was "subtle" with a "dark, emotional mood." The all-Graham program also featured the ballets: Arabesque No. 1, Clair de Lune, Danse Languide, Danse Rococo, Désir, Deux Valses, Intermezzo, Maid with the Flaxen Hair, The Marionette Show, Masques, Novelette, Portrait--After Beltran-Masses, A Study in Lacquer, Tanze, The Three Gopi Maidens, and Trois Gnossiennes.
An eighth buffoon tricks seven others into killing their wives by claiming that a magic whip can revive them. When he fails to revive the women, they seek revenge. The principal buffoon disguises himself as a woman, is chosen by a wealthy merchant for marriage, then escapes after swindling him.
Chroma is a one-act contemporary ballet created by Wayne McGregor for the Royal Ballet. The work received its premiere at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, on 17 November 2006. The ballet is performed to a combination of original music by Joby Talbot and arrangements of music by the White Stripes, with orchestrations by Christopher Austin. The ballet was a great success, winning a number of awards, including the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production, and led to The Royal Ballet appointing McGregor as resident choreographer.
Chronicle is more than an hour in length and chronicles the time frame from 1914 to 1936. It is divided into three major sections: Dances Before Catastrophe, which includes Spectre-1914 and Masque; Dances After Catastrophe, which includes Steps in the Street and Tragic Holiday-In Memoriam; and a final section Prelude to Action. Each section has been performed as an independent work. The opening solo Spectre-1914 is a prelude to the action that follows. The dancer moves with stiff, robotic gestures in response to off-stage drums and trumpet, an embodiment, perhaps, of the inevitability of marching off to war. In the subsequent section Masque, a soloist costumed in metallic gray holds forth to an audience of followers in a formal, "court-like" display. Steps in the Street, a long ensemble piece, suggests a mass of unwanted individuals, such as a group of the unemployed or homeless. The dancers shuffle dejectedly, occasionally rallying to execute rebellious gestures, and then return to their resigned trudging. Carrying a black flag, the soloist then leads the ensemble in a service of commemoration (Tragic Holiday-In Memoriam). The finale Prelude to Action depicts a call for "a brave new world".
A ballet adaptation of Colette's novel Chéri; this page does not provide ballet-specific story or movement details.
The story is inspired by Jean de la Fontaine's fable La cigale et la fourmi (a version of The Ant and the Grasshopper), and portrays "Cigale" (Cicada) as a charitable young woman who takes pity on "La Pauvrette" (The Poor Girl) and gives away her breakfast, bonnet and red umbrella, and finally her money. She is then ridiculed for her kindness by "Madame Fourmi" (Madam Ant), ticketed by "Le Garçon de Banque" (The Banker), and seduced by her "Petit Ami" (The Boyfriend). On a cold winter's night, Cigale, whose kindness and carefree nature has led her to lose what little she has, is refused shelter by Madame Fourmi. Her lover and the poor girl enter and dance under her red umbrella. She falls to the grounds and dies in the snow grasping her guitar but the ballet ends with her ascending to heaven with the angels.
ACT I – A large kitchen Scene 1 At the rise of the curtain, Gianna the cook and her scullery maids are busy preparing dinner, but Gianna no sooner leaves the kitchen than the scullery maids abandon their duties and begin to dance and play with saucepans and skillets. Gianna returns, sees their mischief and sternly orders them back to business; they pay her no heed and Gianna, drawn into their merriment, begins to dance with them. A bell is heard. Gianna now emphatically orders her helpers to calm down; in confusion, they rush back to their places. Scene 2 Aloisa and Odette enter hurriedly, hunting for their little sister to help them dress for the ball. Seeing that Cinderella is not there, they order the scullery maids to find her at once. The sisters are in a frightful worry. The hour of their departure for the royal celebration is approaching and their toilettes are not yet finished; they begin to smarten themselves up, angry and astonished at Cinderella's absence. Scene 3 Cinderella runs in holding a sheaf of straw; her sisters rush over to push and pinch her and make their poor sister suffer, then they order her to set right their toilettes, which Cinderella willingly tries to do. The sisters, now content, begin to dream and boast to one another of their successes at the ball. Making fun of Cinderella, they dance and force her to dance as well. Their parents enter and press their daughters to get ready to leave. In vain, Cinderella begs her parents and sisters to take her along. Her sisters laugh and her father orders her sternly to stay at home and tend to her chores. Scene 4 Alone and sad, Cinderella dreams about the pleasures of the ball, imagining the dances, but realising that she cannot go, and hurries about her work. The hearth flares up; Cinderella watches astonished as living sparks fly out of the fireplace. They surround her; delighted, she admires them and dances with them. Scene 5 The Good Fairy appears; Cinderella's godmother and protector. Amazed by the good will and patience with which Cinderella bears her undeserved debasement, she promises to grant her any wish. Cinderella asks to go to the royal ball. With pleasure the Fairy agrees, but on the condition that she stay no later than midnight: with the last stroke of twelve o'clock, all the luxuries granted her will disappear. Cinderella happily thanks the Good Fairy, at a wave of whose hand a brilliant cortège appears. Servant-fairies assist Cinderella in completing her toilette for the ball and putting on magnificent slippers. The Fairy, when Cinderella is properly dressed, gives her a lesson in deportment and hurries her off, reminding her of the condition she set. ACT II – The Throne Room of the Castle Scene 1 Courtiers have gathered to greet the King, and promenade in expectation of his arrival; a few make lively conversation about the celebration. The Master of Ceremonies announces the royal family; the courtiers hurry to their places. Scene 2 The royal couple enters and take their places, Prince Charming standing next to them. The guests, including the Pignarole family, pay their profound respects to the Queen and King. The King, enraptured by the prettiness of Cavalier Pignarole's daughters, invites them to take a place next to the throne. Scene 3 Just then the herald's trumpets sound, announcing guests from Moscow and Poland, who, charmed by their welcome, pay their respects to the King and take their places. The Chamberlain rushes in and announces the arrival of an unknown princess, accompanied by a brilliant retinue. General excitement; the Prince hastens to meet the stranger. Scene 4 Cinderella enters; Prince Charming, respectfully offering his arm, presents her to the King, Queen and court. The onlookers are struck by the unknown princess's beauty and brilliant toilette. The Pignaroles are amazed at the stranger's striking likeness to their youngest daughter, who was left at home. The Prince lavishes his attentions on the newly arrived princess and the King and Queen invite her to take a place next to them; this causes Aloisa and Odette to bear her malice and to envy the unknown guest. The Prince orders the Master of Ceremonies to begin the ball; the Prince takes part, dancing only with the Princess, delighted by her beauty. Odette and Aloisa also take part in the dances and try to attract the Prince's attention, but he is charmed by Cinderella's beauty. Scene 5 The clock begins to strike midnight. Cinderella, enchanted by the Prince's attentions, completely forgets the Good Fairy's condition. With the last stroke of twelve, she suddenly remembers and quickly retires at the moment her mother walks up to the Prince and engages him in conversation. Cinderella, whose rich attire has turned simple, tries to leave the royal palace unnoticed. The Prince, observing the beautiful stranger's disappearance, orders his chamberlain to follow her, but just then, a page enters and gives the Prince the slipper which the Princess lost. The Prince, admiring the slipper, orders it to be announced throughout the land that he will choose for his bride the woman whose foot the slipper fits. ACT III – A Fantastic Garden in the Prince's Castle Scene 1 Servants and pages, preparing for the Prince's celebration, walk through the garden from time to time. The Prince enters with his retinue, wanting to know if his wishes have been met and if the beautiful stranger has turned up. The chamberlain calms the Prince, adding that the Princess is probably there. Contended with the chamberlain's assurances, the Prince invites the King and Queen into the ball. Scene 2 On the day after the ball, Cinderella, wishing to see the Prince again and to look for her lost slipper, comes to the royal garden. Hearing footsteps, she hides in the bushes, frightened, falls to her knees in despair and prays for her godmother to help her. Scene 3 The Good Fairy appears, and wishing to help her favourite again, still reproaches her for disobeying and not coming home in time. Cinderella begs the Good Fairy's forgiveness and asks her to help. Trumpets sound; the herald announces that Prince Charming will choose as his bride the woman whose foot fits the slipper which was found. Cinderella wants to be at the celebration to see him again and begs the Fairy to let her go to the ball. The Fairy gladly agrees; they withdraw. Scene 4 The King and Queen enter with the Prince and the others invited to the celebration. The Prince asks the assembled beauties to try on the slipper, but their efforts are in vain; the slipper does not fit any of them. The herald now announces the Good Fairy with Cinderella. The Prince suggests that Cinderella also try the slipper and, to the astonishment of all, the slipper fits and stays on her foot. The onlookers are struck by Cinderella's beauty and the Prince, delighted, declares his love to her; her sisters beg forgiveness for treating her badly. She forgives them and the heralds announce Cinderella as the Prince's bride. The entire court congratulates them.
Cinderella is left behind by her stepmother and stepsisters, but offers shelter to a disguised beggar woman who is her fairy godmother. Transformed for the Spring Ball, Cinderella dances with the Prince until midnight, then flees and loses a glass slipper. The Prince searches the kingdom for her; the slipper fits Cinderella, and they reunite and marry.
Showing 96 of 673 shows
Load more shows