George Balanchine was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer who was one of the most influential 20th-century choreographers. Styled as the father of American ballet, he co-founded the New York City Ballet and remained its Artistic Director for more than 35 years. His choreography is characterized by plotless ballets with minimal costume and décor, performed to classical and neoclassical music.
New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's first music director. City Ballet grew out of earlier troupes: the Producing Company of the School of American Ballet, 1934; the American Ballet, 1935, and Ballet Caravan, 1936, which merged into American Ballet Caravan, 1941; and directly from the Ballet Society, 1946.
Darci Kistler is an American ballerina. She is often said to be the last muse for choreographer George Balanchine.
Jewels is a three-act ballet created for the New York City Ballet by co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine. It premièred on Thursday, 13 April 1967 at the New York State Theater, with sets designed by Peter Harvey and lighting by Ronald Bates.
Apollo 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.
Symphony in C, originally titled Le Palais de Cristal, is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine, to Georges Bizet's Symphony in C. The ballet was originally created for the Paris Opera Ballet, and premiered on July 28, 1947 at Théâtre National de l'Opéra.
The Suzanne Farrell Ballet is a ballet company housed at the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C., and founded in 2000 by Suzanne Farrell, one of George Balanchine's most celebrated ballerinas, and a former New York City Ballet principal dancer. Until 2017, the Suzanne Farrell Ballet was a full-fledged company produced by the Kennedy Center and had performed there since 1999 in addition to presenting extensive national and international tours. In September 2016, the Center announced that the company would be disbanding at the end of 2017, citing "possibilities of new expansion" and indicating that Farrell would likely return to "full-time teaching."
Episodes is a two-part ballet made by Martha Graham and George Balanchine to Anton von Webern's Symphony, Op. 21, Five Pieces, Op. 10, Concerto, Op. 24, and the Ricercata in Six Voices from Bach's Musical Offering, which Webern had arranged in homage to Bach, as Balanchine conceived the ballet as one to Webern. The premiere took place under the auspices of the Ballet Society on 19 May 1959 at City Center of Music and Drama, New York, with scenery and lighting by David Hays; the conductor was Robert Irving.
Symphony in Three Movements is a neoclassical ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to the music of the same name by Stravinsky. The ballet was made for the New York City Ballet Stravinsky Festival in 1972, a tribute to the composer following his death. The ballet premiered on June 18, 1972, at the New York State Theater.
Bugaku is a ballet made by New York City Ballet co-founder and ballet master George Balanchine to eponymous music by Toshiro Mayuzumi, commissioned by City Ballet in 1962. The premiere took place on 30 March 1963 at City Center of Music and Drama, New York, with scenery by David Hays, costumes by Karinska, and lighting by Ronald Bates. NYCB had toured Japan in 1958 and the Gagaku Company of the Imperial Household toured the US the following year.
Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2, originally called Ballet Imperial, is a ballet in three movements made by New York City Ballet's co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine for his earlier company, American Ballet Caravan, to the version of Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 2, originally composed in 1879–80, but later revised by Alexander Siloti. The ballet was given a preview performance on 29 May 1941 at the Little Theater of Hunter College in New York City. The premiere took place on 25 June 1941 at Teatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro.
Prodigal Son, or Le Fils prodigue, Op. 46 is a ballet created for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes by George Balanchine to music by Sergei Prokofiev (1928–29). The libretto, based on the parable in the Gospel of Luke, was by Boris Kochno, who added a good deal of drama and emphasized the theme of sin and redemption ending with the Prodigal Son's return.
The Cage is a ballet made by New York City Ballet ballet master Jerome Robbins to Stravinsky's Concerto in D for string orchestra, also known as the "Basel Concerto", which he was commissioned to compose on the twentieth anniversary of the chamber orchestra Basler Kammerorchester; it notably shifts between D major and minor. The premiere took place on Sunday, 10 June 1951 at the City Center of Music and Drama, New York, with décor by Jean Rosenthal, costumes by Ruth Sobatka and lighting by Jennifer Tipton. It was danced as part of City Ballet's 1982 Stravinsky Centennial Celebration.
A Simple Symphony is a ballet made by former company dancer Melissa Barak for New York City Ballet to Benjamin Britten's eponymous music from 1934 for string orchestra. The premiere took place on Tuesday, 17 February 2009 at the David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center. The choreographer designed the women’s costumes. She is quoted as saying that she took inspiration from Balanchine’s La source and Raymonda Variations.
Scherzo à la Russe is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Stravinsky's music of the same name. The ballet was created for New York City Ballet's Stravinsky Festival, a tribute to the composer after his death, and premiered on June 21, 1972, at the New York State Theater, with the two lead roles originated by Karin von Aroldingen and Kay Mazzo.
Danses concertantes is the title of a work for chamber orchestra written in 1941–42 by Igor Stravinsky, commissioned by Werner Janssen. Stravinsky's music has been used for eponymous ballets by numerous choreographers attracted by its danceability.
Heléne Alexopoulos is an American retired ballet dancer. She was a student of Maria Tallchief who was discovered by George Balanchine as a teenager. She joined the New York City Ballet in 1978, she was promoted to principal dancer in 1989, and she retired in 2002.
Movements for Piano and Orchestra is a neoclassical ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Stravinsky's score of the same name. The ballet premiered on April 9, 1963, at City Center of Music and Drama, performed by the New York City Ballet. Though the two lead roles were created for Diana Adams and Jacques d'Amboise, seventeen-year-old Suzanne Farrell danced the female lead at the premiere due to Adams' pregnancy. Starting in 1966, Movements and Monumentum pro Gesualdo (1960) are performed together.
Duo Concertant is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Stravinsky's score of the same name. The ballet was created for New York City Ballet's Stravinsky Festival, a tribute to the composer a year after his death, and premiered on June 22, 1972, at the New York State Theater, danced by Kay Mazzo and Peter Martins.
