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George Balanchine 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.
Violette Verdy was a French ballerina, choreographer, teacher, and writer who worked as a dance company director with the Paris Opera Ballet in France and the Boston Ballet in the United States. From 1958 to 1977 she was a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet where she performed in the world premieres of several works created specifically for her by choreographers George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. She was Distinguished Professor of Music (Ballet) at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University, in Bloomington, and the recipient of two medals from the French government.
Megan Fairchild is a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet.
Swan Lake is a one-act ballet made by New York City Ballet's co-founder and ballet master George Balanchine to Tschaikovsky's eponymous music (1875–56). The premiere took place Thursday, 20 November 1951 at the City Center of Music and Drama, New York.
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. 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.
Symphony in C, originally titled Le Palais de Cristal, is a ballet made by New York City Ballet co-founder and balletmaster George Balanchine to Georges Bizet's Symphony in C (1855). The music of the ballet, which Bizet wrote at the age of 17 while studying with Charles Gounod at the Paris Conservatory, was lost and only rediscovered and published in 1933.
Serenade is a ballet by George Balanchine to Tschaikovsky's 1880 Serenade for Strings in C, Op. 48. Students of the School of American Ballet gave the first performance on Sunday, 10 June 1934 on the Felix M. Warburg estate in White Plains, N.Y., where Mozartiana had been danced the previous day. This was the first ballet that Balanchine choreographed in America. It was then presented by the Producing Company of the School of American Ballet on 6 December at the Avery Memorial Theatre of the Wadsworth Atheneum with sets by the painter William Littlefield. Balanchine presented the ballet as his response to the generous sponsorships he received during his immigration to America. The official premiere took place on 1 March 1935 with the American Ballet at the Adelphi Theatre, New York, conducted by Sandor Harmati.
Yvonne Borree is a former principal dancer at New York City Ballet. She was raised in Norfolk, Virginia, where she began her dance studies with the Tidewater Ballet Association at four years of age.
Sara Ann Mearns is an American ballerina who is a principal dancer with New York City Ballet. She was born in Columbia, South Carolina, where she began dance training at the age of three. As a teenager Mearns continued her studies with Patricia McBride and Stanislav Issaev, before entering the School of American Ballet in 2001. She joined the New York City Ballet as an apprentice in 2003, and became a member of the corps de ballet in 2004. She made her debut in a leading role just 18 months later in the dual roles of Odette/Odile in Swan Lake at the age of 19. Mearns was promoted to soloist in 2006 and to principal in 2008.
Ashley Bouder is an American ballet dancer who is currently a principal dancer at the New York City Ballet.
Andantino, originally titled Pas de Deux, is a ballet made for New York City Ballet's Tschaikovsky Festival by ballet master Jerome Robbins to the second movement of the composer's Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23 (1875). The premiere took place on 4 June 1981 at New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, with costumes by Ben Benson and lighting by Ronald Bates.
Piano Pieces is a ballet made for New York City Ballet's Tschaikovsky Festival by ballet master Jerome Robbins to Tchaikovsky's music. The premiere took place on 11 June 1981 at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, with costumes by Ben Benson and lighting by Ronald Bates.
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.
Mozartiana is a ballet by New York City Ballet co-founder and balletmaster George Balanchine which opened their Tschaikovsky Festival. It is the choreographer's third homage to Mozart and is set to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Suite No. 4, Mozartiana, Op. 61 (1887), consisting of:
Ballo della Regina is a one-act ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to music by Giuseppe Verdi. It is a set of variations set to ballet music that Verdi cut from Act 3 of the original 1867 version of his opera Don Carlos. Its premiere performance was on 12 January 1978, by the New York City Ballet at New York State Theater in Lincoln Center.
Tschaikovsky Suite No. 3 is a ballet made by New York City Ballet co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine to Tschaikovsky's Suite No. 3 for Orchestra in G major, Op. 55 (1884). The premiere took place on 3 December 1970 at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, with scenery and costumes by Nicolas Benois.
