New York City Ballet to Honour Past and Present in 75th Year
Published: 03:04 PM,Apr 24,2023 | EDITED : 07:04 PM,Apr 24,2023
New York City Ballet will celebrate its 75th anniversary next season with a mix of old and new, honouring the legacy of its co-founder, George Balanchine, as well as more recent contributions to the repertoire, the company announced on Monday.
The season will feature Balanchine classics such as “Serenade” and “Prodigal Son,” as well as several world premieres, including by Alexei Ratmansky, the renowned choreographer, who joins the company in August as artist in residence.
Wendy Whelan, City Ballet’s associate artistic director, said the season was meant to showcase the company’s “real legacy for innovation.”
“We’ve enjoyed the idea of a tree,” she said in an interview, “the idea of the roots building out into a flowering tree.”
The season, which will feature some 160 performances, will open on September 19 with Balanchine’s pure-dance triptych “Jewels.” In October, the company will recreate its first-ever performance, on Oct. 11, 1948, with a programme of Balanchine’s “Concerto Barocco,” “Orpheus” and “Symphony in C.” Much of the rest of the fall season will be devoted to his works, with 27 all-Balanchine performances.
The company will also bring in dancers who worked with Balanchine, including Merrill Ashley and Suzanne Farrell, to help rehearse the dancers.
Jonathan Stafford, City Ballet’s artistic director, called Balanchine, who died in 1983, “our driving force.” His legacy continues to be discussed and debated in popular culture, with the recent release of a biography, memoir and podcast about him. Stafford said his impact could still be felt onstage.
“He championed the idea that the music drives the dance, and how important musicality was to everything we do,” he said in an interview. “The roots of what he laid are still very much a part of our daily work.”
The winter and spring seasons will include work by more contemporary artists, with world premieres by Ratmansky and Justin Peck, the company’s resident choreographer and artistic adviser. (Peck’s full-length “Copland Dance Episodes,” which premiered this year, will also return.)
Tiler Peck, a principal dancer with the company, and Amy Hall Garner, a choreographer, will debut their first works for City Ballet. The lineup also includes Christopher Wheeldon’s “Carnival of the Animals,” Ulysses Dove’s “Red Angels” and Ratmansky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” among other works.
The company’s announcement in January that it had hired Ratmansky, one of ballet’s most in-demand and respected artists, was a coup. He has spent the past 13 years at American Ballet Theater.
Ratmansky, who is of mixed Russian and Ukrainian background and grew up in Kyiv, has yet to offer details about his new work. The season will also feature his “Odessa,” which premiered at City Ballet in 2017.
“We’re excited to see what he comes up with,” Whelan said.
City Ballet has been working to restore a sense of normalcy after the turmoil of the pandemic, which disrupted the careers of many rising stars and resulted in the loss of millions in ticket revenue.
Whelan said the company was now in a stronger position.
“The audiences are back,” she said. “The dancers are back. There’s a fresh new crop that are rising up within the company, and it feels extraordinary.”
“That’s been part of our 75 years,” she added. “All these generations of newness that have come along the way. And that’s part of what we honour.” — NYT
The season will feature Balanchine classics such as “Serenade” and “Prodigal Son,” as well as several world premieres, including by Alexei Ratmansky, the renowned choreographer, who joins the company in August as artist in residence.
Wendy Whelan, City Ballet’s associate artistic director, said the season was meant to showcase the company’s “real legacy for innovation.”
“We’ve enjoyed the idea of a tree,” she said in an interview, “the idea of the roots building out into a flowering tree.”
The season, which will feature some 160 performances, will open on September 19 with Balanchine’s pure-dance triptych “Jewels.” In October, the company will recreate its first-ever performance, on Oct. 11, 1948, with a programme of Balanchine’s “Concerto Barocco,” “Orpheus” and “Symphony in C.” Much of the rest of the fall season will be devoted to his works, with 27 all-Balanchine performances.
The company will also bring in dancers who worked with Balanchine, including Merrill Ashley and Suzanne Farrell, to help rehearse the dancers.
Jonathan Stafford, City Ballet’s artistic director, called Balanchine, who died in 1983, “our driving force.” His legacy continues to be discussed and debated in popular culture, with the recent release of a biography, memoir and podcast about him. Stafford said his impact could still be felt onstage.
“He championed the idea that the music drives the dance, and how important musicality was to everything we do,” he said in an interview. “The roots of what he laid are still very much a part of our daily work.”
The winter and spring seasons will include work by more contemporary artists, with world premieres by Ratmansky and Justin Peck, the company’s resident choreographer and artistic adviser. (Peck’s full-length “Copland Dance Episodes,” which premiered this year, will also return.)
Tiler Peck, a principal dancer with the company, and Amy Hall Garner, a choreographer, will debut their first works for City Ballet. The lineup also includes Christopher Wheeldon’s “Carnival of the Animals,” Ulysses Dove’s “Red Angels” and Ratmansky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” among other works.
The company’s announcement in January that it had hired Ratmansky, one of ballet’s most in-demand and respected artists, was a coup. He has spent the past 13 years at American Ballet Theater.
Ratmansky, who is of mixed Russian and Ukrainian background and grew up in Kyiv, has yet to offer details about his new work. The season will also feature his “Odessa,” which premiered at City Ballet in 2017.
“We’re excited to see what he comes up with,” Whelan said.
City Ballet has been working to restore a sense of normalcy after the turmoil of the pandemic, which disrupted the careers of many rising stars and resulted in the loss of millions in ticket revenue.
Whelan said the company was now in a stronger position.
“The audiences are back,” she said. “The dancers are back. There’s a fresh new crop that are rising up within the company, and it feels extraordinary.”
“That’s been part of our 75 years,” she added. “All these generations of newness that have come along the way. And that’s part of what we honour.” — NYT