WESTERN SYMPHONY
By George Balanchine
Orchestrated by Hershy Kay
Western Symphony is a rodeo of frisky fillies and lonesome cowpokes with a rousing, non-stop finale that brings the curtain down.
Western Symphony is a striking example of Balanchine’s fascination with American themes. Set on a rugged Old West street populated by cowboys and dance hall girls, the ballet nevertheless is very much a classical work.
SERENADE
By George Balanchine
Music by Tchaikovsky
A ROMANTIC WORK OF IMMENSE SWEEP, SET TO A TRANSCENDENT TSCHAIKOVSKY SCORE.
Serenade is a milestone in the history of dance. It is the first original ballet George Balanchine created in America, and is one of the signature works of New York City Ballet’s repertory. Balanchine began the ballet as a lesson in stage technique and worked unexpected rehearsal events into the choreography
AFTER THE RAIN
By Christopher Wheeldon
Music by Arvo Pärt
A LOVINGLY TENDER WORK FULL OF HEARTFELT EMOTIONS.
Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain premiered in 2005 at NYCB’s annual New Combinations Evening, which honors the anniversary of George Balanchine’s birth with world premiere ballets. Danced to Pärt’s solemn Spiegel im Spiegel by a couple dressed in simple attire on a sparse stage it is a haunting pas de deux set to Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel.
Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy of nycballet.com