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65 MUST SEE BALLETS…. for the beginner ballet audience…

BALLETOMANE

It is really hard to keep up with ballet repertory especially when choreographers are putting out brilliant works left and right. I mean this year alone we had like 50 new premiers on major companies… But recently I was asked, what are some of the must see ballets when starting out as a ballet go-er. Then I had to think of a list, and make sure I had the premier dates and musical score right… The list was actually a lot harder than I thought… What ballets to see, and what ballets to leave off… Then I thought, well no one should see boring ballets… and then I thought, well they might think they are lovely… So, I couldn’t really be biased. Then I had to look at what companies are performing… For example Les Noces is a brilliant ballet, but hardly in anyone’s repertory. Then again, so is the original Rite of Spring… but Rite of Spring might be more accessible… So… Including the classics, modern classics, and standards of today’s repertory… Here is a list of 65 ballets that new ballet enthusiasts should see!

If you are an experienced ballet go-er… play a game… 2 points if you have seen it live, 2 points of you have danced it.

AFTER THE RAIN
2005 CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON / ARVO PART, TABULA RASA, SPIEL IM SPIEGEL

after the rain

THE AFTERNOON OF A FAUN
1912 VASLAV NIJINSKY / CLAUDE DEBUSSY
1953 JEROME ROBBINS / CLAUDE DEBUSSY

AGON
1957 GEORGE BALANCHINE / IGOR STRAVINSKY

APOLLO
1928 GEORGE BALANCHINE / IGOR STRAVINSKY

APPALACHIAN SPRING
1944 MARTHA GRAHAM / AARON COPLAND

LA BAYADERE 
1877 MARIUS PETIPA / LUDWIG MINKUS
la bayadere cast 1
BEAUTIFUL DECAY 

2013 NICOLO FONTE /

BOLERO
1961 MARICE BEJART/ MAURICE RAVEL

CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS
2003 CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON / CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS

CHROMA
2006 WAYNE MCGREGOR / JOBY TALBOT, JACK WHITE, CHRISTOPHER AUSTIN

CINDERELLA 
1945  ROSTISLAV ZAKHAROV / SERGEI PROKOFIEV

COMPANY B
1991 PAUL TAYLOR / SUNG BY THE ANDREWS SISTERS

THE CONCERT
1956 JEROME ROBBINS / FREDERIC CHOPIN

CONCERTO BAROCCO 
1941 GEORGE BALANCHINE / JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
(ASHLEY LARACEY ON CONCERTO)

COPPELIA
1870 JOSEPH MAZILLIER / ADOLPHE ADAM

DANCES AT A GATHERING
1969 JEROME ROBBINS / FREDERIC CHOPIN

DON QUIXOTE
1869 MARIUS PETIPA / LUDWIG MINKUS

THE DREAM
1964 FREDERICK ASHTON / FELIX MENDELSSOHN

THE DYING SWAN
1905 MICHEL FOKINE / CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS

ETUDES
1948 HARALD LANDER/CARL CZERNY

FANCY FREE
1944 JEROME ROBBINS / LEONARD BERSTEIN

LA FILLE MAL GARDEE
1789, 1828 1960 FREDRICK ASHTON / FERDINAND HEROLD

THE FIREBIRD
1910 MICHEL FOKINE / IGOR STRAVINSKY
1949 GEORGE BALANCHINE / IGOR STRAVINSKY
2012 ALEXEI RATMANSKY / IGOR STRAVINSKY
Misty_cope_land_firebird

FLOWER FESTIVAL AT GENZANO
1858 AUGUSTE BOURNONVILLE / HOLGER SIMON PAULLI, EDVARD HELSTED, M. STREBINGER
(Henriette Muss and Johan Kobborg)

THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS
1946 GEORGE BALANCHINE / IGOR STRAVINSKY

GHOST DANCES
1981 CHRISTOPHER BRUCE / SOUTH AMERICAN FOLK SONGS

GISELLE
1841 JEAN CORALLI AND JULES PERROT / ADOLPHE ADAM

THE GREEN TABLE
1932 KURT JOOSS / FRITZ COHEN

IN THE MIDDLE, SOMEWHAT ELEVATED
1987 WILLIAM FORSYTHE / THOM WILLEMS

IN THE UPPER ROOM
1986 TWYLA THARP / PHILIP GLASS

JEWELS
1967 GEORGE BALANCHINE / FAURE, STRAVINSKY, PI TCHAIKOVSKY
fundraiser

LADY OF THE CAMELLIAS
1978 JOHN NEUMEIER / FREDERIC CHOPIN
1994 VAL CANIPORALI / FREDERIC CHOPIN

LE PETITE MORT
1991 JIRI KYLIAN / WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

THE LEAVES ARE FADING
1975 ANTONY TUDOR / ANTON DVORAK

THE LITTLE MERMAID
2005 JOHN NEUMEIER / LERA AUERBACH

L’HISTOIRE DE MANON (AKA MANON)
1974 SIR KENNETH MACMILLAN / JULES MASSENET

MISSA BREVIS
1958 JOSE LIMON / ZOLTAN KODALY


THE MOOR’S PAVANE

1949 JOSE LIMON / HENRY PURCELL

NAPOLI
1842 AUGUST BOURNONVILLE / NIELS WILHELM GADE, EDVARD HELSTED, HOLGER SIMON PAULLI, CHRISTIAN LUMBYE

ONEGIN
1965 JOHN CRANKO / PI TCHAIKOVSKY
Onegin 1

OTHELLO
1997 LAR LUBOVITCH / ELLIOT GOLDENTHAL

PAS DE QUATRE
1845 JULES PERROT / CESARE PUGNI

LES PATINEURS
1937 FREDERICK ASHTON / GIACOMO MAYERBEER

PAZ DE LA JOLLA
2013 JUSTIN PECK / BOHUSLAV MARTINU

PETRUSHKA
1911 MICHEL FOKINE / IGOR STRAVINSKY

PILLAR OF FIRE
1942 ANTONY TUDOR / ARNOLD SCHONBERG

POLYPHONIA 
2001 CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON / GYORGY LIGETI
(CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON REHEARSING POLYPHONIA ON ROYAL BALLET)

RED GISELLE
1997 BORIS EIFMAN / TCHAIKOVSKY, SCHNITTKE, BIZET

REVELATIONS
1960 ALVIN AILEY / TRADITIONAL SPIRITUALS

RODEO
1942 AGNES DEMILLE / AARON COPLAND

ROMEO AND JULIET 
1965 KENNETH MACMILLAN / SERGEI PROKOFIEV
1955 FREDERICK ASHTON / SERGEI PROKOFIEV

RUTH, Ricordi per Due 
2004 GERALD ARPINO / THOMASSE ALBINNONI

LE SACRE DU PRINTEMPS (RITE OF SPRING)
1913 VASLAV NIJINSKY / IGOR STRAVINSKY

SCHEHERAZADE
1910 MICHEL FOKINE . NIKOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV

SERENADE
1934 GEORGE BALANCHINE / P.I. TCHAIKOVSKY
Serenade_ballet

THE SLEEPING BEAUTY
1890 MARIUS PETIPA / P.I. TCHAIKOVSKY

LE SPECTRE DE LA ROSE
1911 MICHELE FOKINE / CARL MARIA VON WEBER

SQUARE DANCE
1957 GEORGE BALANCHINE / ANTONIO VIVALDI, ARCANGELO CORELLI

SWAN LAKE
1895 MARIUS PETIPA AND LEV IVANOV / P.I. TCHAIKOVSKY
1995 MATTHEW BOURNE / P.I. TCHAIKOVSKY
1997 DEREK DEANE / P.I TCHAIKOVSKY (SWAN LAKE IN THE ROUND, ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET)

LA SYLPHIDE
1836 AUGUST BOURNONVILLE / HERMAN LOVENSKJOLD

LES SYLPHIDES
1909 MICHEL FOKINE / FREDERIC CHOPIN

THEME AND VARIATIONS
1947 GEORGE BALANCHINE / P.I. TCHAIKOVSKY

THE VERTIGINOUS THRILL OF EXACTITUDE 
1996 WILLIAM FORSYTHE / FRANZ SCHUBERT

YEAR OF THE RABIT
2012 JUSTIN PECK / SUFJAN STEVENS
SHOP A BALLET EDUCATION

3 responses to “65 MUST SEE BALLETS…. for the beginner ballet audience…”

  1. Since this is for beginning ballet audiences, I am compelled to point out that 8 works listed are not technically ballets at all, they are modern dances created on modern dancers in modern companies. The works may be in the repertory of some ballet companies and modified so ballet dancers can perform them but modern ( Chroma is contemporary ). I’m referring to Appalachian Spring, Company B, In the upper Room, Missa Brevis, the Moors Pavane, Othello, and Revelations. Audiences should still see these works, they are beautiful.

    • Chroma was created on Royal ballet, remember when Balanchine started no one called his ballets a ballet…. Now they are only ballets…. And most of the ballet Russe ballets are far more modern than what we see today…. Especially all of the collaborations with the artists …. I view the word ballet, referring to a work that survives within a repertory… But then again that’s just my opinion, and the majorities opinion…. Alice in wonderland has a tap variation from Royal ballet, and beautifully story boarded….. Do you consider that a ballet? And if we go off of your standard, then would fancy free be a ballet? Othello was made for ABT… I’m not arguing, I see your point but looking at how do you define a ballet?