Program
All Balanchine
JAN 18, 19, 21, 22 mat, 23, 25
Essential Works from the Visionary Mind of NYCB’s Founding Choreographer
Three celebrated works from Balanchine evoke intriguingly contrasting atmospheres. In Rubies, from the full-length ballet Jewels, the jazz-inflected score sets the stage for a romp glinting with wit, surprise, and thrilling choreography. The Four Temperaments, a repertory favorite throughout the Company’s history, is a plotless neoclassical work loosely inspired by the ancient belief that human behavior is defined by four elements, or “humors”: the melancholic, the sanguinic, the phlegmatic, and the choleric. The mysterious La Valse depicts a young woman dancing with increasing abandon under the influence of an enigmatic figure enticing her to the edge of darkness.
Ballets on this Program
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Rubies
Rubies sends its dancers racing across the stage like lightning to Stravinsky’s jazz-inflected piano capriccio, emphasized by a sharp attack and sassy style.
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The Four Temperaments
A ballet with unceasing appeal, The Four Temperaments references the medieval concept of psychological humors through its classically grounded but definitively modern movement.
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La Valse
Captivated by the moody and mysterious world of Ravel’s La Valse, a young woman waltzes through Balanchine’s surging choreography with tragic results.
