Performance Dates
A premiere from Alexei Ratmansky leads a collection of contemporary movement
A world premiere from Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky, set to French neoclassical composer Jean Françaix’s Le roi nu, punctuates an evening celebrating NYCB’s current in-house dancemakers. Bookending the program are Christopher Wheeldon’s This Bitter Earth, a breathtaking and poetic dance for a couple, and two contrasting works from the company’s Resident Choreographer Justin Peck: Dig the Say, a playful pas de deux in which the dancers engage in challenging, competitive solos, occasionally exchanging a red rubber ball, and the expansive Everywhere We Go, which has become one of the choreographer’s most popular works, a vibrant ballet for 25 dancers set to music by Peck’s frequent collaborator Sufjan Stevens, with whom he created the acclaimed, Tony-winning musical Illinoise.
Ballets on this Program
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Dig the Say
Created for NYCB’s 2024 Spring Gala, Justin Peck’s Dig the Say features two dancers playfully upping the ante for one another as they take turns performing striking technical feats to Vijay Iyer’s vigorous string quartet.
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This Bitter Earth
This breathtaking and poetic dance for a man and woman explores the haunting, tenuous melodies of Dinah Washington’s soulful rendition of “This Bitter Earth” as remixed by British composer Max Richter.
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The Naked King
Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky's The Naked King, his ninth ballet for NYCB as well as the company’s 500th commission, is set to French neoclassical composer Jean Françaix’s Le Roi Nu, a score based on the Hans Christian Andersen folktale “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”
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Everywhere We Go
The epic Everywhere We Go features 25 dancers in a nine-part exploration of Sufjan Stevens' cinematic score, the indie-pop icon's first NYCB commission, with each section accented by a multi-layered and shifting geometric backdrop.
