American Ballet Theatre’s two seasons at the David H. Koch Theater in 2026-2027 were announced by Artistic Director Susan Jaffe.
The 2026 Fall Season, running from 21 to 31 October, will include three repertory programmes: Fresh Visions and Timeless Classics,Neoclassical Works, and An Elegy and A Dream.
The Spring Season, from 4 to 21 March, includes John Neumeier’s Lady of the Camellias, as well as the repertory programmes Icons of Modern Repertory and Masterworks.
Fall Gala
The 2026 Fall Gala will take place on 29 October.
World Premiere
Trio Élégiaque, choreographed by ABT corps de ballet member Brady Farrar, will have its World Premiere on 28 October as part of the programme An Elegy and A Dream. Farrar has choreographed several works for ABT Studio Company, and Trio Élégiaque is his first creation for American Ballet Theatre’s main company. It will be set to the first movement of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Trio Élégiaque No. 2, with costumes by Mark Eric and lighting by Brad Fields.
Company Premiere
As part of Fresh Visions and Timeless Classics, Helen Pickett’s Petal will have its ABT Company Premiere on 21 October. “An electrifying, hopeful work inspired by the radiant hues of gerbera daisies”, Petal features music by Philip Glass and Thomas Montgomery Newman, costumes by Nete Joseph, sets by Pickett, and lighting by Brandon Stirling Baker. Petal received its World Premiere by Aspen Santa Fe Ballet on 1 February 2008, at the Lensic Performing Arts Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Fresh Visions and Timeless Classics
Fresh Visions and Timeless Classics will be given four performances throughout the Fall Season. The programme will feature Pickett’s Petal, Jiří Kylián‘s Petite Mort, and Natalia Makarova’s Paquita.
Petite Mort was originally created by Jiří Kylián for the Salzburg Festival on the second centenary of Mozart’s death in 1991. It features six men, six women, and six foils, and expresses themes of aggression, desire, energy, silence, anarchy, and vulnerability. It was given its American Ballet Theatre Company Premiere in 2003.
The grand divertissement from Paquita, choreographed by Natalia Makarova after Marius Petipa, is set to music by Ludwig Minkus, arranged by John Lanchbery. Makarova’s staging received its World Premiere by American Ballet Theatre in 1983.
Neoclassical Works
Neoclassical Works, features Frederick Ashton’s Birthday Offering, Kyle Abraham‘s Mercurial Son, and George Balanchine’s Ballet Imperial.
Ashton’s Birthday Offering was created in 1956 for The Royal Ballet’s 25th anniversary and is highlighted by solos for seven ballerinas. The ballet received its ABT Company Premiere in 1989 with Susan Jaffe, Cheryl Yeager, Amanda McKerrow, Julie Kent, Leslie Browne, Alessandra Ferri, and Christine Dunham. Birthday Offering is set to music by Alexander Glazunov, with sets and costumes by Andre Levasseur and lighting by Steven Shelley.
Mercurial Son, Kyle Abraham’s first work for American Ballet Theatre, is driven by Grischa Lichtenberger’s electronic score and propelled by swift, intricately layered movement. Mercurial Son features costumes by Karen Young and lighting by Dan Scully. It received its World Premiere in 2024, danced by Cassandra Trenary, Catherine Hurlin, Carlos Gonzalez, Joseph Markey, Ingrid Thoms, Sierra Armstrong, and Andrew Robare.
Ballet Imperial, choreographed by George Balanchine and set to Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No. 2 in G for Piano and Orchestra, with scenery and costumes by Jean-Marc Puissant and lighting by Mark Stanley, evokes the grandeur of Russia’s Imperial Ballet. The ballet received its World Premiere by American Ballet Caravan in New York in 1941, danced by Marie-Jeanne, Gisella Caccialanza, and William Dollar. The American Ballet Theatre Company Premiere of Ballet Imperial was given in 1988, danced by Susan Jaffe, Ross Stretton, and Amanda McKerrow.
An Elegy and A Dream
An Elegy and A Dream pairs Brady Farrar’s World Premiere Trio Élégiaque with Ashton’s The Dream.
The Dream is Ashton’s retelling of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and its comedy of errors set in the magical woods of Victorian England. Mendelssohn’s music is arranged by John Lanchbery, with sets and costumes by David Walker and lighting by John B. Read. The Dream received its World Premiere by The Royal Ballet in 1964, danced by Antoinette Sibley as Titania, Anthony Dowell as Oberon, and Keith Martin as Puck. The Dream was given its American Ballet Theatre Company Premiere in 2002, danced by Alessandra Ferri as Titania, Ethan Stiefel as Oberon, and Herman Cornejo as Puck.
Company Premiere
As part of Icons of Modern Repertory, Wayne McGregor’s Chroma will have its ABT Company Premiere on 4 March. Chroma features original music by Joby Talbot and his arrangements of music by The White Stripes, with sets by John Pawson, costumes by Moritz Junge, and lighting by Lucy Carter. Chroma received its world premiere with The Royal Ballet in 2006.
Icons of Modern Repertory
Five performances of Icons of Modern Repertory will feature George Balanchine’s Symphonie Concertante, Alexei Ratmansky’s Serenade after Plato’s Symposium, and Wayne McGregor’s Chroma.
Symphonie Concertante is set to music by Mozart (Sinfonia Concertante in E flat Major for Violin and Viola K. 364) with costumes by Theoni V. Aldredge and lighting by David K. H. Elliott. Symphonie Concertante received its World Premiere by Ballet Society in New York in 1947, with Maria Tallchief, Tanaquil LeClerq, and Todd Bolender. The ballet received its American Ballet Theatre Company Premiere in 1983, danced by Cynthia Gregory, Martine van Hamel, and Patrick Bissell.
Serenade after Plato’s Symposium is an abstract discourse on love that is widely considered to be one of Alexei Ratmansky’s finest creations. Set to music by Leonard Bernstein, the ballet features scenery and costumes by Jérôme Kaplan and lighting by Brad Fields. Serenade after Plato’s Symposium received its World Premiere by American Ballet Theatre in 2016.
Lady of the Camellias
The 2027 Spring Season will include eight performances of John Neumeier’s Lady of the Camellias. Lady of the Camellias centres on the tragic love affair between French courtesan Marguerite Gautier and the young Armand Duval. Set to music by Frédéric Chopin, the ballet features scenery and costumes by Jürgen Rose and original lighting design by Neumeier. Lady of the Camellias was given its World Premiere by Stuttgart Ballet in 1978. It received its ABT Company Premiere in 2010 with Julie Kent as Marguerite and Roberto Bolle as Armand.
Masterworks
Masterworks will include Balanchine’s Apollo, Ashton’s Rhapsody pas de deux, Kylián’s Nuages, and Twyla Tharp‘s In the Upper Room.
Balanchine’s Apollo is set to music by Igor Stravinsky and follows the young god as he is guided by the muses of poetry, mime, and dance. The ballet was given its World Premiere by Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes in Paris on J+une 12, 1928. Apollo was first performed by American Ballet Theatre on April 25, 1943, at the Metropolitan Opera House, with André Eglevsky as Apollo, Vera Zorina as Terpsichore, Nora Kaye as Polyhymnia, and Rosella Hightower as Calliope.
Rhapsody was one of Ashton’s final and most challenging works, and this pas de deux is notable for its expansive lyricism and emotional sweep. Rhapsody was created for Mikhail Baryshnikov and Lesley Collier and received its World Premiere with The Royal Ballet in 1980. It received its ABT Company Premiere in 2025, danced by Léa Fleytoux and Herman Cornejo. Set to Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, the Rhapsody pas de deux has costumes by William Chappell and lighting by Brad Fields.
One of Jiří Kylián’s earliest works, Nuages is a pas de deux unique in its humanity and intimate partnering. It is set to music by Claude Debussy and features costumes, light, and adapted décor by Kylián, based on original designs by Walter Nobbe, with light and décor supervision by Brad Fields. Nuages received its World Premiere by Stuttgart Ballet in 1976, danced by Birgit Keil and Jonas Kage, and its ABT Company Premiere in 2014 with Diana Vishneva and Marcelo Gomes.
Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room is a ballet in nine parts, featuring bold, kinetic movements set to music by Philip Glass, with costumes by Norma Kamali and lighting by Jennifer Tipton. In the Upper Room was given its World Premiere by Twyla Tharp Dance in 1986 and received its American Ballet Theatre Premiere in 1988.
