New York City Ballet

New York City Ballet is one of the foremost dance companies in the world. Solely responsible for training its own artists in the classical style and for creating its own repertory, New York City Ballet performs annual seasons at its two permanent homes, the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, New York and also tours both domestically and internationally.

What is now known as New York City Ballet was born in 1948 from the earlier Ballet Society on the initiative of Lincoln Kirstein and Ballet Master George Balanchine. After George Balanchine’s death in 1983, Jerome Robbins and Peter Martins shared the title of Co-Ballet Masters in Chief until 1990 when Martins assumed sole responsibility for the Company’s operations. Like Balanchine, Martins believes that choreographic exploration is what sustains excellence in the Company and in the art form itself and NYCB continues to present new work through such initiatives as the Diamond Project. The Company has an unparalleled active repertory of more than 150 works, 90 percent of which were choreographed in the latter half of the 20th century by Balanchine, Robbins, Martins, and others. Widely acknowledged for its enduring contributions to dance, NYCB is committed to promoting creative excellence and nurturing a new generation of dancers and choreographers.

Their visit to London in 2008 - with four signature programs - marked the long-awaited return after an absence of 25 years, and won the company some rave reviews from the British press.