Theme and Variations & Apollo & Russian Seasons

About the Ballets

Theme and Variations

George Balanchine was always mindful of his Russian roots and the classical training that shaped his sensibility and aesthetic. Theme and Variations is Balanchine's homage to that tradition.

Set to the final movement of Tchaikovsky's third orchestral suite, the work consists of a set of 12 variations, through which the intricacy and beauty of classical dance is celebrated. It is a modern master's tribute to his forebears.

Apollo

Few artistic collaborations have been as fruitful as that between George Balanchine and Igor Stravinsky. Of that rich legacy of ballets, none illustrates better the special chemistry of feeling, of creative osmosis, that characterized their relationship than their 1928 work Apollo.

In its subject matter as well as its style, the ballet set the standard for the neo-classical aesthetic that would become such a dominant force in 20th-century Modernism, just as it pointed the way forward for the two incomparable artists who created it.

Russian Seasons

Company premiere

In a remarkably brief time, the lavishly gifted Russian choreographer Alexei Ratmansky has risen to the top ranks of international dancemakers.

Formerly the Artistic Director of the Bolshoi Ballet and now Artist-in-Residence with American Ballet Theatre, Ratmansky combines the solid classical technique of his Russian training with a modern palette to reinvigorate both traditions. His 2006 work Russian Seasons exemplifies this tendency perfectly, a richly conceived blending of classical, folk and jazz idioms set to a gorgeous, touching score by his compatriot, Leonid Desyatnikov.