On January 25, the New York City Ballet will celebrate the birthday of founder George Balanchine, an artist whose influence, in the words of Robert Gottlieb, “has become more pervasive than ever,” with a program of events and performances that highlight his gargantuan and widespread achievements. “Saturday at the Ballet with George,” as the program is called, will feature workshops, demonstrations, discussions, and two performances featuring work Balanchine created for the company.
Born in Saint Petersburg in 1904, Balanchine made his stage debut in a Maryinsky Theatre Ballet Company production of “The Sleeping Beauty” at the age of 10. After joining the corps de ballet at age 17, he had a brief but storied career on the Russian stage before coming to America in 1933 at the insistence of Lincoln Kirstein. Together, they formed the School of American Ballet. In 1948, they were welcomed into the family at the City Center (New York City Drama Company and the New York City Opera) and were christened the New York City Ballet. Balanchine served as the artistic director of the company until his death, in 1983. In many ways, Balanchine is the New York City Opera.
In a program designed to interest people of all ages, audiences can see for themselves. The matinee performance features “Concerto Baracco,” Balanchine’s work set to Bach’s “Concerto in D minor for Two Violins,” which premiered in 1941. Edwin Denby, the preeminent dance critic, called it “the masterpiece of a master choreographer,” and it will be joined in the program by “Kammermusik No. 2,” along with the George Gershwin-scored “Who Cares?” The evening performance will feature “Jewels,” which, according to the company’s description, is “the world’s first-ever plotless full-length ballet.” The ballet first premiered in 1967, and Arlene Croce, former dance critic for The New Yorker, rapturously claimed “it is still unsurpassed as a Balanchine primer, incorporating in a single evening every important article of faith to which this choreographer subscribed and a burst of heresy, too, to remind us that he willingly reversed himself on occasion.” Taken together, the two programs offer an essential overview of Balanchine’s work.
George Balanchine would have been 110 this year. Beyond his work on the stage, his greatest contribution might be advancing his lifelong passion that the ballet belong to all people, and should be seen by all. “The people who really appreciate ballet come and just look at it and if they don’t understand, come back again,” Balanchine once wrote. “Just come in and stare.”
Information about “Saturday at the Ballet with George” can be found at the New York City Ballet website.
