NYCB & SPAC No. 1 - Saratoga Performing Arts Center Opens

Patricia McBride & Edward Villella in Balanchine's Harlequinade.

Happy birthday SPAC! On this day in 1966, Saratoga Performing Arts Center held its inaugural performance. NYCB performed “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in the 5,000-seat outdoor amphitheater (with lawn seating available for another 20,000 audience members!) Saratoga became NYCB’s summer home, hosting them for a residency of performances every summer for the last 58 years.

The stage was build to Balanchine and Kirstein’s specifications including a sprung floor. “Certainly last night’s performance of the Mendelssohn-Balanchine ballet was everything that New York audiences see. In matters of lighting, scene shifts, decor and movement, it was indistinguishable from performances at the State Theater. The dancers are unanimous in saying that the stage is reliant and a pleasure to dance on.”

— Harold C Schonberg, New York Times, 1966

Photos of SPAC under construction

I do not know the origin of the videos clips with Kay and Suki talking about that first performance at SPAC. I found them on YouTube, but they aren’t labeled in anyway. If you know who the interview was or where these clips came from, let me know!

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