(37/50) Maria Tallchief on the preparation for the first Nutcracker: “As usual, he created the pas de deux for André and me with a...

(14/50) “I can remember very well,” Ms. Tallchief says, “standing downstage on opening night toward the end of the first act, before I...

(2/50) The Sugar Plum Fairy, welcomes the Nutcracker Prince and Marie into the Land of Sweets in the original 1954 production of...

Speaking of the opening night performance in 1948, Anatole Chujoy wrote, "The thrill of the evening came with Balanchine's Symphony in C....

“Serenade is like a labyrinth Balanchine has constructed to guide us, gently, but with no recourse but to proceed.” —Toni Bentley in...

On October 11, 1948, New York City Ballet gave its first official performance at the City Center Theater. The program was all Balanchine....

On the opening night of Orpheus in 1947: “When the slight figure of Stravinsky appeared at the conductor’s sand he was given a tumultuous...

“Ballet began when Terpsichore touched Apollo’s finger, as on the Sistine ceiling God touches Adam’s, and inspired a pas de deux in which...

Three Balanchine Duets* Part 2 *commissioned for the Vail Dance Festival This week, Vail’s International Evenings of Dance performances...

"Tchaikovsky enjoyed the rehearsals for Swan Lake which began at the Bolshoi. He wrote to his brother, 'If you only knew how funny it is...

Happy Birthday, Maria Tallchief! In her autobiography she reflected: “Heaven knows, in my artistic quest I hadn’t achieved perfection no...

“The ballet was made for Maria, and she went after it like a demon, as if possessed, with ferocity. That is certainly one of Balanchine’s...

Balanchine on Haieff Divertimento: “The piece was composed originally for piano, which was the form in which I first heard Haieff play...

Maria Tallchief on Allegro Brillante: “The ballet captivated me. The business of being lifted into the air in my flowing chiffon skirt...

We're back! Tonight is opening night of NYCB's Winter 2023 season. In his autobiography, Jacques d'Amboise recalled being in the audience...

[28/50] This is Part 1 of a 3-part post for our 3-show day. These posts share Maria Tallchief's experience with the Grand Pas de Deux...

[18/50] Maria Tallchief recalls watching Act 1 from the wings as she prepared to dance the Sugar Plum Fairy in Act 2: "Even from that...

[1/50] Here we go! It's officially Nutcracker season! Tune in every day (sometimes twice a day) to see the photos I have unearthed over...

The New York City Ballet's debut season in the fall of 1948 (held at New York City Center) was somewhat of an experiment. The first...

Balanchine choreographed Apollo in 1928 when he was just 25 years old. In 1951, he revived it and cast André Eglevsky (aged 34) as...