New York City Ballet announces Digital Fall Season starting September 28

David Mead

Following on from their acclaimed and successful Digital Spring Season, which generated nearly one million views from people around the world, New York City Ballet are repeating the recipe for the autumn. Five weeks of programming starting September 28 will feature footage from more than 25 ballets. The final week will be a Festival of New Choreography with one work by each of Sidra Bell (who becomes the first black woman to create a work for NYCB), Andrea Miller, Justin Peck, Jamar Roberts, and Pam Tanowitz premiering each night from Tuesday, October 27 to Saturday, October 31.

During the first four weeks of the digital season, repertory programmes consisting of previously recorded performance footage will be released on Tuesdays at 8pm (New York; 1am Wednesday, UK) and will be available free-of-charge for one week on NYCB’s YouTube channel, Facebook page, and www.nycballet.com.

The first program, which will open on Tuesday, September 29, will consist of choreography by George Balanchine including Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, ‘The Unanswered Question’ from Ivesiana, and excerpts from Symphony in C, Liebeslieder Walzer, Episodes, and Stravinsky Violin Concerto.

Repertory for the remaining Tuesday evening programmes, which will feature both full ballets and excerpts, will include additional works by Balanchine, as well as ballets by Jerome Robbins, Justin Peck, Ulysses Dove, Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Alexei Ratmansky, and Christopher Wheeldon.

In addition to the Tuesday evening programs, the digital fall season will also include two Saturday Matinees for family audiences on October 10 and 24 at 2pm (New York; 9pm UK), each featuring repertory by Balanchine and Robbins specially selected for young audiences. Again, these will be available for one week on YouTube, Facebook, and www.nycballet.com.

The new choreography for the final week Festival of New Choreography will be filmed in various locations on the campus of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and throughout New York City. Of the five choreographers, Bell, Miller, and Roberts will be working with NYCB for the first-time, while Tanowitz will be making her second work for the company. Peck will provide the festival’s finale with a premiere set to composer Chris Thile’s Thank You, New York.

“As the Company continues to work towards our ultimate goal of returning to the stage, I am very pleased that we can once again present a digital season that will showcase so many of the qualities that make NYCB such an extraordinary institution,” said artistic director Jonathan Stafford. “From our remarkable dancers and musicians, to our incredible heritage repertory and innovative new works, we look forward to bringing the best of New York City Ballet into people’s homes while we wait for the day that all of us can safely return to the theatre to experience this wonderful artform together in person.”

The season will also include a series of all-new episodes of City Ballet The Podcast, starting on September 28 with a reprise of the ‘See The Music’ episode featuring NYCB Music Director Andrew Litton and Principal Oboist for the NYCB Orchestra Julia DeRosa in a discussion of Georges Bizet’s score for Balanchine’s Symphony In C. Additional episodes featuring conversations with current and former NYCB artists, will be released every Monday at podcast.nycballet.com and on all platforms where podcasts are available.

NYCB’s Education Department will once again present Ballet Breaks, four workshops for children ages 3 to 8, which will launch on Saturday, October 3 at 11am (New York, 6pm UK). Each of the 30-minute workshops will be taught by a different NYCB dancer who will lead participants through a warm-up and movement combinations inspired by iconic works presented in the digital fall season. Live music accompanies all workshops, which are powered by Zoom. Suggested registration fees for Ballet Breaks online are $5 per workshop, ($15 to include a link to a digital recording, active for one week). For those unable to pay a registration fee, participation will be available free of charge. Visit nycballet.com/balletbreaks for more information.

In similar vein, Ballet Essentials features four movement workshops for teens and adults that will launch Monday, October 5 at 6.30pm (New York; 1.30am Tuesday, UK). Also via Zoom, the hour-long workshops will be led by NYCB dancers and pianists and take participants through a ballet warm-up and choreography. Suggested registration fees for Ballet Essentials online are $8 per workshop ($15 to include a link to a digital recording, active for one week). Again, for those unable to pay a registration fee, participation will be available free of charge. Visit nycballet.com/balletessentialsonline for more information.

NYCB’s Education Department will also offer Signature Steps, virtual ballet classes for intermediate to advanced level dancers who have a minimum of five years of training, technical proficiency, and a comprehensive understanding of barre and centre work. These classes will move at a quick pace and include complex exercises.

The hour-long sessions will be taught by a different NYCB dancer each week and will focus on the qualities that make New York City Ballet unique, including George Balanchine’s signature aesthetic. Four classes will be offered on Wednesday evenings over the course of the digital fall season, launching on September 30 at 6:30pm (New York; 1.30am Thursday UK), and powered by Zoom. All classes will feature live music and have a registration fee of $30 per class, which includes a link to a digital recording of the session that will be active for one week following the live event. For more information visit nycballet.com/signaturesteps.

Online versions of NYCB’s Access Workshops, designed especially for people with disabilities, will also be offered. Powered by Zoom, three one-hour workshops for teens and adults will take place on Thursday evenings, launching on October 8 at 6pm (New York); and three 45-minute Access Workshops for children ages 4 through 12 on Saturdays, launching on October 10 at noon (New York; 7pm UK). Registration is free for all Access Workshops; visit nycballet.com/accessworkshops and nycballet.com/childrensaccessworkshops for more information.

Complete details, including ballets and casting for the performance programs, as well as hosts and participants for the interactive workshops and other content, will be released at a later date. For updates visit nycballet.com/digitalfall.