Coming to the Metropolitan Opera House stage for the first time, this Shakespearian tragedy has arrived for its ABT New York Premiere. Drama and romance twinkle at the edges of this mesmerizing piece, performed first at the Royal Opera House in London. In this episode of Behind the Ballet, Elizabeth Kaye explores the creation of The Winter’s Tale by Christopher Wheeldon. Kaye then explains how Shakespeare’s classic play is translated into movement through of Wheeldon’s bold dance vocabulary, a daring ballet spectacle that transforms dance into art.

American Ballet Theatre was proud to celebrate our fifth annual Pride Night on Friday, June 20, 2025! The evening was dedicated to the LGBTQIA+ members of the ABT community, and beyond, and recognized the immense contributions of queer artists to the world of the performing arts.

Prior to a performance of Wayne McGregor’s Woolf Works, a ballet based on the life and works of queer literary icon Virginia Woolf, ABT alumni Sean Stewart, Flavio Salazar, and Director of Repertoire Carlos Lopez, and corps de ballet members Remy Young and Melvin Lawovi gave a pre-show speech paying tribute to the legacy of queer artists and ABT, and expressing wishes for the future of queer youth and adults in ballet and beyond.

Following the performance, Dancers Responding to AIDS made a fundraising appeal to support The Entertainment Community Fund, which offers financial assistance and social services to folks onstage, backstage and behind-the-scenes. To end the night, guests made their way to the Grand Tier for a celebratory Pride toast, including speeches by Artistic Director Susan Jaffe, Antoine Vereecken, Principal Restager at Studio Wayne McGregor, and corps de ballet member Jose Sebastian.

To learn more about Pride Night 2025, please see a short piece about Virginia Woolf’s queer legacy in Wayne McGregor’s Woolf Works below. Take a look at our special Pride Night program insert as well, including reflections from the ABT community on what Woolf Works means to us! We look forward to seeing you at next year’s Pride Night at the Metropolitan Opera House.

About Virginia Woolf and Woolf Works

By Suha Khan

Wayne McGregor’s Woolf Works depicts the life and works of Virginia Woolf, whose legacy as a queer literary icon radiates even over a century after she lived. This year, as American Ballet Theatre presents the ballet for the second time at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, Woolf’s classic novel Mrs. Dalloway celebrates its 100th anniversary. Along with The Waves and Orlando, Woolf Works is primarily based on these three of Woolf’s novels, as well as her letters, essays, and other collected writing.

Virginia Woolf understood firsthand what it was like to live against social norms, and her feminist and queer voice never wavered. Many of Woolf’s writings criticize the suffocating role of the patriarchy towards women, particularly in the Modernist era in which Woolf grew up. Her letters reveal a passionate romance, most notably, with writer Vita Sackville-West, and other women, and her writing often features revolutionary explorations of gender and sexuality.

Woolf’s personal odds against societal expectations deeply informed her fictional writing, especially in Orlando, said to be inspired by Woolf’s former beloved Sackville-West. This narrative, the basis of “Becomings”, follows its titular character’s exploration of gender over the course of three centuries, as we witness the protagonist’s formidable counter against gender conformity and sexual norms.

Mrs. Dalloway, the inspiration for “I now, I then” of Woolf Works, explores queer longing through Claudia Dalloway’s stream of consciousness revelations. Dalloway recalls her life’s “most happy” moment: a kiss with Sally, a childhood friend. Exactly one hundred years later, this singular moment continues to powerfully resonates across LGBTQIA+ communities, and through literature, and art—Woolf Works is no exception.

In The Waves, which serves as the foundation for the ballet’s final section, Woolf presents a deeply moving exploration of human relationships—queer and straight alike—without explanation or apology. Her queerness was simply part of her truth, a reflection of life as she knew and felt it.

McGregor’s Woolf Works serves as a visual and embodied pulse of the viscerally honest, and importantly, queer, heart that Woolf put into her writing. Through grace and spectacle, the ballet simultaneously uplifts and provokes, raising questions about sexuality and gender identity and expression for us to consider now and always.

The writer, Suha Khan, is an ABT Press Intern for Summer 2025.

Taking on the legacy of the Modernist literary talent Virginia Woolf through inspiration of her novels and collected writings, Wayne McGregor’s Woolf Works returns to ABT’s Summer season. Through its contemporary grace, Woolf Works has engaged audiences in a whirlwind of emotion and fluidity. This installment Behind the Ballet provides a rich understanding of choreographer Wayne McGregor’s history and an abstract overview of the ballet’s content. This talk will leave you with much to think about and even more to see on stage.

Originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov in Russia in 1895, Swan Lake tells the story of Prince Siegfried, who falls in love with Odette, a princess cursed by the evil sorcerer von Rothbart to become a swan by daylight. While Siegfried’s love of Odette could break the spell, he is tricked into instead pledging his love to Odile, the sorcerer’s daughter, who is disguised as Odette. What unfolds is a tale of love, transformation, and ultimate forgiveness.

ABT premiered its first full-length Swan Lake in 1967 with a version choreographed by David Blair. Blair’s rendition of the classic tale blazed the trail for what would become ABT’s most popular ballet.

It was in 2000 when then Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie’s Swan Lake came to life. Featuring Julie Kent as Odette/Odile and Angel Corella as Prince Siegfried in its March 2000 World Premiere at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., McKenzie’s Swan Lake was based on the 1895 version while also including changes that made the show uniquely ABT’s own.

The New York Times outlined the changes in an article leading up to the New York Premiere of the production, which included the addition of a prologue to give Odette’s backstory. Evil sorcerer von Rothbart was reimagined as a split personality, with two dancers sharing the role. McKenzie even positioned Prince Siegfried as the focus of the story, rather than Odette, the Swan Queen.

”In my mind, the Swan’s story is done.The story happens to Siegfried, not the Swan. He can’t marry his ideal to reality. That is the tragedy,” McKenzie explained.

Upon its Kennedy Center debut, The Wall Street Journal said McKenzie’s Swan Lake gave “the 123-year-old ballet fresh splendor, depth and momentum” and that it glided “to the forefront of stagings all over the world.” When the ballet debuted in New York, The New York Times declared McKenzie’s Swan Lake “the blockbuster production of the dance season” and said that “all its new and traditional components fell into place” when Nina Ananiashvili and Julio Bocca danced the leading roles. The production was a true spectacle, with more than 300 costumes, forty-four Swan tutus, and wide acclaim for both sets and lighting.

Since then, McKenzie’s Swan Lake has been a staple in ABT’s repertoire, playing to packed houses year after year. Experience the ballet during ABT’s 2025 Summer season at the Metropolitan Opera House and enjoy the photos of this magical ballet from over the years at ABT.

Giselle, the heartbreaking love story of a village maiden and a handsome young nobleman betrothed to another, holds a special place in the hearts of ballet aficionados all around the world. But fandom isn’t the only reason it’s particularly special at American Ballet Theatre: It’s also one of the first ballets that Company ever performed.

American Ballet Theatre, known as Ballet Theatre at the time, raised the curtain on its first performance ever on January 11, 1940, with a production of Les Sylphides at The Center Theatre in New York City. The very next day, the Company took the stage for its very first performance of Giselle, starring Annabelle Lyon in the title role and Anton Dolin, the production’s choreographer, as Albrecht.

Several renowned choreographers and Artistic Directors went on to stage renditions of Giselle at ABT over the years, including Dimitri Romanoff (with contributions from George Balanchine) in 1946, David Blair in 1968, Mikhail Baryshnikov in 1980 and 1987, and Kevin McKenzie in 1998. Now, 85 years later, Giselle is on the roster once again for ABT’s Summer 2025 season at the Metropolitan Opera House June 21 – 28.

Enjoy these photos of ABT’s Giselle over the years, featuring some of ballet history’s most iconic dancers (and ABT stars) in the leading roles.

Performing in mesmerizing unison, the corps de ballet embody dedicated hours of training. From the studio until the curtain drops, corps members work together to showcase beautiful productions for the season. With a passionate love of dance are exemplary corps members who inspire and lead their team.

Each year, American Ballet Theatre recognizes an outstanding senior female corps dancer with the title of Jennifer Alexander Dancer. This dancer displays professionalism, dedication, and perseverance as the late Jennifer Alexander exemplified. Jennifer passed away in December 2007, and the title and Jennifer Alexander Memorial Fund are in memory of this beloved corps de ballet member.

This year ABT honors Leah Baylin as the 2025 Jennifer Alexander Dancer.

Leah began dancing ballet at four years old and from her first performance fell in love with the art form. “I lived for the moments I got to go to class and be onstage,” said Leah. Since then, Leah continued to pursue her love of ballet professionally.

Joining the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School in September 2017 was the start of Leah’s ABT journey. In January the following year, Leah joined ABT Studio Company. She became an apprentice with the main Company in December 2019, then joined the corps de ballet in September 2021.

Nearing her fourth year as a corps de ballet member, dancing in the iconic swans corps at the end of Swan Lake is one of Leah’s favorite ABT moments. “The sun rises and we’re all onstage moving and breathing together one last time,” said Leah. Since joining ABT, Leah has danced every Swan Lake performance and each time gives her chills saying, “the beauty of breathing as one, the accomplishment of finishing the ballet, and the music transcend anything I’ve felt before.” She highlights the “camaraderie of the Company, especially the corps women,” as the best part of ABT.

Both on and off the stage, Leah uplifts and engages with the ABT community. An alumni of the ABT JKO School, Leah joined their fall semester Meet the Artist session in 2024 to answer the questions of excited young dancers and shared her own experiences. “To have a small hand in the output and an influence on younger dancers feels like I have given back to the art form in some way,” said Leah.

During the Summer of 2021, Leah contributed to “Dancer Diaries” for SideBarre, when the Company toured to her home state of Colorado. She shared fond moments during ABT “ballet bubbles” and the fulfilling but extensive rehearsal process. Her thoughtful stories created connectivity between ABT members in a period of separation.

As her work as a dancer never ends, Leah’s motto “practice like you’re the worst, perform like you’re the best,” summarizes her committed mindset. Leah said, “I’ve always enjoyed savoring the work I’ve put in and then being able to let go when I perform.” Her diligence and love for dance shine from practice to the stage.

Leah’s advice to young dancers is, “to not shy away from your qualities. Knowing your weaknesses is always a way to improve, but knowing and honing your strengths is a way to become an artist true to yourself and cultivate genuine confidence.”

The Jennifer Alexander Dancer honors Leah as part of the amazing women who continue to inspire and cultivate unity beyond the stage. Leah said, “Receiving this award makes me feel proud to be among the generations of amazing women, including Jennifer Alexander.”

In this installment of Behind the Ballet, Elizabeth Kaye dives into the complexities of Helen Pickett’s Crime and Punishment, which will make its World Premiere during ABT’s 2024 Fall season. Kaye explores the creatives, characters, and synopsis of this literary classic, including Pickett’s intentional decision to double-cast her protagonist as both a man and woman. This decision invites viewers to consider the protagonist’s identity as a volatile and remarkably complicated human being rather than focusing on their gender.

In this episode of Behind the Ballet, Elizabeth Kaye examines Signature Works through the marriage of works by two disparate yet irretrievably linked artists, Twyla Tharp and Marius Petipa. Kaye describes how Tharp, who turned classical ballet on its head in the 20^th century by fusing it with other dance elements, weds grace with athleticism in The Upper Room. In contrast to Tharp’s dynamic work is The Kingdom of the Shades, one of ballet’s most beloved classical gems. Created by Marius Petipa, the father of classical ballet, and later staged for American Ballet Theatre by Natalia Makarova in 1974, this extended scene from the ballet La Bayadère demonstrates the essence of classical ballet’s purity and precision. Finally, Kaye highlights the iconic pas de deux selected as part of the Signature Works program, including from George Balanchine’s Sylvia Pas de Deux, Twyla Tharp’s Sinatra Suite, and Lynne Taylor Corbett’s Great Galloping Gottschalk. 

Elizabeth Kaye explores Choreographers of the 20^th and 21^st Centuries in this installment of Behind the Ballet, focusing on landmark ballets from two iconic choreographers, George Balanchine’s Ballet Imperial and Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room, during ABT’s 2024 Fall season. Kaye describes how Ballet Imperial, one of the first plotless ballets, carries a rich graciousness that permeated the grand 19^th century ballets such as Swan Lake. Unique to this year’s Fall season are the new sets and costumes that establish a world and mood before a single step is performed. Kaye then describes how Tharp, who turned classical ballet on its head in the 20^th century by fusing it with other dance elements, weds grace with athleticism in The Upper Room.