New York City Ballet Reveals 2026-27 Season Featuring 48 Ballets

New York City Ballet’s 2026-27 Season will open on Tuesday, September 22, 2026 and continue for 21 weeks of performances, through Sunday, May 30, 2027 at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center.

The season, with programming curated by NYCB Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan, in collaboration with Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford and Resident Choreographer and Artistic Advisor Justin Peck, will begin and end with performances of two full-length masterpieces by NYCB co-founder George Balanchine: Jewels, which will open the season with a week of performances from September 22 through 27; and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which will close the season with a week of performances from May 25 through 30. During the course of the season, the Company of nearly 100 dancers and the 62-piece New York City Ballet Orchestra under the leadership of Music Director Andrew Litton, will present 48 ballets including 5 World Premieres and 2 New York City Ballet Premieres.

New works for the 2026 Fall Season will include World Premiere ballets by Jennifer Archibald and Alysa Pires, both of which will take place at the Company’s annual Fall Fashion Gala on Thursday, October 1; and a pièce d’occasion created by Pam Tanowitz for NYCB Principal Dancer Adrian Danchig-Waring who will retire from NYCB with a special one-time-only performance on Sunday, October 18.

The 2027 Winter Season will open with the New York City Ballet premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s full-length production of Romeo & Juliet, set to the score by Sergei Prokofiev, with scenery and costumes by Richard Hudson and lighting by Mark Stanley. The ballet will be presented for 14 performances, from Tuesday, January 19 through Sunday, January 31.

New works for the 2027 Spring Season will include a World Premiere by NYCB Resident Choreographer Justin Peck at the annual Spring Gala on Thursday, May 6; and two premieres on Saturday, May 8 at 2pm: a World Premiere by NYCB Principal Dancer Tiler Peck and the NYCB Premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s Fandango originally created at the Vail Dance Festival in 2010.

In addition to the new works, the 2026-27 Season will include 24 ballets by NYCB Co-Founder George Balanchine, including the rarely performed Pithoprakta, which will return to the repertory during the 2026 Fall Season, staged by Suzanne Farrell; 5 ballets by NYCB Co-Founding Choreographer Jerome Robbins; and additional repertory by choreographers Kyle Abraham, Mauro Bigonzetti, Lar Lubovitch, Justin Peck, Tiler Peck, Alexei Ratmansky, Jamar Roberts, and Christopher Wheeldon.

The 2026-27 Season will also include Farewell Performances for retiring Principal Dancers Adrian Danchig-Waring on Sunday, October 18 and Taylor Stanley on Sunday, February 28.

New York City Ballet’s 2026-27 Season will include the annual holiday engagement of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker from Friday, November 27, 2026 through Sunday, January 3, 2027.

All performances will take place at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, which is located at West 63rd Street and Columbus Avenue. Subscription tickets for the 2026-27 repertory season will be available beginning Monday, March 30, and single tickets will go on sale on Monday, August 3. Tickets for George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® will go on sale in September. Tickets are available online at nycballet.com or by phone at 212-496-0600. For complete program information visit nycballet.com.

Fall Season – September 22 through October 18, 2026

• Season to Open with One Week of George Balanchine’s Full-Length Jewels
• World Premieres by Jennifer Archibald and Alysa Pires at the Fall Fashion Gala on Thursday, October 1
• Revival of George Balanchine’s Rarely Performed Pithoprakta, staged by Suzanne Farrell, to Debut on Thursday, October 8
• Farewell Performance for Principal Dancer Adrian Danchig-Waring on Sunday, October 18 featuring a World Premiere Pièce d’Occasion by Pam Tanowitz

NYCB’s 2026-27 Season will begin with a four-week Fall Season that will open on Tuesday, September 22 with seven performances of Jewels, the full-length masterpiece choreographed by NYCB co-founder George Balanchine in 1967.

The second week of the Fall Season will begin with a program of works created by NYCB’s co-founding choreographers consisting of Balanchine’s La Source from 1968 to music by Léo Delibes and The Four Temperaments from 1946 to music by Paul Hindemith, and Robbins’ The Concert from 1956 to music by Frédéric Chopin. The week will be highlighted by the Company’s annual Fall Fashion Gala on Thursday, October 1. The gala evening will feature World Premiere ballets by choreographers Jennifer Archibald, who will make her first work for NYCB, and Alysa Pires, who will be making her second work for the Company. The music and design credits for the premieres will be announced at a later date.

Following the October 1 Fall Fashion Gala performance, this program will return for four additional performances that will also include Kyle Abraham’s Love Letter (on shuffle), created to music by James Blake for the 2022 Fall Fashion Gala and featuring costumes by Giles Deacon and lighting by Dan Scully; and Justin Peck’s Pulcinella Variations, created to music by Igor Stravinsky for the 2017 Fall Fashion Gala and featuring costumes by Tsumori Chisato and lighting by Mark Stanley.

NYCB’s Fall Fashion Gala was conceived by NYCB Board Vice Chair Sarah Jessica Parker and launched in 2012 with a gala celebration of the legendary designer Valentino. The event has since featured costumes designed by more than 30 fashion designers including Thom Browne, Sarah Burton, Prabal Gurung, Carolina Herrera, Mary Katranzou, Humberto Leon, Zac Posen, Christopher John Rogers, Narciso Rodriguez, Anna Sui, Iris van Herpen, and Dries Van Noten, created in collaboration with Marc Happel, NYCB’s Director of Costumes.

The third and fourth weeks of the Fall Season will be highlighted by two programs, the first consisting of Christopher Wheeldon’s Continuum from 2002 to music by György Ligeti, Alexei Ratmansky’s Solitude from 2024 to music by Gustav Mahler, and Balanchine’s Bourrée Fantasque from 1949 to music by Emmanuel Chabrier, which will debut on Wednesday, October 7.

The second program will feature a revival of Balanchine’s rarely performed Pithoprakta, the second section of the work titled Metastaseis & Pithoprakta, which was created in 1968 to music by Iannis Xenakis, the Romanian-born, Greek-French avant-garde composer. Created for Suzanne Farrell, Arthur Mitchell, and a corps of 12 dancers, Pithoprakta was last performed at NYCB in 1969.

In 2007 Farrell reconstructed Pithoprakta for The Suzanne Farrell Ballet and she will return to NYCB to stage this major revival of the work. The first performance of Pithoprakta will take place on Thursday, October 8 as part of an all-Balanchine program that will also include La Sonnambula from 1946 to music by Vittorio Rieti, The Unanswered Question (from Ivesiana) from 1954 to music by Charles Ives, and Theme and Variations from 1947 to music by Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky.

The Fall Season will conclude on Sunday, October 18 with a Farewell Performance honoring Principal Dancer Adrian Danchig-Waring, who retires from NYCB after more than 23 years. For this one-time-only occasion, choreographer Pam Tanowitz will create a world premiere pièce d'occasion. The program will also feature works closely associated with Danchig-Waring: Lar Lubovitch's Each In Their Own Time, in which Danchig-Waring originated his role, and Balanchine's The Four Temperaments and Agon.

Born in San Francisco, California, Danchig-Waring began his dance training at age 11 at Dance Theatre Seven under David Roxander. He entered the School of American Ballet in 2001, became an apprentice with NYCB in 2002, and joined the corps de ballet in 2003. He was promoted to Soloist in 2009 and rose to Principal Dancer in 2013. Over the course of his career, Danchig-Waring has performed an extensive repertory of works by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, and has collaborated with many of today's leading choreographers, including Wayne McGregor, Emily Molnar, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Justin Peck, Angelin Preljocaj, Alexei Ratmansky, Pam Tanowitz, and Christopher Wheeldon.

In 2018, Danchig-Waring was named Artistic Director of the New York Choreographic Institute (NYCI), an affiliate of NYCB, and a hub of creativity dedicated to cultivating the next generation of artists working to evolve and expand what ballet is, and who it is for. Following his retirement from the NYCB stage, Danchig-Waring will continue to develop NYCI's dynamic programs and partnerships in support of choreographic experimentation, risk-taking, and innovation across the field.

Since joining NYCB, Danchig-Waring has performed featured roles in numerous ballets by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, as well as works by August Bournonville, Kim Brandstrup, Merce Cunningham, Ulysses Dove, Boris Eifman, Eliot Feld, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Peter Martins, Wayne McGregor, Matthew Neenan, Justin Peck, Angelin Preljocaj, Alexei Ratmansky, Pam Tanowitz, and Christopher Wheeldon.

In 2018 Danchig-Waring was named the Director of the New York Choreographic Institute, an affiliate of NYCB that was established in 2000 to foster the art of choreography and provide time, space and resources for dance artists to pursue their craft through experimentation and risk-taking that prioritizes process over finished product. Danchig-Waring will continue in his role with the Institute after retiring from the stage.

George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker – November 27, 2026 through January 3, 2027

• Including a Sensory Friendly Performance on Sunday, January 3 at 1pm

The year of performances will continue with NYCB’s annual engagement of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®, which will take place from Friday, November 27, 2026 through Sunday, January 3, 2027. NYCB’s landmark production of the holiday classic, which The New York Times has called “the gold standard” Nutcracker, premiered on February 2, 1954 and helped to establish The Nutcracker and its score as perennial favorites in the United States.

A signature event of the holiday season in New York City, the ballet is set to the Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky score, with scenery by Rouben Ter-Arutunian, costumes by Karinska, and lighting by Mark Stanley, after lighting designed by Ronald Bates.

The final performance of this year’s season of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® at 1pm on Sunday, January 3 will be a special sensory friendly performance designed to provide a relaxed and inclusive environment where individuals with autism, sensory and communication disorders, or learning disabilities can enjoy a ballet performance. While intended for these audiences, this performance is open to all. Slight modifications to the social and sensory environment include a relaxed entry and exit policy, adjustments to lighting and sound levels, designated break areas throughout the theater, additional event staffing to assist with audience needs, and pre-visit resources.

Winter Season – January 19 through February 28, 2027

• NYCB Premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s Full-Length Romeo & Juliet
Featuring Sets and Costumes by Richard Hudson and Lighting by Mark Stanley
Will Open the Winter Season with Two Weeks of Performances from January 19 through 31
• 60th Anniversary of George Balanchine’s Jewels from February 12 through 14
• Farewell Performance for NYCB Principal Dancer Taylor Stanley on Sunday, February 28

The 2027 Winter Season will open on Tuesday, January 19 with the New York City Ballet premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s full-length production of Romeo & Juliet, which will run for two weeks of performances, through Sunday, January 31.

Set to the score by Sergei Prokofiev, Ratmansky originally created Romeo & Juliet for the National Ballet of Canada in 2011, in a production that featured sets and costumes by Richard Hudson, the acclaimed stage designer best known for his Tony Award-winning designs for Broadway’s The Lion King.

For NYCB’s 2027 Winter Season, Ratmansky, the Company’s Artist in Residence since 2023, will re-stage the work for NYCB’s dancers, in a new production that will feature Hudson’s original set and costume designs, adapted for NYCB and the David H. Koch Theater, with new lighting created by NYCB Resident Lighting Designer Mark Stanley.

Spring Season – April 20 through May 30, 2027

• World Premiere by Resident Choreographer Justin Peck at the annual Spring Gala Performance on Thursday, May 6
• World Premiere by Principal Dancer Tiler Peck on Saturday, May 8
• NYCB Premiere of Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky’s Fandango on Saturday, May 8
• Six Performances of Justin Peck’s Copland Dance Episodes Beginning Saturday, May 15
• Sensory Friendly Performance on Saturday, May 16 at 11am
• The Season Will Close with One-Week of Balanchine’s Full-Length A Midsummer Night’s Dream from May 25 through 30

The 2027 Spring Season will begin with two all-Balanchine programs that showcase six masterpieces created over a span of more than four decades.

The first program, debuting on Tuesday, April 20, the opening night of the Spring Season, will consist of Allegro Brillante from 1956 to music by Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky, Le Tombeau de Couperin from 1975 to music by Maurice Ravel, and Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet from 1966 to Arnold Schoenberg’s orchestration of Johannes Brahms’ Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25.

The second program, debuting on Wednesday, April 21, will consist of Serenade from 1934 to music by Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky, Stravinsky Violin Concerto from 1972 to music by Igor Stravinsky, and La Valse from 1951 to music by Maurice Ravel.

New Works for 2026-27 Season – Choreographers

Jennifer Archibald

Fall Gala World Premiere – Thursday, October 1, 2026

Jennifer Archibald is the founder and Artistic Director of the Arch Dance Company and Program Director of ArchCore40 Dance Intensives. Originally from Toronto, Canada, she is a graduate of The Ailey School and the Maggie Flanigan Studio, where she studied the Meisner Technique. In 2017, she was appointed as the first female resident choreographer in Cincinnati Ballet’s 40-year history.

Alysa Pires

Fall Gala World Premiere – Thursday, October 1, 2026