While celebrating its 75th anniversary this fall, New York City Ballet is performing 18 ballets by its founding choreographer, George Balanchine.
But to get a sense of the global standing of Balanchine, 40 years after his death, other numbers might be more telling.
Last year, for instance, around 50 other ballet companies across the world performed his works, about 75 dances in total.
Balanchine likened his ballets to butterflies: “They live for a season.” But they have lasted much longer than that.
They have become classics, cornerstones of the international repertory, 20th-century equivalents of 19th-century staples like “Swan Lake,” danced everywhere by all the major ballet companies and most of the minor ones, too.
Persons:
George Balanchine, Balanchine, ”
Organizations:
New York City Ballet, Ballet
Locations:
New, ”, America