New York City Ballet Announces 2026–27 Season With 48 Ballets and World Premieres
New York City Ballet’s 2026–27 season will bring 21 weeks of performances and 48 ballets to the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, including world premieres, two New York City Ballet premieres, and major works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins and today’s leading choreographers.
New York City Ballet’s 2026–27 season, runs from September 22, 2026 through May 30, 2027 at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center.
The ambitious season will feature 48 ballets performed over 21 weeks by a company of nearly 100 dancers, accompanied by the 62-piece New York City Ballet Orchestra under Music Director Andrew Litton. The programming, curated by NYCB Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan in collaboration with Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford and Resident Choreographer and Artistic Advisor Justin Peck, combines the company’s celebrated classical heritage with an impressive lineup of new choreography.
Balanchine Opens and Closes the Season
The 2026–27 season will begin with one of George Balanchine’s most celebrated full-length works, Jewels, presented September 22–27.
Created in 1967, Jewels is composed of three sections—Emeralds, Rubies, and Diamonds—and is widely regarded as the first full-length plotless ballet. The work will return later in the season as part of a special celebration marking the 60th anniversary of its premiere.
The season will also conclude with Balanchine’s beloved A Midsummer Night’s Dream, presented May 25–30, 2027. Created in 1962 to music by Felix Mendelssohn, it was Balanchine’s first fully original full-length ballet.
In all, the season will include 24 ballets by NYCB co-founder George Balanchine and five works by co-founding choreographer Jerome Robbins.
Fall Season Brings New Voices and a Rare Balanchine Revival
The Fall Season, running September 22 through October 18, will feature several important premieres and repertory revivals.
The annual Fall Fashion Gala on October 1 will feature world premiere ballets by Jennifer Archibald and Alysa Pires. Archibald will make her first work for NYCB, while Pires will create her second work for the company.
Another particularly intriguing highlight will be the return of Balanchine’s rarely performed Pithoprakta, staged by legendary Balanchine ballerina Suzanne Farrell. Created in 1968 to music by avant-garde composer Iannis Xenakis, the work was last performed by NYCB in 1969. Farrell reconstructed the ballet in 2007 for The Suzanne Farrell Ballet and will now return to NYCB to stage the revival.
The Fall Season will close with a special farewell performance for Principal Dancer Adrian Danchig-Waring on October 18. After more than 23 years with New York City Ballet, Danchig-Waring will retire from the stage.
The one-time-only program will include a world premiere pièce d’occasion by choreographer Pam Tanowitz, along with Lar Lubovitch’s Each In Their Own Time and Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments and Agon. Danchig-Waring will continue his work with the New York Choreographic Institute following his retirement from the stage.
The Nutcracker Returns for the Holidays
No New York holiday season would be complete without George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®.
New York City Ballet’s annual presentation will run from November 27, 2026 through January 3, 2027, continuing a tradition that has made Balanchine’s production one of New York City’s signature holiday events.
The production premiered in 1954 and helped establish The Nutcracker and Tchaikovsky’s score as perennial favorites in the United States. This season will also include a sensory-friendly performance on January 3 at 1 p.m., designed to provide a more relaxed and inclusive environment for audience members with autism, sensory and communication disorders, or learning disabilities.
Alexei Ratmansky’s Romeo & Juliet Comes to NYCB
The 2027 Winter Season will open with the New York City Ballet premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s full-length Romeo & Juliet, with performances January 19–31.
Ratmansky, NYCB’s Artist in Residence since 2023, originally created the production for the National Ballet of Canada in 2011. The NYCB staging will feature his production set to Sergei Prokofiev’s score, with scenery and costumes by Richard Hudson and new lighting by NYCB Resident Lighting Designer Mark Stanley.
The production will be re-staged specifically for New York City Ballet’s dancers and the David H. Koch Theater.
Ratmansky will also make his second NYCB premiere of the season with Fandango, scheduled for May 8, 2027. Originally created in 2010 for Wendy Whelan and the Vail Dance Festival, the work is set to music by Luigi Boccherini.
Celebrating 60 Years of Jewels
The Winter Season will also celebrate the 60th anniversary of George Balanchine’s Jewels, with five performances from February 12–14, 2027.
The three-part ballet remains one of Balanchine’s most influential creations, bringing together the contrasting worlds of Emeralds, Rubies, and Diamonds. A special evening performance is scheduled for February 14 at 7 p.m.
The Winter Season will conclude with a farewell performance for Principal Dancer Taylor Stanley on February 28, marking their retirement from NYCB after 17 years with the company.
Spring Season Features Three Major Premieres
The 2027 Spring Season, April 20 through May 30, will bring another series of premieres.
The annual Spring Gala on May 6 will feature a world premiere by NYCB Resident Choreographer Justin Peck. On May 8, Principal Dancer and choreographer Tiler Peck will present another world premiere, alongside Ratmansky’s Fandango.
Justin Peck’s full-length Copland Dance Episodes will then receive six performances beginning May 15. Created in 2023 to music by Aaron Copland—including Fanfare for the Common Man, Rodeo, Appalachian Spring, and Billy the Kid—the ballet features sets by visual artist Jeffrey Gibson, costumes by former NYCB dancer Ellen Warren, and lighting by Brandon Stirling Baker.
The Spring Season will also include a second sensory-friendly performance on May 16, featuring Balanchine’s Serenade and Jerome Robbins’ The Four Seasons.
A Season That Looks Both Backward and Forward
With 24 Balanchine ballets, five works by Jerome Robbins, five world premieres, two NYCB premieres by Alexei Ratmansky, and additional works by choreographers including Kyle Abraham, Mauro Bigonzetti, Lar Lubovitch, Justin Peck, Tiler Peck, Jamar Roberts and Christopher Wheeldon, the 2026–27 season offers an unusually broad view of New York City Ballet’s artistic identity.
It is a season that celebrates the company’s extraordinary history while continuing to develop new voices and new choreography—making the upcoming year an especially interesting one for ballet audiences in New York.
New York City Ballet’s 2026–27 season runs September 22, 2026 through May 30, 2027 at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center. For tickets and complete program information, visit New York City Ballet’s official website.