American Ballet Theatre

Dance in the United States Before ABT

Ballet originated in Europe in the French court of Louis the Sixteenth. From there it sprang up in Italy and then Russia where it was lifted to new heights by the enthusiastic support of the Russian court who wanted to carry on European cultural traditions ushered in by Peter the Great's efforts to modernize Russia.

America had no native classical dance tradition. Various folk dances arrived with immigrant groups and by the mid-19th century vaudeville and ballroom dance were popular. Yet most of the dancing on stage and in films, often referred to as hoofing, lacked the beauty and polish born stringent training in classical technique.

The Birth of American Ballet

Thanks in part to the Bolshevik revolution of 1918, many of the best dancers, choreographers, and musicians of the Russian state dance theatre, the Maryinsky, fled the country. Some joined Serge Diaghilev's Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and later made their way to the United States. Finding no real classical dance infrastructure here, they sought to build one.

American Ballet Theatre was launched in 1939 when Lucia Chase, a wealthy ballet student and patron, agreed to transform the Mordkin Ballet into a full scale international company. The objective was to put together a company with a full repertoire of the best ballets from the past while also commissioning newer, modern works.

ABT vs NYCB

Although it was always Lucia Chase's aim for ABT to be the one and only national ballet company, the New York City Ballet, which was founded in 1948 by George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein, is a solid rival.

Dance Drama

While ABT is known for its theatricality, NYCB was originally founded as a vehicle for Balanchine's neo-classical approach to ballet which emphasizes form and musicality over theatricality. Balanchine, the son of a composer, saw his dancers as instruments, therefore most of his ballets are plotless, often performed without extensive backdrops, scenery or costumes.

No Room for Stars

ABT is home to true ballet stars and cultivates that as part of its reputation. On the other hand, Balanchine actively discouraged this as the dance itself was paramount, not the dancer. Both Mikhail Baryshnikov and Rudolph Nureyev wanted to dance with Balanchine after their defections but were already much too celebrated to comfortably fit into the company. Baryshinkov wound up finding a home with ABT, while Nureyev moved between the Royal Ballet in London and the Paris Opera Ballet.

A Home at the Met

Early on, ABT was offered the New York City Center as its performance home but preferred the Metropolitan Opera House which was a space dedicated to opera. NYCB took the space instead and then got a permanent home, as New York City's resident company at the New York State Theatre when Lincoln Center was built. ABT is officially part of the Kennedy Center, but has no dedicated theatre there. Its New York City home is still the Metropolitan Opera House, just adjacent to the State Theater.

The Ballets

In the beginning, ABT's repertoire tended towards story ballets, both classical and modern by Mikhail Fokine, Anthony Tudor and Agnes DeMille. At the same time, newer styles were incorporated from Balanchine, Jerome Robbins and later Twlya Tharp.

Recently, ABT announced the appointment of famed choreographer Alexei Ratmansky, the artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet as an artist in residence. Here is a sampling of the diversity of the ABT repertory:

American Ballet Theatre Today

ABT performs a fall season in New York City at the New York City Center and a spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House. The company also tours annually. Here's a list of some of ABT's most famous performers, past and present.

• Alicia Markova
• Mikhail Baryshnikov
• Natalia Makarova
• Gelsey Kirkland
• Nina Ananiashvili
• Maxim Beloserkovsky
• Jose Manuel Carreno

ABT continues to carry on a rich ballet tradition. If you have an opportunity to see a performance, it is more than worth the price of admission.