The Kennedy Center to Welcome New York City Ballet, 3/1-6

New York City Ballet returns to the Kennedy Center for their annual engagement, March 1-6, 2016, performing two exciting and distinctively different programs of repertory, including the D.C. premiere of NYCB Resident Choreographer and Soloist Justin Peck's first narrative work, The Most Incredible Thing and a staging of August Bournonville's La Sylphide by Ballet Master in Chief Peter Martins, as well as additional works by George Balanchine, August Bournonville, and Christopher Wheeldon. All performances will be accompanied by the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra.

Program one includes two works by Ballet Master in Chief, Peter Martins: Ash, an exuberant piece, set to music by Michael Torke, flows swiftly through a series of solo and ensemble variations, and The Infernal Machine, a pas de deux in which a man and woman push and pull their way through a racing score by Christopher Rouse. George Balanchine's Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2 is an immense romantic work showcasing the ensemble's classical virtuosity, while Christopher Wheeldon's After the Rain pas de deux, performed to haunting music by Arvo Pärt, soars with heartfelt emotion. The program also includes The Most Incredible Thing, the first narrative ballet from NYCB Resident Choreographer and Soloist Justin Peck. Based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale about a young man who creates a magnificent clock, the work is a large-scale production featuring 56 dancers, including 11 local children. It premiered on February 2, 2016 featuring a score by Grammy-nominated composer and member of The National, Bryce Dessner, with sets and costumes designed by artist Marcel Dzama.

The second program is a celebration of 19th-century Danish ballet master and choreographer August Bournonville, highlighted by the Kennedy Center premiere of Peter Martins' staging of Bournonville's La Sylphide. Originally staged for the Pennsylvania Ballet in 1985, Martins' production is after Bournonville's 1836 production for the Royal Danish Ballet, where Martins trained and danced before joining New York City Ballet as a Principal Dancer in 1970. Set to the score by the Norwegian composer Herman Severin Løvenskjold, La Sylphide is one of the world's oldest surviving Romantic ballets and tells the story of a Scottish farmer who deserts his bride-to-be when he is enticed into the woods by a sylph. The company also presents Bournonville Divertissements, a series of the Danish choreographer's most popular dances, which were originally staged for New York City Ballet by the great ballet teacher Stanley Williams in 1977. The 2015 production was staged by Nilas Martins, and features excerpts from three of the choreographer's finest ballets: the exuberant Napoli, the spirited Abdallah, and the charming and playful duet Flower Festival in Genzano.

New York City Ballet is one of the foremost dance companies in the world, with a roster of more than 90 dancers and an unparalleled repertory of modern masterpieces. The Company was founded in 1948 by the legendary choreographer George Balanchine and arts patron Lincoln Kirstein, and quickly became world-renowned for its athletic, contemporary style, and a repertory of original ballets that has forever changed the face of classical dance. Now under the direction of Ballet Master in Chief Peter Martins and Executive Director Katherine Brown, NYCB is committed to promoting creative excellence and nurturing a new generation of dancers and choreographers.

Tickets start at $29 and can be purchased online, at the Kennedy Center box office or by calling Instant Charge at (202) 467-4600 or (800) 444-1324.

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