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 Celebrate the birth of American ballet with dances from Stars and Stripes, Who Cares?, Western Symphony and Union Jack – all to live band music by composers George Gershwin, John Philip Sousa and Hershey Kay. Spectacular Balanchine! is a no-holds-barred evening of carefree, exuberant dance, and a mood-boost worth the ticket price alone.
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION…IN BALLET
The revolution will not be televised. See it live.
When choreographer George Balanchine left Russia for New York in 1933 and caught his first glimpse of American women striding its sidewalks and fashion runways, ballet changed forever. One look at their loose, energetic insouciance told him the coy romance and coquetry of 19th-century European ballet would never play here. America needed a new kind of ballet.
"The American girl is mieux construit [better constructed] than girls of other countries,” he said in a 1934 interview. “The American girl finds greater zest in her sports and athletics because they are not so much a matter of regimentation but enjoyment and freedom. She enters into them with high spirits and gets a kick out of them.”
Balanchine invented American ballet — and when he did ballet on American subjects, the result was always "...pure, unmitigated, uncut joy.” (Robert Sealy, Ballet Review).
This June, American Contemporary Ballet’s Spectacular Balanchine! features dances from those ballets: Stars and Stripes, Who Cares?, Western Symphony, and (in a nod to America’s British heritage) Union Jack, all danced to live performances of scores by composers George Gershwin, John Philip Sousa, and traditional tunes arranged by Hershey Kay.
“Watch these ballets and you’ll detect the sharp moves and smooth aplomb of Fred Astaire, the high kicks of American drill teams, and the sly humor of American westerns,” said ACB Director Lincoln Jones. ”You’ll also get the sense that Balanchine grasped American culture better than any of his contemporaries. His embrace of it shifted the epicenter of ballet to America.”
Spectacular Balanchine! honors ballet’s greatest choreographer with nine nights of carefree, exuberant dance and music – and a mood boost worth the ticket price alone.
Presenter / Producer: American Contemporary Ballet
Listed Categories
Dance > Ballet
Event Phone: 213-304-3408
Venue
American Contemporary Ballet at Bank of America Plaza
333 S. Hope St.
Concourse Level
Los Angeles CA 90071
Regions:
LA - Central / Downtown
Performance Dates: 6/4/2026 - 6/20/2026
Thursday, 06/04/2026
Friday, 06/05/2026
Saturday, 06/06/2026
Thursday, 06/11/2026
Friday, 06/12/2026
Saturday, 06/13/2026
Thursday, 06/18/2026
Friday, 06/19/2026
Saturday, 06/20/2026
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Performance Times
All performances begin at 8:00 p.m.
Ticket Information:
Tickets $65-$140
Web Link for ticketing
Websites:
Event Information
Social Media or other Links:
https://www.instagram.com/americancontemporaryballet/
https://www.youtube.com/@ACBDances
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