Ask la Cour and Sterling Hyltin perform in Stravinsky Violin Concerto, choreographed by George Balanchine for NYCB (photo by Rosalie O’Connor)
THREE SIDES OF BALANCHINE
New York City Ballet online
Through March 18, free
www.nycballet.com
New York City Ballet pays digital tribute to its legendary cofounder and longtime leader, George Balanchine, with the free virtual program “Three Sides of Balanchine,” continuing through March 18. The three-week series, hosted by principal dancer Russell Janzen, consists of “Inside NYCB” on Tuesdays at 8:00 and streams of previously recorded performances on Thursdays at 8:00. Each part will be available on YouTube and the NYCB site for seven to nine days. “Three Sides of Balanchine” kicked off February 23 with an exploration of the Siren from Sergei Prokofiev’s Prodigal Son, with a sneak peek at a rehearsal and a live conversation with principal dancer Maria Kowroski, who has played the role many times, NYCB repertory director Lisa Jackson, and corps de ballet member Christina Clark, who is learning the role. That was coupled with a stream of Prodigal Son with Daniel Ulbricht and Teresa Reichlen.
Through March 11, you can catch a discussion about the male solo from Tschaikovsky’s Theme and Variations, with principal dancers Andrew Veyette and Joseph Gordon and repertory director Kathleen Tracey, paired with a 2015 stream of Theme and Variations starring Veyette and Tiler Peck. On March 9, NYCB will explore one of the female solos from Stravinsky Violin Concerto with a conversation and rehearsal session with principal dancer Sara Mearns, soloist Claire Kretzschmar, and repertory director Rebecca Krohn and, beginning March 11, a filmed performance featuring Sterling Hyltin, Ask la Cour, Mearns, and Taylor Stanley. As Balanchine himself said, “Why are you stingy with yourselves? Why are you holding back? What are you saving for — for another time? There are not other times. There is only now. Right now.”