''Opus 19/The Dreamer'' is a ballet choreographed by

Jerome Robbins Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his nu ...

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, ...

's Violin Concerto No. 1. The ballet premiered on June 14, 1979 at the

New York State Theater The David H. Koch Theater is a theater for ballet, modern and other forms of dance, part of the Lincoln Center, at the intersection of Columbus Avenue and 63rd Street in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Original ...

, danced by the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company ...

Production

''Opus 19/The Dreamer'' was created for

Mikhail Baryshnikov Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; lv, Mihails Barišņikovs; born January 28, 1948) is a Soviet Latvian-born Russian-American dancer, choreograp ...

and

Patricia McBride Patricia McBride (born August 23, 1942 in Teaneck, New Jersey) is a ballerina who spent nearly 30 years dancing with the New York City Ballet. McBride joined the New York City Ballet in 1959. She became a principal in 1961, becoming the company's ...

, and features an ensemble of 12 dancers. Baryshnikov joined the

in 1978, the year before ''Opus 19'' was created, and soon after that he left to take over the directorship of the

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

. As the lead man is on stage most of the time, it is a challenge to the dancer's stamina. In a 2019 interview, Baryshnikov said he could not recall the details of the creation process, but Robbins wanted "to dance everything himself in sneakers and jeans. All those jumps. He always had to try everything." Baryshnikov also said the ballet has "no story and yet it’s a reflection of the music — he sits, she dances, and she sits, he dances." Though Baryshnikov rarely coaches, he worked with New York City Ballet dancers Gonzalo Garcia and

Taylor Stanley Taylor G. Stanley (born May 30, 1991) is an American ballet dancer who is currently a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. Early life Stanley was born in Philadelphia to a mixed-race family, and was raised in West Chester, Pennsylvani ...

on the lead role. Garcia described the ballet as "an artistic journey." In 2020, in response to performance cancellations due to the coronavirus, New York City Ballet released a video of ''Opus 19/The Dreamers first movement online, featuring

Unity Phelan Unity Sickles Phelan (born February 1995) is an American ballet dancer. She joined the New York City Ballet in 2013 and was promoted to principal dancer in 2021. Outside of the company, she had also danced in films '' John Wick: Chapter 3 – Par ...

in her role debut and Garcia, filmed earlier that year. The

Pacific Northwest Ballet Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) is a ballet company based in Seattle, Washington, in the United States. It is said to have the highest per capita attendance in the United States, with 11,000 subscribers in 2004. The company consists of 49 dan ...

had also performed the ballet.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Opus 19 The Dreamer 1979 ballet premieres Ballets by Jerome Robbins Ballets to the music of Sergei Prokofiev Ballets designed by Ben Benson Ballets designed by Ronald Bates New York City Ballet repertory