''Russian Seasons'' is a ballet choreographed by

Alexei Ratmansky Alexei Osipovich Ratmansky (, born August 27, 1968) is a Russian-Ukrainian-American choreographer and former ballet dancer. From 2004 to 2008 he was the director of the Moscow Bolshoi Ballet. He left Russia in 2008. In 2009 he was appointed the ar ...

Leonid Desyatnikov Leonid Arkadievich Desyatnikov (, born 16 October 1955 in Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR). He is a graduate of the Leningrad Conservatory and a member of the Composers Union of St. Petersburg. Desyatnikov has written four operas, several cantatas and n ...

's music of the same name, with costumes designed by Galina Solovyeva. The ballet premiered on June 8, 2006 at the

New York State Theater The David H. Koch Theater is a theater for ballet and dance at Lincoln Center in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Originally named the New York State Theater, the venue has been home to the New York City Ballet sinc ...

, performed 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's fir ...

. ''Russian Seasons'' is performed by six couples and has twelve sections, and is about Ratmansky's Russian roots. When he made ''Russian Seasons'' for the

, he was the artistic director of the

Bolshoi Ballet The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest Ballet company, ballet companies. In the early 20th century, it ca ...

in Moscow. He had previously made another ballet for the New York Choreographic Institute. ''Russian Seasons'' had also been revived by the Bolshoi Ballet and the

National Ballet of Canada The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca, the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 ...

. In 2020, in response to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the performing arts, the New York City Ballet will release a 2018 video recording of an excerpt from the ninth section, featuring

Abi Stafford Abi Stafford is an American ballet dancer. She joined the New York City Ballet in 2000 and was promoted to principal dancer in 2007. She retired in 2021. Early life Stafford was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. She started ballet when she was six ...

Sara Mearns Sara Ann Mearns (born 19 January 1986) is an American ballet dancer. She is a principal dancer at New York City Ballet. Early life Mearns was born in Columbia, South Carolina. Her mother is a nurse. At age three, she began dancing with Ann Brodi ...

and Amar Ramasar, and a 2017 footage of the tenth section with

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, Pennsylvan ...

in his role debut.

Original cast

Original cast: *

Jenifer Ringer Jenifer Ellen Ringer (born ) is an American ballet dancer and educator. She joined the New York City Ballet in 1990, became a principal dancer in 2000, and retired from performing in 2014. She then became the director of the Colburn School's pro ...

* Sofiane Sylve *

Wendy Whelan Wendy Whelan (; born May 7, 1967) is an American ballet dancer. She was principal dancer with the New York City Ballet and performed with the company for 30 years, and toured in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Whelan has also been an influential gue ...

* Albert Evans *

Georgina Pazcoguin Georgina Pazcoguin is an American ballerina. She was a soloist with the New York City Ballet, and is known for challenging racism in ballet, and for performing on Broadway. Early life Pazcoguin was born and raised in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Sh ...

*Sean Suozzi

References

2006 ballets Ballets by Alexei Ratmansky Ballets by Leonid Desyatnikov New York City Ballet repertory {{ballet-stub