''Swan Lake'' is a one-act ballet made by

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 ...

's co-founder and ballet master

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...

to Tschaikovsky's eponymous music (1875–56). The premiere took place Thursday, 20 November

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

at the City Center of Music and Drama, New York.

Original cast

Maria Tallchief Maria Tallchief, born Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief ( "Two-Standards"; Osage language, Osage family name: , Osage script: ; January 24, 1925 – April 11, 2013), was an Osage Tribe, Osage and American ballerina. She was America's first major p ...

* Patricia Wilde * André Eglevsky * Frank Hobi * Edward Bigelow

External links

Swan Lake
on the Balanchine Trust website {{Swan Lake navbox Ballets by George Balanchine 1951 ballets Swan Lake New York City Ballet repertory