Spring Ballet

Swan Lake Act II
George Balanchine

One of the world’s most celebrated ballets, Balanchine’s powerful 1951 adaptation is based on Lev Ivanov’s 1895 choreography, all set to Tchaikovsky’s sumptuous score. This classic tale about a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer was redesigned in 1986 to dress the swan corps in black, an idea Balanchine introduced before his death in 1983, simply saying “There are black swans as well.”

World Premiere
Michael Vernon

Former Ballet Department chair Michael Vernon celebrates two decades as a Jacobs faculty member by bringing his artistic vision to life once again on the Musical Arts Center stage. His experience with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rudolph Nureyev, and other ballet luminaries informs this world premiere featuring a troupe of dancers set to orchestral strains.

Scherzo fantastique
Justin Peck 

Jacobs Ballet Theater is thrilled to stage this vividly colorful and challenging work for the first time outside of New York City Ballet. The 2016 piece for 10 dancers showcases their ebullience performing triple-Tony Award-winner Justin Peck’s world-renowned choreography to Stravinsky’s eponymous score. 

The Concert (or The Perils of Everybody)
Jerome Robbins

The New York Times calls Robbinsʼ Concert “surely the most comedic ballet in existence.” When a cast of quirky characters at an all-Chopin piano recital allows their imaginative minds to wander, they begin to dance their fantasies, truly redefining what it means to “lose oneself in the music”—in public, at least.