The world premiere of Giselle, the oldest continually-performed ballet, occurred at the Theatre de l’Academie Royale de Musique in Paris on June 28, 1841, danced by Carlotta Grisi as Giselle and Lucien Petipa as Albrecht.

This ballet is in the repertoire of almost all of the major ballet companies in the world and was first presented by American Ballet Theatre (then Ballet Theatre) at the Center Theatre in New York City on January 12, 1940, with choreography by Anton Dolin and scenery and costumes by Lucinda Ballard. The leading roles were danced by Annabelle Lyon and Anton Dolin.

American Ballet Theatre’s second production of Giselle premiered on October 15, 1946, at the Broadway Theatre in New York City, with choreography by Dimitri Romanoff and scenery and costumes by Eugene Berman. The leading roles were danced by Alicia Alonso and Igor Youskevitch.

The third production of Giselle, directed by David Blair, received its first performance at the Carter Barron Amphitheatre in Washington, DC on July 4, 1968, with scenery by Oliver Smith and costumes by Peter Hall. The leading roles were performed by Lupe Serrano as Giselle and Royes Fernandez as Albrecht. The production’s New York City premiere was given at the Metropolitan Opera House on July 10, 1968, with the same cast.

Using the Smith/Hall scenery and costumes, Mikhail Baryshnikov staged both the fourth and fifth productions of Giselle for ABT after choreography by Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot, and Marius Petipa. They first premiered at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC on December 16, 1980, with Marianna Tcherkassky as Giselle and Baryshnikov himself as Albrecht; while the second, which featured additional staging by John Taras and Elena Tchernichova, received its first performance at the Filene Theatre at Wolf Trap Farm in Vienna, Virginia on August 28, 1985, danced by Miss Tcherkassky and Fernando Bujones.

American Ballet Theatre’s sixth production, featuring scenery by Gianni Quaranta and costumes by Anna Anni, was created for the film Dancers, produced in 1987 by Cannon Films. The film incorporates Giselle into its storyline. The production’s first public performance was given on March 20, 1987 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, with Miss Tcherkassky as Giselle and Kevin McKenzie as Albrecht.

The current staging is by Kevin McKenzie, using the Quaranta and Anni designs.