Saratoga Performing Arts Center

New York City Ballet is one of the foremost dance companies in the world, with a roster of spectacular dancers and an unparalleled repertory. The Company was founded in 1948 by George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein, and it quickly became world-renowned for its athletic and contemporary style. Jerome Robbins joined NYCB the following year and, with Balanchine, helped to build the astounding repertory and firmly establish the Company in New York.

New York City Ballet owes its existence to Lincoln Kirstein, who envisioned an American ballet where young dancers could be trained and schooled under the guidance of the greatest ballet masters. When he met George Balanchine in London in 1933, Kirstein knew he had found the right person for his dream. Balanchine traveled to America at Kirstein’s invitation, and in 1934 the two men opened the School of American Ballet, where Balanchine trained dancers in an innovative style and technique that matched his idea of a new, unmannered classicism.

In 1946 Kirstein and Balanchine formed Ballet Society and presented their new company at New York’s City Center of Music and Drama, which had been founded by Fiorello H. LaGuardia, Newbold Morris, and Morton Baum. After seeing a Ballet Society performance, Baum invited Balanchine and Kirstein’s fledgling company to officially join City Center. On October 11, 1948, New York City Ballet was born with a performance that featured Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco, Orpheus, and Symphony in C. NYCB moved into its current home at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater (formerly the New York State Theater) in 1964.

Following Balanchine’s death, in 1983, Jerome Robbins and Peter Martins were named Co-Ballet Masters in Chief, and from 1990 until he retired in 2017, Mr. Martins assumed sole responsibility for the Company’s artistic direction. In 2009 Katherine Brown was named NYCB’s first-ever Executive Director, a position created to oversee the administrative management of the Company and its long-time home, the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center. In 2015, Andrew Litton became the Company's sixth Music Director. In 2019, NYCB named Jonathan Stafford Artistic Director and Wendy Whelan Associate Artistic Director.

Widely acknowledged for its enduring contributions to dance, NYCB is committed to promoting creative excellence and nurturing a new generation of dancers and choreographers.

For more information about New York City Ballet, please visit www.nycballet.com

Travelers is the Global Sponsor of New York City Ballet

NEW YORK CITY BALLET BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Charles W. Scharf, Chairman
Ronald N. Beck, President
Robert I. Lipp, Vice Chairman
Sarah Jessica Parker, Vice Chairman
Jeffrey M. Peek, Vice Chairman
Barbara J. Slifka, Vice Chairman

Stephen Kroll Reidy, Treasurer

Kristin Kennedy Clark, Secretary

Mark S. Melodia, Counsel

Maria-Cristina Anzola

Zoë E. Baird
Howard P. Berkowitz
Franci J. Blassberg
Donya Archer Bommer
Ursula M. Burns
Susan J. Campbell
Debra Martin Chase
Stuart H. Coleman
Paul M. Donofrio
Barbara R. Evans
Kira Faiman
Meyer Feldberg
Randy Fishman
Maureen Footer
Barry S. Friedberg
David Heleniak
Marianne Lake
Carol D. Mack
Clarke Murphy
Karen Murphy
Marie Nugent-Head
Gordon B. Pattee
Robert Pitts
Brynn Putnam
Raja Rajamannar
Mazdack Rassi
Deborah Roberts
Denise Saul
Alan D. Schnitzer
Howard Solomon
Bonnie Strauss
Allyson Tang
Danielle Taubman
Alair A. Townsend
John L. Vogelstein
Cathinka Wahlstrom
Sue Ann Weinberg
Hon. Kimba M. Wood
William H. Wright II

Chairmen Emeriti: Jay S. Fishman †, Barry S. Friedberg, Eugene P. Grisanti †, Theodore C. Rogers, Howard Solomon, John L. Vogelstein

Directors Emeriti: Gillian Attfield, Frederick W. Beinecke, Daniel Brodsky, Randal R. Craft, Jr., Mary Sharp Cronson, Lawrence Herbert, Nancy Lassalle †, David H. Mortimer,
Edward J. Toohey †

Members Ex-Officio
Hon. Bill de Blasio, Mayor of the City of New York
Anthony Shorris, Designee, Mayor of the City of New York
Hon. Gale A. Brewer, Manhattan Borough President
Hon. Corey Johnson, Speaker of the New York City Council
Hon. Gonzalo Casals, Commissioner, Department of Cultural Affairs

† In memoriam As of June 15, 2021