The program closes with a company premiere: Alexei Ratmansky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Ten dancers bring Mussorgsky’s legendary score to life against a backdrop of Kandinsky’s Color Study: Squares with Concentric Circles. It’s a ballet that’s as vibrant and unexpected as the art that inspired it.

In his 1874 work "Pictures at an Exhibition", Modest Mussorgsky, the most radical representative of the group known as "The Five", expressed an overflowing fullness of life and visionary sound images. 

Writing in The New York Times after the ballet’s premiere, critic Alastair Macaulay stated, “‘Pictures at an Exhibition’ is surely the most casually diverse work Mr. Ratmansky has created, but it gathers unstoppable momentum. The 10 dancers—five women, five men—started out in informal home-theater mood, almost as if they were playing charades. Some dances, including the first solo (by Sara Mearns), had a wild, improvisatory, part-stumbling, part-inspired quality. (The tailor-made nature of the ballet’s solos reflects one of Mr. Ratmansky’s greatest gifts: Dancers are vividly, individually, intimately revealed.) In certain numbers the dancers—here on all fours, there gesturing—seemed to enact or refer to private stories. Other sections shifted toward a classicism of long lines and academic steps. Some ensembles were largely about camaraderie; others about geometry, harmony, meter.”

Jerome Robbins kicks things off with Glass Pieces, a thrilling blend of postmodern movement and classical ballet. Inspired by the nonstop energy of city life, this electrifying work pulses to the hypnotic rhythms of Philip Glass.

The ballet captures the dynamic pulse of metropolitan life, inspired by Philip Glass’ streamlined and hypnotic compositions. Robbins deploys a massive ensemble of dancers in this exhilarating, highly detailed, and refreshingly abstract piece.

The company premiere of José Limón’s Chaconne brings a moment of quiet intensity. Originally performed by Limón himself, this stunning solo—set to Bach’s deeply expressive violin music—balances precision with pure emotion.

A returning favorite, Balanchine’s Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux is an eight-minute masterclass in ballet bravado—short, stunning, and supremely cherished. It's a thrill ride for dancers and audiences alike.