Short Stories

About

Short Stories is a curated repertory evening from New York City Ballet that showcases George Balanchine’s narrative gifts—often overshadowed by his reputation for abstraction—alongside a complementary work by Sean Lavery. The program assembles four short ballets, three by Balanchine and one by Lavery, each telling a complete story with striking economy. As Playbill writer Joseph Carman notes, Balanchine could create fully drawn characters, a precipitating event, a climax, and a conclusion in a brief span; this bill demonstrates that clarity across different musical idioms and dramatic settings. The evening includes Balanchine’s distilled one‑act Swan Lake, the whimsical yet poignant The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Lavery’s intimate Romeo and Juliet balcony pas de deux, and the Broadway‑charged Slaughter on Tenth Avenue. Together, they trace narrative ballet from Romantic sweep to modern pulse and jazz‑inflected theatre, revealing the range and versatility of NYCB’s storytelling repertory.