Curtain Up On 85 Years Of American Ballet Theatre

“Dance,” said Martha Graham, “is the hidden language of the soul.” And last week, the souls were on fire at the American Ballet Theatre’s 85th Anniversary Spring Gala.

Offering a unique window into the company’s eclectic 2025 Summer season, the one-night-only program featured excerpts from American Ballet Theatre’s, (ABT’s), beloved classics like Kevin McKenzie’s Swan Lake, George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations, and Frederick Ashton’s Sylvia. These were combined with a piece from ABT’s New York premiere of the Winter’s Tale by Tony-winner Christopher Wheeldon. Plus the evening included contemporary selections like Twyla Tharp’s Bach Partita and Alexei Ratmansky’s Serenade after Plato’s Symposium.

During the black-tie gala guests including Alex Newell, Amy Astley, Cynthia Rowley, Misty Copeland, Sophia Bush, Ashlyn Harris, Kelly Killoren Bensimon, Teddy Bensimon, Alec Baldwin, and Hilaria Baldwin filled Cipriani South Street for an epic and glamorous evening of dance, dinner and celebrating Susan and Leonard Feinstein. Devoted to ABT for more than two decades, the Feinsteins were honored for championing new works, education, and the ongoing strength and sustainability of the company.

Hailed as one of the world’s greatest dance companies, ABT was founded in 1940 to create, perform, and safeguard classical dancing for the widest possible audience. It also commissions works that innovate and push the art form forward, creating new classics. Designated America’s National Ballet Company, ABT continues to thrive under the leadership of ABT’s artistic director Susan Jaffe and executive director Barry Hughson. Not only is ABT devoted to its audiences in New York City, where it is headquartered, but for eight decades the company has toured extensively throughout the United States in over 480 cities around the globe.

On June 10, ABT begins its summer at the Metropolitan Opera House with Kevin McKenzie’s Swan Lake, which celebrates 25 years since its world premiere. The ballet features Isabella Boylston as Odette/Odile, Daniel Camisargo as Prince Siegfried, and José Sebastian as von Rothbart. (Michael de la Nuez makes his Prince Siegfried debut on June 14.) Other highlights feature Wayne McGregor’s Woolf Works, Giselle, The Winter’s Tale and Gillian Murphy’s Swan Song.

Jaffe, who was a principal dancer with ABT and danced on stages around the globe for 22 years, has created an eclectic season of ballets that offers a vast panorama displaying the magic of ballet dancers and dance.

“I always try to include a good mix of tutu ballets, so our ballet loyalists get their fill of classical ballet. And then there are ballets like Woolf Works by Wayne McGregor, which is highly contemporary and brilliant,” says Jaffe. “It’s so fun to present such a wide range of works—so our audiences really experience the extensive breadth of what dance can be. Also, our dancers get the opportunity to do very vastly different works all in one season.”

And what a gift to audiences experiencing ABT dancers: to see them truly embody music and dance from such a deep, soulful place fueled by spirit and passion. “The biggest joy is watching the dancers perform,” says Jaffe, who continues to marvel at the opportunity to carry forward the ABT torch to the world. “I am honored to watch them go out there in their full glory, move audiences, and uplift people.”