Just in time for the Kennedy Center 50th anniversary, the nation’s iconic theatre will reopen its stages this fall after being dark for more than a year.

Kennedy Center 50th Anniversary Ballet Programming for 2022
World-renowned ballet companies American Ballet Theatre (ABT) and New York City Ballet (NYCB) have a longstanding history of performing annually on the Center’s stages and this one will be no exception.
In celebration of the Center’s 50th Anniversary, the 2021–2022 season ballet engagements of ABT and NYCB will celebrate the rich relationships and history of collaboration between these organizations and the Center, featuring two programs by each company – one presenting a full-evening production looking back at historical classics and another program looking forward into the future of each company and the art form.
ABT will bring the classic Don Quixote, March 29–April 3, a ballet from which a pas de deux was excerpted during the opening week of the Kennedy Center in 1971 as part of a multi-week residency with the company.
Returning June 7–12, NYCB will present George Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a production brought to the Center during the company’s very first engagement in 1974.
Both companies’ second programs will include repertory work (from present-day choreographers) reflecting the current and future visions of the artistry at each company and will showcase a range of voices of dance creators living and working today.
Featured Photo for the Kennedy Center 50th Anniversary of ABT’s Christine Shevchenko and James Whiteside in Don Quixote © Gene Schiavone & NYCB’s Roman Mejia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream © Erin Baiano