The recently announced Polish National Ballet 2023-2024 season opens with the fan favorite Dracula and highlighted by the world premiere production of Pinocchio directed and choreographed by Anna Hop.
The company also presents a triple bill featuring works by Artistic Director Krzysztof Pastor and revisits three of the most famous ballets in the classical ballet repertoire: Giselle, La Bayadère, and Don Quixote.
Polish National Ballet 2023-2024 Season Schedule

Dracula | September 15-21, 2023 & May 16-19, 2024
Moniuszko Auditorium
- Dracula by Krzysztof Pastor
Dracula, Krzysztof Pastor’s choreography set to a selection of music by Wojciech Kilar (the composer for the Francis Ford Coppola film), was commissioned by the West Australian Ballet in 2018. Going beyond the movie score, Pastor uses music excerpts from other Kilar soundtracks to complete his Stoker-inspired ballet that “is a moving period show about love that survives death.”

Fredriana | October 8-13, 2023, January 16-20 & June 1-15, 2024
Młynarski Hall
- Sarmatian Parable by Conrad Drzewiecki
- Husband and Wife by Anna Hop
Sarmatian Parable, Drzewiecki’s balletic version of Aleksander Fredro’s Revenge, the most amusing comedy ever written in Polish, is danced to one of Moniuszko’s best orchestral scores – the fantastic overture Fairy Tale. The ballet wittingly tells the story of two warring clans and their young members, Waław and Klara, who fall in love but cannot find happiness due to their fathers’ obstinance.
Written in 1868, Na kwaterze (also known as Na kwaterunku), the music that accompanies Anna Hop’s choreographic take on Fredro’s Husband and Wife, is one of Stanisław Moniuszko’s later pieces. Fredo’s protagonists Elwira, her husband Wacław and their lovers Alfred and the maid Justysia are tangled into a very unseemly relationship.

Giselle | October 18-22, 2023 & February 21-25, 2024
Moniuszko Auditorium
- Giselle by Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot, Marius Petipa
Giselle, a ballet masterpiece brought to life by the most prominent artists of French romanticism, returns to the Warsaw stage in the canonical choreography by Marius Petipa as staged by Maina Gielgud.
This production is also a tribute to the late Andrzej Kreutz Majewski, the internationally renowned Polish artist who served as the Teatr Wielki’s chief set designer between 1966 and 2005 and whose 1976 set and costume designs were precisely recreated for this 2022 version.

La Bayadère | November 17-23 & December 20-23, 2023
Moniuszko Auditorium
- La Bayadère by Natalia Makarova after Marius Petipa
She first created her La Bayadère for American Ballet Theatre and then revived it several times for some of the best classical dance companies. This colorful, romantic show captivates the audience with its scale; it is deeply moving and leaves a lasting impression. It is full of wonderful solo performances and ensemble scenes and is an excellent test of academic craftsmanship of every ballet company.

Bolero+ | December 15-17, 2023, March 27-28 & April 28, 2024
Moniuszko Auditorium
- Moving Rooms by Krzysztof Pastor
- Kilar Concerto by Krzysztof Pastor
- Bolero by Krzysztof Pastor
Pastor created the expressive Moving Rooms in 2008 for the Dutch National Ballet. Danced to the exquisite Harpsichord Concerto by Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, which is preceded by a fragment of Alfred Schnittke’s Concerto Grosso No. 1, the choreography is set in a creatively-drawn space that is constantly transformed by changing light.
Kilar Concerto is a world premiere work set to Wojciech Kilar’s Piano Concerto No. 1, of which Pastor has used other sections for three of his other ballets. The work marks the 10th anniversary of the composer’s death.
Created in 2012 for the Dutch National Ballet, Pastor’s Bolero set to Ravel’s score is also performed by the national ballet companies of Lithuania and Estonia.

Don Quixote | February 29 – March 3 & June 27-30, 2024
Moniuszko Auditorium
- Don Quixote by Alexei Fadeyechev after Marius Petipa and Aleksandr Gordki
In 2014 the Polish National Ballet put on a new, extremely vibrant choreographic version of Don Quixote by Russian-born and Finland-based dancer and balletmaster, Alexei Fadeyechev under the musical direction of prominent Ukrainian conductor Alexei Baklan. After a few-year hiatus, the production returns to the Polish National Ballet stage under the baton of Marta Kluczyńska.

Creations 16 | March 13-17, 2024
Moniuszko Auditorium
- TBA


Pinocchio | April 21-26, 2024
Moniuszko Auditorium
- Pinocchio by Anna Hop
Drawing inspiration from the character’s creator, Carlo Collodi, Anna Hop weaves the original story of Pinocchio fit for the modern age. One thing remains the same: the universal message about the hardships of growing up.
This world premiere production set to Mieczysław Weinberg’s score is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the magic of stagecraft while telling the fairy tale adventures of a boy who roams different worlds to eventually return home and face his past.
Pinocchio is a family ballet: greatly enjoyed by children and admired by adults. All thanks to Weinberg’s playful music, the beauty of dance, the magic of theatrical imagery, and the deeply meaningful story about the triumph of vulnerability over violence, the pursuit of freedom, and the necessity to sometimes lose one’s way in to grow as a person.
Featured Photo for the Polish National Ballet 2023-2024 Season from the company’s website.