City Ballet of San Diego Closes America 250th Celebration with American Icons
It’s all been building up to this. City Ballet of San Diego’s year-long celebration of America’s 250th anniversary concludes with American Icons, a triple bill showcasing three towering figures of American choreography. The performances are at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, October 24, and 2 p.m., Sunday, October 25 at the Balboa Theatre, located at 868 4th Avenue in downtown San Diego.
This sweeping tribute to American choreography brings together timeless classics and exciting new works. The program features the works by George Balanchine, Peter Martins, and Gerald Arpino and honors America’s 250th anniversary at the Balboa Theatre.
Billed as “Three Visions — Imagination Unbound,” American Icons brings together three landmark works, including Concerto Barocco (1941), George Balanchine’s neoclassical masterwork set to Bach’s Double Violin Concerto, celebrated for its musicality and pure classical precision. The ballet returns to City Ballet’s stage for the first time since March 2016, performed with permission from New York City Ballet.
Ash (1991), Peter Martins’ dynamic contemporary ballet set to music by Michael Torke, blends athletic movement and lyrical expression into a theatrical exploration of resilience and transformation. The work was last performed by the company in November 2022. Light Rain (1981), Gerald Arpino’s sensual, electrifying ballet fusing classical technique with contemporary flair, is set to a score by Douglas Adamz and Russ Gauthier evoking Mediterranean rhythm and spirit. Created for the Joffrey Ballet in 1981, the ballet is still in demand by major ballet companies all over the world. The performance marks the ballet’s City Ballet of San Diego premiere, staged under license from the Gerald Arpino Foundation.
A free pre-performance lecture with City Ballet Artistic Director Steven Wistrich will be offered 45 minutes prior each performance.
American Icons is made possible with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, and Herb Solomon & Elaine Galinson. Season 34 is presented with the generous support of season sponsors Qualcomm, US Bank, and the City of San Diego.
For further information and tickets, visit https://cityballet.org/performances/american-icons/
City Ballet is San Diego’s world-class professional ballet company, now celebrating its 34th season under the direction of former Boston Ballet and Stuttgart Ballet dancers, Steven and Elizabeth Wistrich. City Ballet is a non-profit organization committed to furthering the ballet art form. The company produces classic and contemporary ballet programs that critics rave as “polished, eye-catching and delightful,” and “highly entertaining and professional”. The company is best known for performing works by George Balanchine, founding artistic director of New York City Ballet. The George Balanchine Trust grants such permission only to those ballet companies it judges artistically competent to perform Balanchine’s masterworks.
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