Expansive in scope and streamlined in style, Glass Pieces captures the pulsating heartbeat of metropolitan life with its charged, urban choreography, concluding in a finale that propels the corps de ballet across the stage at an electrifying pace.

Although Philip Glass’s work is often labeled as minimalist, he prefers to call it “music with repetitive structures.” His early compositions were greatly influenced by Ravi Shankar and the hypnotic rhythms of Indian music. Some of his most notable work for theater includes the trilogy of operas comprising Einstein on the Beach, Satyagraha, and Akhnaten.

Jerome Robbins, originally in line to direct Akhnaten, instead choreographed a ballet using music from the opera along with Rubric and Facades, both from Glassworks. In Glass Pieces, Robbins incorporated concepts from postmodern dance into the traditional ballet vocabulary, and he infused the work with a distinctly urban energy. The recurrent rhythms, driving momentum, and labyrinth of shifting patterns of the ensemble combine to create a physical architecture for Glass’s music.

The ballet captures the dynamic pulse of metropolitan life, inspired by Philip Glass’ streamlined and hypnotic compositions. Robbins deploys a massive ensemble of dancers in this exhilarating, highly detailed, and refreshingly abstract piece.

Chiaroscuro locates its six cast members between light and shadow as their weaving patterns unfold in complex interactions.

Lynne Taylor-Corbett’s Chiaroscuro was made for the Diamond Project in 1994. In visual art, the term “chiaroscuro” refers to the play of light and shadow to give the illusion of three dimensions. The ballet for six dancers is also a work of light and shadow in its alternating fast and slow movements, the concerto grosso by the Baroque composer Francesco Geminiani La Follia. Taylor-Corbett’s second work for NYCB, Chiaroscuro features onstage artwork by American artist Michael Zansky, costumes by Holly Hynes, and lighting by Mark Stanley.

Set to Sousa's buoyant marches and dressed in Karinska's delightful all-American costumes, Stars and Stripes contains as much pure dancing as many full-length classical ballets.

For all its exuberant patriotic touches, Stars and Stripes contains as much pure dancing as many full-length classical ballets. The work is divided into five “campaigns,” each of which uses different themes from John Philip Sousa’s marches. When asked why he chose to choreograph a ballet to Sousa, Balanchine replied, “Because I like his music.” Stars and Stripes has been performed for many memorable occasions, including Nelson Rockefeller’s inauguration as governor of New York, tributes for Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, and the opening ceremonies for the New York State Theater (now the David H. Koch Theater) at Lincoln Center. The ballet is dedicated to the memory of Fiorello H. LaGuardia, mayor of New York City from 1934 to 1945 and founder of the City Center of Music and Drama.