Great Performances Presents Two Dance Programs, Featuring a New Work by Choreographer Kate Prince with Music by Sting, And New York City Ballet Performing Balanchine Classics This Fall on PBS
photo: Lynn Theisen
This fall, Great Performances presents two dance specials featuring renowned choreographers and set to the music of famed composers. Spotlighting the choreography of dance legend George Balanchine and New York City Ballet star Justin Peck, Great Performances: New York City Ballet in Madrid premieres Friday, October 27 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/gperf and the PBS App. The following week, Great Performances: Message in a Bottle, featuring the hits of multi-Grammy-winning artist Sting, premieres on Friday, November 3 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/gperf and the PBS App.
Recorded at Madrid’s Teatro Real in March 2023, Great Performances: New York City Ballet in Madrid highlights works by legendary choreographers George Balanchine and current New York City Ballet resident choreographer Justin Peck. 1934’s “Serenade” choreographed by Balanchine was the first full-length ballet he created in the United States and remains one of New York City Ballet’s signature works. Conceived as an observed ballet lesson, the work begins with a simple tendu and is set music by Tchaikovsky. In his later work, “Square Dance,” Balanchine blended the traditions of American folk dance with classical ballet by featuring music by Vivaldi and Correlli. Balanchine’s famed works are followed by a 2017 piece choreographed by Justin Peck, “The Times Are Racing.” Performed in sneakers and street clothes, the dance is set to an electronic score by two-time Grammy-nominated composer Dan Deacon. The choreography takes its inspiration from a variety of dance styles, including references to the tap dancing of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly.
The following week, Great Performances presents Message in a Bottle, featuring the hits of 17-time Grammy-winning artist Sting with choreography by three-time Olivier Award nominee Kate Prince. The dance-theater production from London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre tells the story of a family forced to leave their homeland and embark on a perilous journey to freedom. With musical arrangements by Alex Lacamoire (Broadway’s “Hamilton,” “Dear Evan Hansen”), and a mix of dance styles performed by Kate Prince’s ZooNation dance company, Great Performances: Message in a Bottle relays a quest for humanity and hope. Recorded in August 2022, the show features Sting’s chart-topping hits including “Every Breath You Take,” “Roxanne,” “Walking On The Moon” and more.
For Great Performances: New York City Ballet in Madrid, music is by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, Arcangelo Corelli, Antonio Vivaldi and Dan Deacon. Choreography is by George Balanchine and Justin Peck. Directed for the screen by Isabelle Julien and produced by Xavier Dubois. Great Performances: New York City Ballet in Madrid is a coproduction of Elzévir Films and New York City Ballet in association with Teatro Real with the participation of The WNET Group, Medici and Mezzo.
For Great Performances: Message in a Bottle, Kate Prince is director and choreographer, with Marcus Viner directing for screen. Music and lyrics are by Sting. Produced by Austin Shaw, Desara Bosnia and Floent Trioux, executive producers are Eliza Lumley, Suzanne Walker, Alice Webb, Joshua Andrews and Stuart Galbraith. A Sadler’s Wells and Universal Music UK production, Message in a Bottle is co-produced with Birmingham Hippodrome and The Lowry, Salford.
For Great Performances, Bill O’Donnell is series producer and David Horn is executive producer.
For more than 50 years on PBS, Great Performances has provided an unparalleled showcase of the best in all genres of the performing arts, serving as America’s most prestigious and enduring broadcaster of cultural programming. Showcasing a diverse range of artists from around the world, the series has earned 67 Emmy Awards and six Peabody Awards. The Great Performances website hosts exclusive videos, interviews, photos, full episodes and more. The series is produced by The WNET Group. Great Performances is available for streaming concurrent with broadcast on PBS.org and the PBS App, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO.
Great Performances: New York City Ballet in Madrid and Great Performances: Message in a Bottle are funded by the Lewis “Sonny” Turner Fund. Series funding for Great Performances is provided by The Joseph & Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, the Thea Petschek Iervolino Foundation, Jody and John Arnhold, the Abra Prentice Foundation LLC, The Starr Foundation, The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, the Jack Lawrence Trust, Seton J. Melvin, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III, Leni and Peter May, the Estate of Worthington Mayo-Smith and Ellen and James S. Marcus. Additional funding for New York City Ballet in Madrid is provided by the Centre National du Cinéma et de L’Image Animée.