Atlanta Ballet’s ‘Balanchine & Peck’: Ballet’s previous and future

Cobb Vitality Performing Arts Centre, Atlanta, GA.
September 13, 2025.

Atlanta Ballet launched its 2025-26 season with a masterful mixed-repertory efficiency of Balanchine & Peck. This system featured three works — George Balanchine’s traditional Emeralds and time-honored Prodigal Son, alongside Justin Peck’s award-winning In Creases — to spotlight the corporate’s versatility throughout choreographic eras. Over its premiere weekend, September 12–14, on the Cobb Vitality Performing Arts Centre, this system provided a compelling and fantastically executed dialog between ballet’s enduring traditions and its revolutionary future.

The efficiency opened with Balanchine’s Emeralds, a chunk set to Gabriel Fauré’s rating that instantly enveloped the theater in an environment of French magnificence and romanticism. The opening ensemble created a mesmerizing scene of classical varieties, with dancers shifting by means of beautiful strains and formations. Mikaela Santos and Sayron Pereira’s partnership was breathtaking. Santos appeared weightless every time Pereira lifted her. Her actions embodied the technical mastery and beauty for which ballet is famend. The pas de trois, danced with spectacular musicality and technical precision by Larissa Dal’Santo, Gianna Horton-Sibble and Luiz Fernando Xavier, was additionally a spotlight. The ultimate ensemble quantity swelled to a jubilant celebration earlier than receding right into a extra swish conclusion.

Following the intermission, Peck’s In Creases supplied a dramatic distinction. The dwell piano accompaniment powerfully drove Philip Glass’s rating, which pulsed beneath the dancers’ rhythmic, athletic actions. From the opening notes to the ultimate chord, every dancer executed Peck’s choreography with precision. Whereas Emeralds showcased the magnificence of ballet, In Creases displayed its athleticism. Every member of the ensemble was given moments to shine, attacking the continuous choreography with depth and drive. Marius Morawski, specifically, moved with explosive energy. The piece was met with a thunderous standing ovation, a testomony to its thrilling power. If it is a glimpse into ballet’s future, the chances are electrical.

The efficiency concluded with Balanchine’s Prodigal Son, a piece that had its world premiere in 1929, the identical yr Atlanta Ballet was based. Though it was one other Balanchine piece, the choreography was vastly totally different than the magnificence of Emeralds. Because the Prodigal Son, Sayron Pereira delivered a bodily demanding and emotionally resonant efficiency, capturing the character’s journey with each technical energy and profound feeling. Past Pereira’s highly effective solos, the choreography was notably grounded and acrobatic. The rowdy Ingesting Companions provided moments of humor, whereas Catherine Conley because the Siren captivated the viewers along with her sultry seduction.

Balanchine & Peck spanned a variety of choreographic types, showcasing the flexibility of Atlanta Ballet. As the proper opener for its 96^th season, this system demonstrated an organization equally dedicated to ballet’s long-standing traditions and its vibrant, evolving future. The classical magnificence of Emeralds, technical precision of In Creases, and emotive storytelling of Prodigal Son left little doubt concerning the firm’s present energy and continued relevance.