Top 10 Romantic Ballets (According to our Students!)

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day and it feels like love is in the air…the love of ballet that is! In anticipation of the holiday, we polled our advanced division students to see what they considered to be the most romantic ballets of all time. It’s true that most story ballets (many based on fairy tales) are inherently romantic – often concluding in a marriage celebration, or lovers leaping to their death together. Naturally, you’ll find a few of those on our list, and the ballet version of the Bard’s best tragic romance is a hard one to beat as well. However, some of our top picks have a more subtle approach to romance and they just may surprise you. Without further ado, here are ten romantic ballets that will sweep you off your feet!

10. The Steadfast Tin Soldier

Coming in at number ten (because there was some debate among our students) is George Balanchine’s The Steadfast Tin Soldier. Based on Hans Christian Andersen’s charming fairytale, the ballet was first commissioned by the Saratoga Performing Arts Center and premiered during New York City Ballet’s residency there in 1975. Set at Christmas, the ballet revolves around a bittersweet romance between a paper doll ballerina and a smitten toy soldier. With a darling pas de deux and adorable doll-esque variations, this ballet is undeniably lovely, but (spoiler alert) the love story is sadly short-lived!

9. Giselle

Giselle also made our list of the spookiest ballets, which is why this ballet comes in at number nine. The story is simple: Girl meets boy, boy turns out to be a prince engaged to another woman, girl dies of a broken heart, girl becomes a Wili and is forced to dance boy to death, but girl ultimate saves boy because despite his deceptive, two-timing ways, she still loves him. Perhaps it’s easier to summarize as: it’s complicated. Even so, first premiering in 1841, the drama and etherial romance of Giselle has made it one of the most commonly performed ballets in history. Originally choreographed by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot, the versions that have been passed down to the present day derive primarily from the revivals staged by Marius Petipa.

8. Serenade

It’s no secret that Serenade is a particularly special ballet at SAB, with our co-founder George Balanchine choreographing it on students of the School in 1934, the year of it’s inception. It should be no surprise then that this iconic Balanchine ballet came in as our number eight pick. While there is no story to Serenade, there’s still plenty in it that feels romantic. Tschaikovsky’s sweeping score, the beautifully long-skirted costumes by Karinska, and the emotional final movement known as the elegy are just a few of the reasons we consider this ballet a romance contender.

7. Swan Lake

It’s the quintessential story ballet, one that permeates pop-culture nearly as much as it does the ballet world. Coming in at number nine is Swan Lake. This fairy tale romance has it all: princes, enchantments, deception, and undying love.

6. Vienna Waltzes

Elegance personified, Balanchine’s five-part Vienna Waltzes is set in a moonlit Austrian forest and the regal ballrooms of Vienna. Waltzing is something Balanchine revisited time and again in his choreography, and it’s a step we often incorporate into our partnering classes here at SAB. We can chalk this ballet’s romance level up to the complete atmospheric grandeur of it all – from the lush music, to the stunning costumes and sets, and of course the sheer dizzying beauty of dozens of couples waltzing around a stage.

5. Afternoon of a Faun

Our number five pick is the Jerome Robbin’s version of Afternoon of a Faun, which features a chance encounter between two young ballet dancers in a studio. Set to the haunting music of Claude Debussy, and playing off themes of previous works inspired by the music, Robbins’ version of the ballet is described as subtle, sensual, and narcissistic – most notably due to the way the dancers never directly look at each other, but seem to be watching each other through an invisible mirror as the fourth wall of the stage. Relating to one another through the mirror is so intrinsic to the study of ballet that it’s nearly impossible for a dancer not to relate to the tender intimacy of this ballet. It was first performed in 1953 by New York City Ballet, and is dedicated to Tanaquil Le Clercq, for whom the ballet was choreographed.

4. The Sleeping Beauty

Another classic, fairy tale ballet set to music by Tschaikovsky… The Sleeping Beauty wins the number four spot thanks in large part to its happily-ever-after ending.

3. Duo Concertant

Duo Concertant was choreographed by George Balanchine for the New York City Ballet’s 1972 Stravinsky Festival and claims number three on our list. This is another piece that may not register as immediately romantic to some, but for our students, the playfulness of the partnering, the poignant, quiet conclusion of the ballet, and the incorporation of the musicians on stage with the dancers made this ballet a front runner. It’s a love story with the music more than anything else, and that’s precisely why it gives us heartwarming butterflies.

2. In The Night

For our penultimate ballet we chose In The Night, choreographed by Jerome Robbins in 1970 to music by Frédéric Chopin. This ballet was among the programs presented in New York City Ballet’s current winter season, so perhaps it’s high score can be attributed, in part, to that it was top of mind. Even so, the ballet conjures up a post-dusk scenario to four of the composer’s nocturnes and features three distinct couples, each with their own relationship dynamics ranging from adoring to tempestuous. It’s subtle romance at its best.

1. Romeo and Juliet

And coming in at number one is Romeo and Juliet! Based on William Shakespeare’s immortal tragedy, this ballet’s romance factor needs no explanation. The timeless story of star-crossed lovers is further emphasized thanks to music by Sergei Prokofiev (used in the majority of ballet productions.) And with an iconic balcony scene pas de deux ending the first act, it’s no wonder this tops our list of most romantic ballets!

We wish everyone a wonderful Valentine’s Day!