New York City Ballet's winter 2026 season, running January 20 through March 1 at the David H. Koch Theater, delivered a genuine milestone: the company's 499th and 500th original works since its 1948 founding. Justin Peck's The Wind-Up premiered January 29, a work for six dancers set to the first movement of Beethoven's Eroica Symphony — a departure from the contemporary scores Peck has more often favored, and his 26th ballet for the company.
The 500th work, Alexei Ratmansky's The Naked King, premiered February 7 as part of a mixed-repertory program titled "Contemporary Choreography II," shared with Christopher Wheeldon's This Bitter Earth and two earlier Peck works. Loosely inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes, the piece leans into comedy — Ratmansky has said it was partly born of current events — and stands apart from the 19th-century reconstructions (Petipa, among others) for which he's best known to classical audiences.
Why It's Worth Watching
Landing on the same season, these two premieres reach the 500-work mark from opposite directions: Peck building forward from Balanchine's speed and musicality, Ratmansky reaching for satire after a career defined largely by historical reconstruction. For casting and remaining performance dates, check New York City Ballet's official season listing.