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The Arts Intel Report

American Ballet Theater Fall Season 2022

Mark Ryden’s sets and costumes for Whipped Cream.

Oct 20–30, 2022
20 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023, USA

Five performances of the full-length ballet Whipped Cream—the story of a gluttonous boy who enters a fantasy world of sweets that may or may not be a bad dream—followed by six performances of two mixed-repertory programs, make up American Ballet Theatre’s fall season at Lincoln Center. The score of Whipped Cream is by Richard Strauss, ignored for decades (with good reason); but design-wise the ballet is mind-blowing, with sets and costumes by the pop surrealist Mark Ryden. As for the mixed bills, Program A includes Frederick Ashton’s The Dream, always a pleasure; on October 29, Cassandra Trenary debuts in the role of Titania. Program B features Jiří Kylián’s Sinfonietta (music by Janáček), first danced by ABT in 1991, along with the world premiere of Lifted, choreographed by Christopher Rudd and showcasing an all-Black cast of ABT dancers. —Laura Jacobs

Photo courtesy of the American Ballet Theatre