Every summer, America’s National Ballet Company® transforms the Metropolitan Opera House into the center of the classical dance world. American Ballet Theatre’s annual residency at the Met is one of New York City’s most anticipated cultural events — a five-week season of full-length story ballets performed by one of the greatest companies on earth, on one of the most storied stages in the performing arts.
Under Artistic Director Susan Jaffe, ABT continues to honor the grand classical tradition while showcasing the next generation of ballet royalty.
Kíko ~ My tango partner for eight years in New York was a student of Susan Jaffe. My partner was a great dancer, one of the best tangueras in New York. She would adorn with triplets where other dancers did one beat. The Argentines were really impressed.
American Ballet Theatre at the Met: 2026 Summer Season
Swan Lake
Classical ballet | Choreography by Kevin McKenzie after Petipa and Ivanov
June 17–20 and July 13–18, 2026
$30+
Tchaikovsky’s immortal score, McKenzie’s sweeping choreography, and a roster of ABT’s finest principals make Swan Lake the season opener it was born to be.
It’s ballet’s most iconic classical work. The principal ballerina’s transition from Odette the White Swan to Odile, the seductive Black Swan, is a challenging role.
The 2026 run features Skylar Brandt and Herman Cornejo, Hee Seo and James Whiteside, Christine Shevchenko and Calvin Royal III, Catherine Hurlin and Isaac Hernández, and Chloe Misseldine and Aran Bell across fifteen performances — an extraordinary opportunity to see multiple interpretations of one of ballet’s greatest roles. ABT’s production, with scenery and costumes by Zack Brown, has been a company signature since its 2000 premiere.
Skylar Brandt and Herman Cornejo (Argentine)
June 17 at 2pm.
Catherine Hurlin and Isaac Hernández (Mexican)
June 18 at 7:30pm
July 18 at 7:30pm
Isabella Boylston and Daniel Camargo (Brazilian)
June 20 at 2pm
Christine Shevchenko & Calvin Royal III (African American)
July 13 at 7:30pm
Onegin
Classical ballet | Choreography by John Cranko
June 23–27, 2026
$30+
John Cranko’s masterwork — drawn from Pushkin’s verse-novel and set to Tchaikovsky — is one of the most psychologically rich story ballets in the repertoire.
ABT’s production features sets and costumes by Santo Loquasto, and the 2026 cast is exceptional: Hee Seo and James Whiteside, Devon Teuscher and Aran Bell, and Christine Shevchenko and Cory Stearns lead the seven-performance run. For anyone who wants to understand what classical ballet can do at its most dramatically powerful, Onegin is the answer.
Don Quixote
Classical ballet | Choreography after Petipa and Gorsky | New staging by Susan Jaffe and Susan Jones — World Premiere
June 29–July 7, 2026
$30+
The season’s headline event is the world premiere of a new staging of Don Quixote — choreography after Petipa and Gorsky, reimagined by Artistic Director Susan Jaffe and Susan Jones, with scenery and costumes by Santo Loquasto and lighting by Natasha Katz.
Catherine Hurlin and Isaac Hernández lead the opening night on June 29, with Skylar Brandt and Herman Cornejo, Christine Shevchenko and Michael de la Nuez, and Devon Teuscher and Andrew Robare among the casts across ten performances.
The July 6 performance features Royal Ballet Principal Natalia Osipova as a guest artist alongside Daniel Camargo — a pairing worth making plans around.
Don Quixote is the most purely joyful of the great 19th-century classics, and a new ABT production is a genuine event in the dance world.
Sylvia
Classical ballet | Choreography by Frederick Ashton
July 9–11, 2026
$30+
Sir Frederick Ashton’s Sylvia — set to Léo Delibes’ luminous score and steeped in the mythological world of ancient Greece — rounds out the season with five performances featuring Christine Shevchenko and Calvin Royal III, Catherine Hurlin and Joo Won Ahn, Skylar Brandt and Jake Roxander, Devon Teuscher and Thomas Forster, and Hee Seo and Aran Bell.
Ashton’s choreography is among the most refined in the classical canon, and ABT’s production, which carries the lineage of The Royal Ballet’s 2004 revival, is rarely seen in New York. These five performances are a privilege to catch.
American Ballet Theatre Tickets
Tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s 2026 Summer Season at the Metropolitan Opera House are available at abt.org.
Rush tickets ($30) go on sale at noon on the day of each performance. Student tickets ($30 orchestra, $12 family circle) are available to registered students through the Metropolitan Opera House. Under-30 discounts ($30) are announced two weeks before the season opens.