''Pulcinella Variations'' is a one-act ballet by

Justin Peck Justin Peck (born September 8, 1987) is an American choreographer, director, and dancer associated with New York City Ballet, of which he was appointed Resident Choreographer in July 2014, being the second person in the history of the instituti ...

, set to

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

's ''

Pulcinella Suite ''Pulcinella'' is a one-act ballet by Igor Stravinsky based on an 18th-century play, ''Quatre Polichinelles semblables'' ("Four identical Pulcinellas"). Pulcinella is a stock character originating from ''commedia dell'arte''. The ballet premier ...

'', with costumes designed by

Tsumori Chisato is a Japanese fashion designer. Tsumori was born in Saitama, and attended Tokyo's Bunka Fashion College. She began work with Issey Miyake in 1977 under the "Issey Sports" line, which was later renamed "I.S. Chisato Tsumori Designs." With the s ...

. The ballet premiered on September 28, 2017, danced by the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...

, at the

David H. Koch Theater The David H. Koch Theater is a theater for ballet, modern and other forms of dance, part of the Lincoln Center, at the intersection of Columbus Avenue and 63rd Street in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Originally ...

. The choreography of ''Pulcinella Variations'' is more classical then other Peck's works, and the costumes were inspired by

commedia dell’arte (; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...

, which was also Stravinsky's inspiration when he wrote the music.

Original cast

Original cast: *

Sterling Hyltin Sterling Hyltin is an American ballet dancer. She is currently a principal dancer at the New York City Ballet. Early life and training Hyltin was born in Amarillo, Texas. She wanted to be an ice skater, and would train before school started. Howe ...

Sara Mearns Sara Ann Mearns (born 19 January 1986) is an American ballet dancer. She is a principal dancer at New York City Ballet. Early life Mearns was born in Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. Wi ...

Tiler Peck Tiler Kalyn Peck (born January 12, 1989) is an American ballet dancer who is a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. As well as ballet, she has performed in musical theatre shows and has made cameo appearances in films including ''Donni ...

*Brittany Pollack *

Indiana Woodward Indiana Woodward (born ) is a French ballet dancer. She joined the New York City Ballet in 2012, and was promoted to principal dancer in 2021. Early life and training Woodward was born in Paris, to a French filmmaker father and a South African d ...

Jared Angle This is a list of New York City Ballet dancers. Principal dancers Soloists This is a list of New York City Ballet soloists. Corps de ballet The following is a list of the current members of the corps de ballet. * Victor Abreu * Devin Albe ...

*Andrew Scordato * Gonzalo Garcia *Anthony Huxley

Videography

In 2020, in response to the performance cancellation due to the coronavirus pandemic, the

released a recording of ''Pulcinella Variations'', filmed in 2018 with most of the original cast returning, except Mearns, Pollack and Angle, whose roles were danced by Miriam Miller, Emilie Gerrity and

Russell Janzen This is a list of New York City Ballet dancers. Principal dancers Soloists This is a list of New York City Ballet soloists. Corps de ballet The following is a list of the current members of the corps de ballet. * Victor Abreu * Devin Albe ...

References

2017 ballet premieres Ballets by Justin Peck Ballets to the music of Igor Stravinsky New York City Ballet repertory {{ballet-stub