An Imperial Night at the Ballet: NYCB’s Spring Gala Fêtes Vienna Waltzes

An opulent masked ball set the stage for the New York City Ballet’s 2025 Spring Gala. On Thursday evening, Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater welcomed 2,500 resplendent guests—each donning black tie attire and ornate Venetian-style masks adorned with feathers, metal filigree, and crystals—to celebrate the legacy of founding choreographer George Balanchine and to raise funds for the company’s repertory.

The evening s centerpiece was a one-night-only performance of Vienna Waltzes, Balanchine’s five-part homage to the grand tradition of the waltz. The ballet, last staged in its entirety by NYCB in 2013, is one of the largest productions in the company’s history and was originally created in 1977. It begins in a sylvan Austrian forest and unfurls through a series of scenes that chart the transformation of the waltz—from rural dance halls to the height of Viennese imperial elegance—culminating in a mirrored ballroom shimmering with romance and grandeur.

The lush evolution is mirrored in Rouben Ter-Arutunian’s scenic design and Barbara Karinska’s sumptuous costumes—her final creations for NYCB and a fitting coda to her decades-long collaboration with Balanchine. Nearly 60 dancers moved in dreamlike motion, their spins and sweeping patterns echoing the music of Johann Strauss II, Franz Lehár, and Richard Strauss.

Before the curtain rose, the orchestra pit lifted to audience level for a special musical prologue. Maestro Andrew Litton, NYCB’s music director, offered a brief and engaging history of the waltz—explaining its origins in 18th-century Austria and the nuances that distinguish the German waltz from its Viennese cousin. It was a rare moment of musical pedagogy that deepened the audience’s appreciation for the evening’s score, which included Tales from the Vienna Woods, Voices of Spring, Explosions Polka, Gold and Silver Waltz, and the first waltz sequence from Der Rosenkavalier.

The gala drew dancers, philanthropists, and boldface names including Claire Danes (in custom Gap Studio), Hugh Dancy, Nina Dobrev, Diane Kruger, and Ariana DeBose. “My fondest memories as a child were images of ballet,” DeBose told Vogue on the red carpet. “It taught me that beauty and passion can manifest into physical form... The ballet is the empathetic and passionate heart of movement.”

Dobrev praised the discipline behind the art: “You can see the precision that goes into every step, but the dancers make it feel so effortless. It’s a beautiful paradox.”

As the final curtain fell, guests ascended to the theater’s promenade, which had been transformed into a lush spring garden: 90 bales of cherry branches in peak bloom, 900 peonies, 700 French lilacs, and garden roses filled the space with color and fragrance. Dinner followed beneath custom-built organza flowers and chandeliers. The menu featured a little gem salad, Atlantic salmon with seasonal accompaniments, and a dessert that vanished nearly as quickly as it was plated.

Kruger, in black Jason Wu, dined alongside DeBose—wearing a layered Bibhu Mohapatra frock—and Broadway producer Tony Marion. Dobrev, in a voluminous princess-style gown by Nardos, chatted with principal dancer Joseph Gordon. Claire Danes, a longtime ballet devotee, was spotted deep in conversation with Debbie Harry. “Ballet is endlessly moving and inspiring,” she said. “What’s not to love?”

Indeed, the evening proved unforgettable—and lucrative. By night’s end, $2.7 million had been raised for New York City Ballet, a vital cultural institution that reaches more than 300,000 people each year.