George Balanchine’s Rubies returns to the Raleigh stage to open Carolina Ballet’s 2019-2020 Season. Known as the Father of American ballet, Balanchine is one of the most influential choreographers of the 20th Century. We are pleased to once again present his dazzling Rubies, set to the music of Igor Stravinsky. This program will also feature a new Weiss/Raffael collaboration as well as Robert Weiss’ beloved Thais Meditation and his A Classical Ballet set to the music of Prokofiev.

• Rubies, September 12-29, 2019, at Fletcher Opera Theater

Carolina Ballet is one of America’s premier arts organizations, programming traditional ballets by legendary masters and new works by contemporary choreographers. The Ballet was launched as a professional company in 1998 under the direction of Founding Artistic Director/CEO Robert Weiss, and beginning with the 2019-20 season, is led by Zalman Raffael, who has co-directed since 2017. For more than 20 years, Carolina Ballet has garnered critical praise from the national and international media, staged over 100 world premiere ballets. Since its inaugural season, the Company has grown from a budget of $1.2 million featuring 16 dancers and five apprentices in three programs to a $6.0 million budget featuring more than 38 dancers in eight programs, including the magical holiday tradition, The Nutcracker.