New York City Ballet closed its 2026 spring season at Lincoln Center on a double note of arrival and farewell: a world premiere by principal dancer Tiler Peck at the May 7 Spring Gala, and the May 24 retirement of principal Megan Fairchild after a quarter-century with the company. The season ran at the David H. Koch Theater from April 21 through the end of May.

The Spring Gala premiere

The Spring Gala on Thursday, May 7, centered on a new work by Tiler Peck — her second piece choreographed for the company. Peck set the ballet to French composer Édouard Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole in D minor and built the evening around a marquee collaborator: Grammy-winning violinist Hilary Hahn, making her ballet debut as the on-stage soloist.

Peck, one of NYCB’s most prominent principals, first choreographed for the company with Concerto for Two Pianos, set to Poulenc, which premiered in 2024. The gala also presented the company premiere of Christopher Wheeldon’s Continuum and a revival of George Balanchine’s Symphonie Concertante — a work the company had not danced since 1952, originally performed by students of the School of American Ballet in 1945 at Carnegie Hall.

Fairchild’s farewell

On Sunday, May 24, Megan Fairchild gave her farewell performance, dancing Swanilda in the Balanchine and Alexandra Danilova full-length production of Coppélia. The performance closed a 25-year career at New York City Ballet, where Fairchild rose to principal and became one of the company’s signature interpreters of Balanchine’s comic and technical repertory. She is also known beyond the ballet stage for her 2014–15 Broadway run as Ivy Smith in the revival of On the Town.

The rest of the season

Beyond the gala and the farewell, the spring repertory leaned on the company’s founding choreographers. Jerome Robbins’s contemplative In Memory of… anchored the Robbins programming, and the season’s two full-length story ballets were the Firebird and Coppélia. The mix — a living choreographer’s premiere, a long-dormant Balanchine revival and the retirement of a principal in a full-length classic — is characteristic of how NYCB programs a season around its own history.

Why it matters

New York City Ballet is the largest dance company in the United States and one of New York’s defining cultural institutions, and its spring season is among the most-watched stretches of the city’s dance calendar. A new work by a principal-turned-choreographer signals the company’s pipeline of homegrown talent, while the departure of a 25-year principal marks a generational shift in the ranks. Both played out on the Koch Theater stage this spring.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What did Tiler Peck premiere at the 2026 Spring Gala?
Principal dancer Tiler Peck premiered her second work for New York City Ballet at the May 7, 2026 Spring Gala, choreographed to Édouard Lalo's 'Symphonie Espagnole' in D minor and featuring guest violinist Hilary Hahn in her ballet debut.
When was Megan Fairchild's farewell?
Principal dancer Megan Fairchild gave her farewell performance on Sunday, May 24, 2026, dancing Swanilda in 'Coppélia,' concluding a 25-year career with the company.
What else was in the spring season?
The season opened April 21 and included the company premiere of Christopher Wheeldon's 'Continuum,' a revival of Balanchine's 'Symphonie Concertante' (last danced by NYCB in 1952), Jerome Robbins's 'In Memory of…,' and the full-length 'Firebird' and 'Coppélia.'
Where does New York City Ballet perform?
At the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center on Manhattan's Upper West Side.