New York City Ballet
NYCB still has the largest repertoire by far of any American ballet company. It often stages 60 ballets or more in its winter and spring seasons at Lincoln Center each year, and 20 or more in its summer season in Saratoga Springs. City Ballet has performed "The Nutcracker", "Romeo and Juliet", "A Midsummer Night's Dream", and many more. City Ballet has trained and developed many great dancers since its formation. Many dancers with already developed reputations have also joined the ballet as principal dancers.
Cincinnati Ballet
Organizing founders Nancy Bauer, Virginia Garrett, and Myrl Laurence first chartered the company as the “Cincinnati Civic Ballet” in 1958. Then in 1962, seven ballet teachers in the Cincinnati area, including Anneliese von Oettingen, Shirley Frame Elmore, Mac Vestal came together to officially form the company. The first official auditions were in 1963 at the YMCA where 41 dancers were chosen from the 200 audition hopefuls. Debut performances took place at the University of Cincinnati’s Wilson Auditorium in 1964 and 1965. The first performance included an original ballet by guest choreographer Joseph Levinoff, "Chopin Piano Concerto in F Minor". The repertoire consisted of ballets choreographed or staged by Oleg Sabline, Tania Karina, William Dollar, and John Taras.
Oleg Sabline, a European-trained dancer whose career had taken him through Europe and the United States, was appointed director for the first performances. He originally came to Cincinnati to teach ballet and stage the classics at The University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music (CCM).