Performer: Ana Sophia Scheller

Among the standouts at the San Francisco Ballet gala evening performance were Ana Sophia Scheller in Rubies, Sasha De Sola in Études, Benjamin Freemantle in Agon, and Misa Kuranaga and Angelo Greco in Handel-A Celebration.

A flock of women triumphed on opening night of Peter Martins' patchy Swan Lake at New York City Ballet: the peerless Sara Mearns as Odette-Odile; Ana Sophia Scheller, Tiler Peck and Megan Fairchild in a spectacular pas de quatre; and corps dancers Jacqueline Bologna, Baily Jones, Alexa Maxwell and Claire Von Enck as the Four Little Swans. 

Who was George Balanchine’s greatest muse? If her name is on the tip of your tongue, and you think that she must be a famous ballerina, think again. From their first collaboration in early in the 1920s, composer Igor Stravinsky inspired and challenged Balanchine with his music, starting in France and then expanding into different countries.