$25 orchestra seats at the New York City Ballet!!! (corrected version)

(Corrected version: I was looking at a foreshortened calendar when I wrote out my recommendations--what a dummy! [Or at least tired to the point of dumbness.] I've added to the second paragraph a few programs I missed the first time out. New part in bold.)

Fifty of them for each performance, starting now and continuing through March 1. I can't tell you how rare orchestra seats at this price are. In fact, outside of the annual Fall for Dance festival, which is heavily subsidized, I've never heard of it. Finally, a really smart marketing ploy--because it's not just a ploy. Offering dance up close and in the flesh is an honest way to make converts, because sitting close makes all the difference. If your experience of ballet is from the nose bleed seats, where the dancers can't help but look doll-like, treat yourself.

And which programs do I recommend? As many as you can get to in the next seven weeks. Otherwise, whichever have the most Balanchine--and exceptional Robbins. So, Balanchine's evening-length "Coppelia," Founding Choreographers 1, 20th Century Music Masters, and Founding Choreographers II. Number two choices include Short Stories (so long as it's not your first and only Balanchine), Early Music Masters, Tradition and Innovation, and Four Voices.

Rebecca Krohn and Albert Evans in Balanchine's "Movements for Piano and Orchestra," to Stravinsky's music of the same name. (Photo by Paul Kolnik for New York City Ballet.)

This is the first ballet in which Krohn made her mark--a stark and striking one. She's one of those dancers who lets you feel her choices, yet without ever being portentous about it. A gracefully intelligent dancer. "Movements" shares the Founding Choreographers 1 program with Balanchine's "Monumentum pro Gesualdo" and "Stars and Stripes," and Robbins's "Dances at a Gathering." 

The tickets become available the Monday of the week of the performance. You need to buy them after 10 a.m. in person at the David Koch Theater (the onetime New York State Theater, at Lincoln Center) or by phone (call 212-721-6500 and mention code 25ORCH; service charges apply). Click here for details.