Atlanta Ballet Announces 2025-26 Season

Atlanta Ballet has officially announced its 2025-2026 performance season and it features a powerful saga of a revolutionary artist, two Tchaikovsky classics, beloved fairy tales, a world premiere, and more!

Atlanta Ballet Artistic Director Gennadi Nedvigin has announced Atlanta Ballet’s 2025|2026 performance season will feature Frida, a vibrant tribute to influential artist Frida Kahlo, choreographed by the renowned Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, and the classic fantasy ballet The Sleeping Beauty, choreographed by Helgi Tomasson after Marius Petipa, following its west coast production. These two marquee works join an instantly recognizable five-show line-up plus a beloved family performance on the stage at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.

“Each year, we curate a year-long repertoire with a variety of performances that showcase the elegance and vigor of our talented company dancers and empower them to unlock new ways to connect with our audience,” said Nedvigin.

This season will feature…

• Fall Mixed Bill that includes Emeralds, Prodigal Son, and In Creases (Sept. 12-14, 2025)
• The Nutcracker (December 6-27, 2025)
• The Sleeping Beauty (February 6-14, 2026)
• Snow White by Atlanta Ballet 2 (March 28-29, 2026)
• Golden Hour mixed rep featuring Within the Golden Hour (April 3-5, 2026)
• Frida (May 8-10, 2026)

What You Can Expect This Season

Kicking off the season is a mixed rep collection of works by George Balanchine and Justin Peck with four performances September 12-14, 2025. This mixed rep features iconic works by George Balanchine, often referred to as “the father of American ballet,” and Justin Peck, lauded dancer, stage director and New York City Ballet’s resident choreographer for more than a decade as well as artistic advisor for the past six years.

The two works by Balanchine include Prodigal Son, the last of his works for Ballets Russes and featuring music by Sergei Prokofiev, and Emeralds, the peak of lyrical romanticism as two leading couples, three soloists and a corps of ten women move gracefully to the music of Gabriel Fauré and Edmond Haraucourt. Justin Peck’s contribution to the triple bill is In Creases, the first commissioned work he created for New York City Ballet following his time as a soloist and the piece that heralded him as a purveyor of a new era of modern ballet steeped in tradition. 

Tchaikovsky’s instantly familiar music will usher in the city’s iconic holiday performances as the Atlanta Ballet presents its signature production of The Nutcracker December 6-27, 2025, under the artistic direction of Nedvigin. As one of the most anticipated performances in its repertoire, the company will deliver the Christmas season tradition for 20 mainstage performances.

Award-winning choreographer Yuri Possokhov reimagined the classical ballet seven years ago exclusively for Atlanta Ballet with intricately designed costumes, larger-than-life sets, advanced lighting and state-of-the-art video projections. As the grandest production of The Nutcracker ballet in the Southeast, the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra will perform the Tchaikovsky score, bringing the beautiful and intricate dance work to life.

Atlanta Ballet will also present The Nutcracker for four Kids In Step shows, also performed by the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra, exposing thousands of additional community children to the magic of dance. Dates for these shows are December 9, 10, 11 and 16.

Set to another famous Tchaikovsky score performed live by the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra, Atlanta Ballet will next present one of the greatest fairy tales of all time, The Sleeping Beauty, February 6-14, 2026, with seven performances. Audience members of all ages can escape into an enchanting world of fantasy, romance and magic as the ballet tells the story of Princess Aurora who is cursed to sleep until true love’s kiss ultimately prevails.

The season’s family ballet Snow White, performed by Atlanta Ballet 2 March 28-29, 2026, features all the fairy tale enchantment and merriment of the beloved classic in a one-hour format with narration suitable for under-12 audiences as an ideal introduction to ballet. In this version choreographed by Bruce Wells, audiences will enjoy following the young heroine and her prince as they outwit the schemes of the Evil Queen. This family ballet will be offered in four mainstage performances plus two Kids in Step community presentations.

On April 3-5, 2026, Atlanta Ballet will debut a Mixed Rep, featuring Christopher Wheeldon’s shimmering, swirling and colorful ballet, Within The Golden Hour, alongside a world premiere by Yuri Possokhov and a new work by Choreographer-in-Residence Claudia Schreier. Within the Golden Hour is a one-act contemporary ballet known for fluid corps patterns, quirky duets and a celebratory finale, accompanied by the rhythmic patterns of Ezio Bosso and Antonio Vivaldi’s lush score. The Mixed Rep will be presented in four performances over its spring weekend.

Frida Kahlo famously said, “Painting completed my life,” and it’s only fitting a work about this renowned artist will complete this exciting season. Following the triumphant presentation of Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Coco Chanel: The Life of a Fashion Icon in 2024, which Atlanta Ballet co-commissioned and presented its North American premiere, Lopez Ochoa’s masterful storytelling returns to Atlanta with her new work: Frida, exploring the life and loves of acclaimed Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo.

This full-length ballet, presented in four performances May 8-10, 2026, will delve into the story of a fierce artistic and cultural icon through the colorful and evocative imagery of her paintings. The production is emotional, passionate and introspective. Frida is brought to life through the dynamic choreography of Ochoa, the musical stylings of Peter Salem performed live by the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra and in artistic collaboration withNancy Meckler.

More information about Atlanta Ballet’s 2025-2026 subscriptions are available at www.atlantaballet.com.