The most famous ballets of all time
The top 3 according to 63 votes from people: The Nutcracker · The Sleeping Beauty · Swan Lake. (Updated May 29, 2024.)
The ballets that companies stage year after year and every guide recommends, from Swan Lake to The Rite of Spring.
Top 18
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1
The Nutcracker
Tchaikovsky, 1892. The Christmas classic by Petipa and Ivanov.
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2
The Sleeping Beauty
Tchaikovsky, 1890. Petipa's grandest classical showpiece.
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3
Swan Lake
Tchaikovsky, 1877. Odette, the princess turned into a swan.
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4
Giselle
Adolphe Adam, 1841. The great Romantic ballet of ghosts and betrayal.
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5
Romeo and Juliet
Prokofiev, 1938. The "Dance of the Knights" and the tragic lovers.
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6
La Bayadère
Minkus, 1877. The Kingdom of the Shades and its row of dancers.
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7
La Sylphide
1832. One of the first Romantic ballets, danced on pointe.
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8
Coppélia
Léo Delibes, 1870. A toymaker and a mechanical doll.
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9
Le Corsaire
1856. Pirates and a famous pas de deux.
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10
Spartacus
Aram Khachaturian, 1956. The slave revolt as a Soviet spectacle.
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11
Jewels
Balanchine, 1967. Emeralds, rubies and diamonds; the first full-length plotless ballet.
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12
Boléro
Ravel, 1928. A single theme that keeps on growing.
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13
The Firebird
Stravinsky, 1910. The Ballets Russes hit that made him famous.
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14
Petrushka
Stravinsky, 1911. A puppet with a soul at a Russian fair.
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15
Cinderella
Prokofiev, 1945. The fairy tale with the midnight clock.
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16
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Balanchine, 1962. Shakespeare to Mendelssohn's music.
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17
Don Quixote
Ludwig Minkus, 1869. Kitri and Basilio steal the show from the knight.
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18
The Rite of Spring
Stravinsky, 1913. Its Paris premiere nearly caused a riot.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
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