Washington Ballet: "Russian Masters" - Wednesday October 4, 2017 / 8:00pm

masterworks by Fokine, Ratmansky, Petipa and Balanchine that trace the roots of classical ballet, exploring how these choreographers have shaped and influenced the art form over the last 175 years (think of it as a crash course in Russian ballet). You'll see Fokine's Les Sylphides, a romantic reverie featuring music by Chopin that's widely considered to be the first ballet simply about mood and dance, and Ratmansky's Boléro, a meditation on modern society and its pressures set to Ravel. Then it's time for one of the most famous pas de deux of classical ballet repertoire (from Petipa's Le Corsaire) and a Biblical tale told through gorgeous movement: George Balanchine's mesmerizing Prodigal Son.