New York

Performing Arts

Home to 240 performance venues, including such famous sites as Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, and Lincoln Center, New York is one of the world's great centers for the performing arts. It is the theatrical capital of the nation, with performances ranging from large, expensive Broadway hits to the smaller and more innovative Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway productions (the last two designations are actually determined by the size of the theater rather than its location). New York is also home to the prestigious New York Shakespeare Festival, which mounts productions at the Joseph Papp Public Theater most of the year and presents the Shakespeare in the Park series in Central Park in the summer.

New York is home to the New York Philharmonic, one of the nation's most acclaimed symphony orchestras (and its oldest), and the country's premier opera company (the Metropolitan Opera), as well as classical music ensembles of all kinds, from early music groups to those specializing in contemporary performance. Opera is also presented by the New York City Opera and several other groups. In addition to the famous Juilliard School, the city is home to two other highly regarded schools of music, the Manhattan School Music and the Mannes College of Music, both of which present their own concert series featuring performances by both students and faculty. A unique classical music experience is offered by Barge-music, a series of chamber music concerts presented on a boat docked on the East River.

New York is also a thriving center for all kinds of dance and is particularly known for its classical ballet companies, notably the American Ballet Theater and the New York City Ballet, which have boasted such illustrious names as George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and Mikhail Baryshnikov. New York also has several other ballet companies, and modern dance is represented by the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and other groups.

Many types of popular music—including jazz, rock, blues, and Latin music—thrive in New York in clubs scattered throughout the city. Among the city's legendary jazz clubs are the Blue Note, Sweet Basil, the Five Spot, and the Village Vanguard.