Carolina Ballet presents The Rite of Spring

Carolina Ballet brings The Rite of Spring to the Memorial Auditorium at Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Raleigh, with performances running daily from April 22 to 25, 2027. The program is built around a tetrad of mythology, and the company describes the themes as serene ascent, unrequited obsession, the reverence of nature, and divine conflict.

Most of the evening is new material. The title piece, The Rite of Spring, is choreographed by resident choreographer Amy Hall Garner. It shares the bill with two other world premieres: Gianna Reisen's Ophelia and Zalman Raffael's iteration of Echo and Narcissus. Those three new works are paired with George Balanchine's Apollo, a piece that's already part of the ballet canon, so you get a mix of brand-new choreography and a recognized classic in one night.

One of the biggest draws here is the music. The Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle performs the score live in the pit, so you're hearing the orchestra in the room rather than a recording. That live element ties the four pieces together, and it's a good reason to catch it in person.

If you're planning to go, keep in mind that the show runs for four days straight, from Thursday, April 22 through Sunday, April 25, so you have a few dates to choose from. The venue is the Memorial Auditorium at Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts, 2 E. South St., in downtown Raleigh.