The shuttering of theaters has caused the dance world untold damage, yet there has been an upshot: the increased accessibility of high-end dance, as productions stream online, free. In a way, the moment harkens back to an earlier time, when the kind of dance you could see in the fancy theaters of Lincoln Center was regularly broadcast on public television. Or at least, that’s a historical connection suggested by Lincoln Center at Home’s upcoming week of online dance programming.
To be sure, the series, which runs May 30 to June 4, is book ended by two recent programs from Lincoln Center at the Movies, a halfhearted 2015 endeavor that filmed stage productions for broadcast in movie theaters: one of Ballet Hispánico (Saturday at 2 p.m. Eastern) and a stronger one, repertory-wise, of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (June 4 at 8 p.m. Eastern).
But the real gems here are older, an amazing haul of time-capsule treasures from “Live at Lincoln Center” TV broadcasts of the 1970s and ’80s.
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Most feature New York City Ballet. First, on Saturday at 8 p.m. Eastern, comes a 1986 performance of George Balanchine’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” with a terrific cast led by Maria Calegari and Ib Andersen. Then, June 2 at 8 p.m., there’s a 1978 performance of Balanchine and Alexandra Danilova’s version of the classic doll-comes-to-life ballet “Coppélia,” starring the sparkling Patricia McBride and Helgi Tomasson. Finally, on June 3 at 8 p.m. Eastern, we get “Tribute to Balanchine,” recorded shortly after his death in 1983, featuring three great works: “Vienna Waltzes,” “Mozartiana” (with the unsurpassable Suzanne Farrell and Mr. Andersen) and “Who Cares?”
