ROH 2025: BALLET TO BROADWAY - WHEELDON WORKS

The Royal Ballet celebrates Wheeldon’s extraordinary success in musical theatre by performing the ballet scene from his Tony Award-winning musical An American in Paris. Set to Gershwin’s jazzy melodies, the musical is inspired by the 1951 film of the same name starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron. The musical went on to win four Tony awards. The full musical depicts a blossoming romance between the American G.I. Jerry Mulligan and a French ballerina, Lise Dassin. The ballet excerpt was Wheeldon’s take on one of the most memorable scenes from the film – an extended sequence in which the two central characters dance through Paris.