At Ballet Theater, which he joined in 2009, Ratmansky choreographed numerous ballets, including a reimagined version of “The Nutcracker” and a reconstruction of “The Sleeping Beauty.” His latest for the company was the full-length ballet “Of Love and Rage,” which had its New York premiere in June. Writing in The Times, Gia Kourlas called it “ambitious and bold with luscious, full-bodied dancing,” adding that, performing it, the Ballet Theater dancers “were transformed with a renewed sense of purpose and promise.”
Ballet Theater has undergone a series of changes recently, including the departure of Kevin McKenzie, the company’s longtime artistic director. Susan Jaffe, a former Ballet Theater dancer, took the reins last month.
Ratmansky praised Ballet Theater, saying, “it’s still a family for me.” He said he decided not to renew his contract at Ballet Theater, which ends in June, in part because of concerns that he had been at the company too long.
“It just felt like the world is changing,” he said, “and I’m changing.”
He added: “There is a danger that you know the dancers too well, and they know what to expect from you. There is a danger that you start repeating yourself.”
Ratmansky said he was not sure yet whether his work at City Ballet would continue beyond the initial contract.
“It will depend on the atmosphere, the results, the premieres, the response of the dancers, the response of the audience,” he said. “All of that combines to a general feeling of whether it works or not. We’re going to just wait and see. There is a hope that it will work.”
