PREVIEW: Unity Phelan Discusses New York City Ballet’s Dazzling Summer at SPAC
07/08—07/11 @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center
**This review originally appeared in our July 2026 print issue**
Photos by Erin Baiano
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream was just born to be danced at SPAC, in my opinion…”
New York City Ballet Principal Dancer Unity Phelan vividly remembers her first summer dancing at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC). The former apprentice performed the famed Garland Waltz from The Sleeping Beauty. In between shows, she boated on the lake, rented a house with her girlfriends, and even drove a car — a rare opportunity compared to her daily life in New York City.
“There’s such importance to SPAC being built with ballet in mind and George Balanchine, our founder,” she reflects. “This summer we have exceptional ballets that we’re bringing to SPAC and some of my all-time favorites.”
From July 8–11, Phelan will be performing the lead of Titania in the full-length ballet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and on July 10 and 11, she will be in Serenade as a part of the Innovators & Icons program, which will also feature Jerome Robbins’ robust Opus 19/The Dreamer and Tiler Peck’s new Symphonie Espagnol.
Phelan calls Opus 19/The Dreamer one of Robbins’ “most amazing” ballets and, regarding Peck’s newest piece, observes: “It’s only been done a handful of times, and it’s exciting to see Tiler choreograph something. SPAC audiences are in for a treat with that one.”
The repertory for this season is artfully melding the contemporary with the beloved classics. With its signature ’Balanchine blue’ backdrop and floating music, Serenade quintessentially represents the New York City Ballet.
“There’s no way you could change Serenade to make it better,” she says. “Anytime I hear the music, steps pop into my head automatically, and it feels so right.”
Balanchine’s duality as a choreographer is on full display between both Serenade’s dreamy atmosphere and the vibrant comedy in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream was just born to be danced at SPAC, in my opinion,” says Phelan.
Ethereal and effortlessly commanding of her fairies, Phelan soars as the bewitching Queen Titania. “I love getting to put on that hat and be her,” she says. “She’s strong and authoritative, but also aloof and whimsical. It’s one of my favorite roles to dance and to watch.”
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a ballet full of Shakespeare’s most famous otherworldly characters, including Cobweb, Oberon, and Puck. “It feels a bit more whimsical as a ballet,” she describes. “[The characters] bring levity to it for the dancers, especially backstage. It feels lighter; less serious. Letting the audience in on that fun makes it really special.”
At the end of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Phelan has a moment with the young dancers from Saratoga, greeting them as the queen of the fairies. For Phelan, the opportunity to perform with them is a rewarding moment as both a dancer and mentor figure.
“They’re all smiling so big at you. In that moment, I can see myself as a little kid — getting to be onstage with a ballerina would be so exciting. It really humbles me, grounds me, and brings me back to earth. I can see a version of myself when I was nine or ten getting to dance The Nutcracker back home in New Jersey. My goal is always to make that experience for them as special as possible.”
In addition to her interaction with the children, Phelan draws out even more moments that SPAC audiences can pay close attention to during the show. “My favorite part of Midsummer is the Donkey Pas de Deux that I get to dance,” she muses. “I cannot wait to do that with the SPAC audience, because it’s so charming. And I'm really looking forward to the Elegy section of Serenade.”
Almost 15 years since her first performance at SPAC, life has changed for Phelan. She’s leading their summer programming at the highest level of a principal dancer, and recent motherhood has provided her with “a beautiful new relationship that I have with my body and with dance itself.” Yet her love of dancing at SPAC remains consistent through the years.
“I feel extremely lucky that I get to dance in these two roles,” she effuses. “It’s a dream.”
