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Metro
New York City Life

Young New Yorkers line up for ballet tickets as discounts for people under 30 spark Big Apple craze

By
Katherine Donlevy
Published Oct. 4, 2024, 6:00 a.m. ET

Young New Yorkers are ditching the bars for the barre.

The New York City Ballet has become the latest youth craze thanks to a discounted ticket series — which has increased sales by 50%, organizers said.

The 30-and-under set is taking full advantage of the $30-for-30 program, which is now in its sixth season and transforming the landscape of Lincoln Center away from the stereotypical retiré crowd.

Henry Leland, left, and Adele Roncey, right
Henry Leland enjoyed his first ballet performance after friend and routine $30-for-30 member Adele Roncey encouraged him to take advantage of the program. Stephen Yang

Now, the audience is flush with young people who admitted they’d opt for a bite or drinks instead of the lavish performances without the deal, which is offered to people between 13 and 30-years old.

“We wouldn’t be here without it — and definitely not on a random Wednesday night, that’s for sure,” Henrey Leland, 25, of Gramercy Park, told The Post ahead of Wednesday’s “Mozartiana” showing and his first time at the ballet ever.

“I think it’s huge because the price point makes sense.”

The $30-for-30 program was borne in 2017 as a means of getting younger viewers in seats — and the demographic is going passé-tively nuts for it.

During the 2023-24 season, the NYCB sold more than 17,000 tickets within the program alone, a roughly 50% spike from the previous year, a spokesperson told The Post.

Signs showing the $30-for-30 discount.
Ticket sales under the $30-for-30 program soared 50% last year, the NYCB said. Stephen Yang

Approximately 200 people inside the 2,550 seats in the David H. Koch Theatre on any given show are program members enjoying the $30 deal — a sweet discount considering tickets can run as high as $350.

Adele Roncey, 24, who encouraged Leland to take advantage of the program, said Wednesday’s “Mozartiana” show marked her ninth performance with $30-for-30 tickets since she learned about it a year ago.

“I was a ballerina before, so I love ballet, but to be honest I wouldn’t go it,” said Roncey, a French immigrant living in Tribeca.

Ava Torre, left, Aimana Tazhibaba, center, and Emerson Matiasezich, right
Ballerinas Ava Torre, left, Aimana Tazhibaba, center, and Emerson Matiasezich, right, said the affordable program makes it possible for them to enjoy their passion. Stephen Yang

“Maybe I would go and buy a ‘Nutcracker’ ticket if I were going to spend that much money, but I wouldn’t do these types of performances for $200. And definitely not as often as I’ve been going … There’s no activity in New York that’s cheaper.”

Leland added: “It’s a great deal. And it’s different.”

The pair were two of 150 program members that went to Wednesday’s performance, a number that also matched the prior day’s attendance.

Another 200 tickets were doled out for each of Thursday and Friday’s dances, with a spare few still up for grabs.

Stephanie Liu, left, and Luciana Vasquez, right
Luciana Vasquez, left, and Stephanie Liu admitted they would leave and grab dinner if the $30 tickets ran out before they could grab any. Stephen Yang

Demand was so high for this weekend’s showing of “Coppélia” that the NYCB had to shut down availability through the $30-for-30 program — but not before 500 members grabbed the discounted tickets.

“It’s really cool because a lot of young people don’t really know about ballet or go to the ballet unless you’re a ballerina, so I think it’s cool that people who don’t do ballet get the opportunity to go see it, learn about it and get inspired,” said Ava Torre, 18, a student at the Joffrey Ballet School who was seeing a NYCB performance as part of the program for the first time Wednesday.

Fellow student Aimana Tazhibaba, 24, of Los Angeles, pointed out that the shows also provide a great opportunity to socialize that doesn’t center around partying or breaking the bank.

Annika Oulette
Annika Oulette has enjoyed the program since it was first launched in 2017. Stephen Yang

“It’s a good chance to see the New York City Ballet. If the prices were like $100 it would be hard for us to get in because we’re students,” said Tazhibaba.

Friends Stephanie Liu, 23, and Luciana Vasquez, 25, arrived an hour early to Wednesday’s show to scoop up remaining tickets — but confessed they wouldn’t splurge on full-price stubs if the discounted tickets were sold out.

“We’d go get dinner instead!” Vasquez said. As it turned out, the pair made it inside.

Ballet goers look out of the balcony of the Koch Theater
About 200 tickets per performance are sold under the $30-for-30 program, according to the NYCB. Stephen Yang

Annika Ouellette, 30, who has been a member since the $30-for-30’s inception, said it’s clear the culture of Lincoln Center has changed over the years, but that there’s still room to diversify the ballet’s audience

“I’m still surprised — I don’t think that many people know about it. whenever I’m in there, I’m like, ‘Wow there’s not that many young people,” Ouellette, who commutes to Manhattan from Stamford, said.

She said there’s a stereotype that watching the ballet is a passion for the older crowd, though she estimated the disparity isn’t as “extreme” as at the opera.

With her 31st birthday looming in May, Ouellette is hellbent on seeing as many discounted shows as she can before she is no longer eligible for the coupon.

“I will still continue going. I am a ballet lover!” she said.