The ballet company was successful in staging popular classics of the era, such as Swan Lake (Act II), Giselle, Coppélia and Excelsior.
The National Theatre Ballet was the first company to stage Swan Lake outside of Russia, and Tchaikovsky himself was at the premiere of the Prague production.
[2] During its first decades, the company was also a significant performer of local creations, such as Štědrovečerní sen (A Christmas Eve Dream, 1886), Kovařovic’s Pohádka o nalezeném štěstí (A Fairy Tale About Happiness Found) (1889), Janáček's Rákos Rákoczy (1891), Bajaja (1897), Jindřich Kàan z Albestů), and many works of children's entertainment.
Polish dancer and choreographer Remislav Remislavsky became ballet master in 1922, introducing a Russian influence, which became dominant for the company throughout the 20th century.
[4] Avant garde influences, even American Jazz music, added to the creative mixture at the National Theatre Ballet during this period.
[6] Vlastimil Harapes became artistic director in 1990, and since that time, the company has expanded its repertoire to include "a modern type of full-length epic ballet", for example, Little Mr. Friedeman and Psycho (1993, 2000), Tchaikovsky (1994), Coppélia (1995), Isadora Duncan (1998), Some Like It… (1994, 2001) and Mowgli for Children (1996).