Many dancers with already developed reputations have also joined the ballet as principal dancers: In 1960, Balanchine mounted City Ballet's Salute to Italy with premieres of Monumentum pro Gesualdo and Variations from Don Sebastian (called the Donizetti Variations since 1961), as well as performances of his La Sonnambula and Lew Christensen's Con Amore.

Balanchine had produced an earlier Stravinsky festival in 1937 as balletmaster of the American Ballet while engaged by the Metropolitan Opera.

High points included Balanchine's Le Tombeau de Couperin and Robbins' Mother Goose.

Balanchine, Joseph Duell, d'Amboise, Peter Martins, Robbins, and Taras created twelve new dances.

Philip Johnson and John Burgee's stage setting of translucent tubing was designed to be hung and lit in different architectural configurations throughout the entire festival.

The ballets included three of Balanchine's works, Serenade, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, and Sonatine; and Jerome Robbins' Afternoon of a Faun.

The performers included Maria Calegari, Kyra Nichols, Heather Watts, Leonid Kozlov, Afshin Mofid, Patricia McBride, Helgi Tomasson, Karin von Aroldingen, Lourdes Lopez, Bart Cook, and Joseph Duell.

After 30 years, Martins was judged to have maintained the New York City Ballet's financial security and the musicality and performance level of the dancers, but he has not emphasized the Balanchine style to the extent that many observers expected he would.

[16] For the company's 40th anniversary, Martins held an American Music Festival, having commissioned dances from choreographers Laura Dean, Eliot Feld, William Forsythe, Lar Lubovitch, Paul Taylor.

Martins contributed Barber Violin Concerto, Black and White, The Chairman Dances, A Fool for You, Fred and George, Sophisticated Lady, Tanzspiel, Tea-Rose, and The Waltz Project.

The program was initiated by Peter Martins, conceived and supervised by principal dancer Jonathan Stafford, assisted by Kyle Froman, Craig Hall, Amanda Hankes, Adam Hendrickson, Ask la Cour, Henry Seth, and Daniel Ulbricht, and consisted of:

Hour-long Inside NYCB events explore the history and inner workings of the company through performance and discussion, often with dancers and artistic staff.

In December 2017, Martins took a leave of absence from the New York City Ballet following an allegation of sexual misconduct made against him.

[47] An independent inquiry commissioned by NYCB and SAB and led by employment-law attorney Barbara E. Hoey did not corroborate the allegations of harassment or violence made against Martins, according to a joint statement issued by the company and school.

[48][49][50][51] In September 2018, Alexandra Waterbury, an ex-girlfriend of NYCB principal dancer Chase Finlay, began a civil action in New York County Supreme Court against Finlay, principal dancers Amar Ramasar and Zachary Catazaro, NYCB patron Jared Longhitano, New York City Ballet and SAB.

[52] All defendants disputed key factual allegations made in the complaint as well as their liability as a matter of law; they all filed motions to dismiss.

[55] Although there were no public reports of a settlement agreement, in February 2023, Waterbury agreed to withdraw "with prejudice" (i.e., permanently) all claims against NYCB and Finlay "without costs or attorneys' fees to any party.