Stars and Stripes is a neoclassical ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to music by John Philip Sousa, orchestrated by Hershy Kay.

Choreographer and New York City Ballet co-founder George Balanchine, who was raised in Imperial Russia and worked in Europe during his early career, moved to the United States in 1933 and became an American citizen in 1940.

[6] On the whole ballet, dance critic John Martin commented, "With the spirit of Sousa in the pit, the military march inevitably takes over the doings on stage, We see it in virtually every variety – drilling, parade strutting, drum-majoretting.

Their leader then enters with a majorette baton and marches, a moment dance critic John Gruen called "the image of the all-American girl".

[1] Dance critic Jennifer Dunning wrote, "men's flying stage-crosses, giving the tumultuous stage a fixed center in the regiment's spinning leader.

[9] Kirstein wrote that Balanchine created the pas de deux as "a tribute to Dwight Eisenhower, in his senior year at West Point, engaged to Mamie Doud."

[1] Gruen described, "Patriotic fervor overtakes everyone, and as the regiments parade, the leading couple stand at opposite sides of the stage to review them."

The ballet ends with the ballerina of the fourth campaign lifted by her partner, and with the full cast, "forms a victoriously patriotic tableau".

[14] In 1984, the Dance Theatre of Harlem performed the finale of Stars and Stripes at the Olympics closing ceremony in Los Angeles.

[6] In 1993, the fourth and fifth "campaigns" of Stars and Stripes was filmed for the broadcast "The Balanchine Celebration", featuring dancers Margaret Tracey, Damian Woetzel, Katrina Killian and Gen Horiuchi.

[4][28] In 2000, an excerpt of Stars and Stripes was featured in the film Center Stage, danced by Julie Kent and Ethan Stiefel.