Theme and Variations is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to the final movement of Tchaikovsky's Orchestral Suite No.

Balanchine's Theme and Variations is set to the final movement of Tchaikovsky's Orchestral Suite No.

[5]: 22  Alonso previously believed that ballet cannot be abstract, and stated she "always have a feeling of being just behind the music" during rehearsals with Balanchine.

[8]: 112  Alonso nevertheless noted she "learned a lot" through Theme and Variations, especially "to listen to each instrument individually," which became helpful when her eyesight got worse.

[5]: 22–23  In a letter to Igor Stravinsky on Boxing Day 1947, Kirstein wrote that he and Pavel Tchelitchev both thought Theme and Variations was not Balanchine's best work, "but it appealed madly to the public," and believed that Balanchine had "become recognized" after spending fifteen years in the United States.

Source:[9] Balanchine debut as an orchestral conductor during a Ballet Theatre performance of Theme and Variations in December 1947.

[8]: 110 Balanchine's company, the New York City Ballet, performed Theme and Variations for the first time in 1960, with the two lead roles danced by Violette Verdy and Edward Villella respectively.