David H. Koch Theater

The David H. Koch Theater is a theater for ballet and dance at Lincoln Center in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City.

Part of New York’s famed Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex, the theater occupies the south side of the main plaza (at Columbus Avenue and 63rd Street), which it shares with the Metropolitan Opera House and David Geffen Hall. The David H. Koch Theater is home to the New York City Ballet.

The theater, designed by architect Philip Johnson, opened on April 23, 1964, and was formerly known as the New York State Theater. It continues to undergo a series of renovations and improvements to make it state-of-the-art in all technical areas.

The auditorium features a hybrid of traditional and continental-style seating on the orchestra level, five “Rings” (balconies) facing jewel-like faceted lights, and a large spherical chandelier in the gold-paneled ceiling.

The lobby is filled with sublime pieces of art, commissioned specifically to highlight various aspects of the world of ballet, including mythology, numbers, the human body, and a multitude of relevant themes, including many suggested by George Balanchine. These masterpieces are created from a wide variety of media and materials, such as marble, bronze, wood, and even found elements such as a firehouse and the plexiglass turret of a World War II bomber.