Who Cares? (ballet)

Who Cares? is a ballet made by New York City Ballet's co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine to songs by George Gershwin in an orchestration by Hershy Kay.[1][2] The premiere took place on Saturday, February 7, 1970, at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center with costumes by Barbara Karinska and lighting by Ronald Bates;[3] it was at first performed without décor but from November 1970 with scenery by Jo Mielziner.

The conductor was Robert Irving and the pianist on opening night Gordon Boelzner; the orchestration had only been completed for two songs, "Strike Up the Band" and "I Got Rhythm". "Clap Yo' Hands" was performed to a recording made by George Gershwin; this sequence was, however, eliminated by Balanchine in 1976.

Balanchine and Gershwin's plans to collaborate were frustrated by the composer's untimely death in 1937. Thirty-three years later, Balanchine chose seventeen of Gershwin's from Broadway musical songs for this ballet; Mayor John V. Lindsay presented Balanchine with the Handel Medallion, New York City's highest cultural award, on opening night.[4]