To achieve the beauty and grace of a trained ballerina, one must sacrifice significant amounts of time and energy to their passion for dance. These sacrifices are not made in vain, because for many, a ballet performance represents the heights of culture and sophistication. Spectators are drawn like magnets to the frilly tutus, pointed toes, fragile arabesques, and airborne elegance of a talented ballerina, yet those same qualities belie her strength and athleticism. It should come as no surprise, then, that THE RIDE’s climactic prima ballerina is our most oft-recorded and well-loved attraction. Because our attractions include some of NYC’s most iconic, this is no small task.
The gentle grace of the ballerina helps to balance the hard, harsh structure of the city. You can find incredible ballet performances all over New York, but they are stuffy and boring. None are like this illuminated beacon of poise who flits from fountain to fountain like a real life fairy in Columbus Circle. THE RIDE’s Youtube channel has compiled a comprehensive playlist of the Columbus Circle Ballerina’s greatest hits. It’s by turns funny and bewitching. She might even inspire a tear while she balances, dispelling darkness with her skirt made of stars, glowing like the moon itself:
The first video introduces you to one graceful girl who fills out those pointe shoes, followed by sneak peeks into the inner workings of THE RIDE!
In many of these videos—mostly, the ones taken from up close in the traffic rotary instead of in the sideways seats of our unique adventure—you can spot the impressive, gargantuan RIDE tour bus as it revolves slowly around the performance, savoring every magical moment. The spellbound viewers within are in full view of passersby on the street, who sometimes gawk back, or perform their own impromptu performance.
There are some other videos where she is on display. This first youtube selection includes top-notch, honey-badger-caliber narration which inexplicably describes Columbus Circle and provides hilarious humming accompaniment. Finally, the narrator instructs how to “get me a man, get me a good man”:
These videos provide different perspectives, different locations, and even, in some instances, different ballerinas. Don’t miss the perfectly synced choreography and music:
The RIDE’s interactive entertainment experience gives you front row seats to a one of a kind ballet show. In the middle of Columbus Circle, this beautiful creature dances en pointe with a plain-clothes partner, a street performer like herself. However, the other denizens of Columbus Circle, untrained and unprepared for the improvised pas de deux, marvel and engage with the dancers in typical New York fashion, unaware that the dance is a performance for THE RIDE; such stunning, out of place beauty can only be the result of a dream come to life.
In warm weather or buttoned up for the cold, the breathtaking pair thaw cynical city hearts left and right as they magically groove in perfect time to the gorgeous classical music playing on THE RIDE. At night, her ethereal figure stands out from the crowd and from her partner by virtue of her shimmering tiara and glittering, lit-up, multicolored outfit. You can’t miss her, and why would you want to? Come experience THE RIDE and to get your own look at this beguiling fairy princess come to life.