Stephen Collins Foster, regarded as the father of American popular music, writes his first song, Open Thy Lattice Love. This song, along with others by Foster, is chosen by John Neumeier for his ballet Yondering.

Premiere of Arthur Saint-Léon’s ballet La Source at the Paris Opera. The music composed by Léo Delibes is partly reworked by Léo Staats for Soir de fête.

Premiere of Léo Staats’s Soir de fête on 1 July, with Gustave Ricaux and Olga Spessivtseva in the leading roles.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry serves as a captain in the Air Force at the start of the Second World War.

Written during the Second World War, The Little Prince is published by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in New York, illustrated with watercolours by the author.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry goes missing at sea on 31 July with his aircraft, a Lockheed P-38 Lightning, while on a mission. He is declared to have died for France.

Choreographer John Neumeier founds the Hamburg Ballet School.

Léo Staats’ ballet Soir de fête enters the repertoire of the Paris Opera Ballet School.

Inspired by his childhood in the United States, John Neumeier creates Yondering, a ballet for young dancers.

John Neumeier’s Yondering enters the repertoire of the Paris Opera Ballet School.

Dancer Clairemarie Osta is promoted to Étoile on 29 December 2002, following a performance of Paquita.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Yondering, John Neumeier brings together students from several schools (Paris, Toronto, San Francisco, Hamburg) alongside dancers who performed in the original production, such as Jason Reilly and Peter Dingle.