The New York City Ballet performs in Paris in tonight's edition of Great Performances on PBS.

Great Performances: New York City Ballet in Paris airs Friday night on PBS, giving those at home a free look at the artistry of the ballet company. The show opens with Walpurgisnacht Ballet, which features the music of Charles Gounod, and initially choreographed for the 1975 opera Faust, for the Paris Opera Ballet.

"First performed as an independent work by NYCB in 1980, Walpurgisnacht Ballet is a joyful embodiment of classical choreography, ending with a surging finale that sends 24 ballerinas soaring across the stage." says PBS.

Main cast members in the Walpurgisnacht Ballet include Sara Mearns, Adrian Danchig-Waring, and Lauren Lovette.

"The first program culminates with La Valse, set to the music of Maurice Ravel, and created in 1951," PBS continues. "A neo-Romantic, narrative work, La Valse depicts a young woman at a ball who is simultaneously horrified and fascinated by her own vanity, and finds herself strangely drawn to a figure of Death. The cast for La Valse features Sterling Hyltin, Jared Angle, and Amar Ramasar."

Great Performances: New York City Ballet in Paris will air Friday night at 9/8c on PBS, ending at 10/9c. It remains to be seen if the ballet will be available to watch on PBS, but it should be available on the PBS website after the broadcast, for those who cannot watch it live.

To live tweet and follow along with others watching New York City Ballet in Paris, use hashtag #GreatPerformancesPBS on Twitter.