So you voted today. Congratulations. And you’re getting antsy about the election results. But here’s the thing: You’re not going to know who won until late this evening, so you might as well relax. It’s the perfect time to enjoy the pleasures of art – in any genre – until the news is announced. And there are plenty of American artists who can help you do that.

Rochester-born soprano Renee Fleming has a transporting new compact disc of Handel arias. I’ve been listening to it for weeks. It’s a beautiful alternative to the blather of talking heads on television.

If you have time to sneak off to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, you can catch the exhibit of Gilbert Stuart’s paintings. It was this Rhode Island native who painted the portrait of George Washington that graces the $1 bill. The New York Sun’s own Francis Morrone calls the show “stupendous,” and that’s a good enough recommendation for me.

For a night out on the town, American Ballet Theatre is on stage at City Center with an extremely high-energy program tonight. Two of the works -“Pretty Good Year” by Trey McIntyre and “workwithinwork” by William Forsythe – contain the sort of fast-paced contemporary ballet that will keep your eyes riveted to something other than the clock. (Besides, ABT plans to post election returns in the lobby during intermission, so you won’t be cut off from news.)

Tonight’s third work, “Sinfonietta,” by Jiri Kylian, is one that is perfectly suited for Election Day. On paper, this 1978 ballet doesn’t jump out as a brilliant choice for the occasion. It wasn’t made by an American: The choreographer was born in Prague and the composer of the score is his countryman Leos Janacek. Moreover, the piece is not about America. The original program notes – supplied by the Netherlands Dance Theater, the company with which this ballet premiered – include the following: “The ballet is a celebration of the sheer exhilaration of living, which follows the music in its joyous fusion of love, hope, youth, and strength.”

But the spirit of this ballet that makes it right for this evening. Maybe it’s the amber waves of grain (more or less) on the backdrop, maybe it’s the trumpets in the score, that give it an American flavor? For me, there’s no “maybe” about it. I can tell you why.

On the day that I saw this ballet, I had the pleasure and privilege to interview Sir Harold Evans. His new book, “They Made America,” is an impressive historical survey of the innovators who over the last 200 years created many things we take for granted: electricity, credit ratings, MRI scans, and even eBay. And so the interview centered on his experience of writing the book, as well as his view of this country.

“Innovation is much more characteristic of America than any other modern society,” he told me. “It’s not population or land mass. It’s this particular, almost frontier-like quality of adventurousness, mobility, optimism. This eagerness for change.”

To show me exactly what he meant, he turned to three photos in his previous book, “The American Century,” that he felt captured the spirit of America. One is a country vista in Wyoming, with fertile farmland all around. Another is a snapshot of a steel worker balancing on a beam atop a skyscraper with Manhattan at his feet. Another is a shot of several horse-drawn wagons speeding across a flat plain in what looks like a scene straight out of the Gold Rush.

And all these thoughts and images came back to me while watching “Sinfonietta.” There is adventurousness, mobility (in dazzling, awesome form), and a sense of optimism, indeed, eagerness. There’s a strand of urgency and a rush – “sheer exhilaration,” to use a phrase from the program notes. Sometimes the dancers seem like wholesome youths running through the fields.

When you walk out of the theater after seeing this ballet, it’s difficult to believe we’re all going to hell in a hand basket. Life seems good, prosperous, and exciting. So even if your candidate loses the election, this ballet will help you remember that America is pressing forward

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At ABT later in the week is a milestone that will have some audience members shaking their heads at the passage of time. Principal dancer Julie Kent will dance the lead in George Balanchine’s “Mozartiana” for the first time on Saturday evening. But this isn’t her first time in the work entirely: While she was a student at the Maryland Youth Ballet, Ms. Kent was cast as one of the young girls in the ballet’s opening movement. And the lead back then was Suzanne Farrell, on whom Balanchine created the role that Ms. Kent has now grown into.

Though she was only 13 at the time, the young Miss Kent was very much aware of the feeling surrounding the ballet. As she recalls, the performance – by the New York City Ballet at the Kennedy Center – was the first time that “Mozartiana” had been danced since Balanchine’s death.

“There was a sadness about it,” said Ms. Kent, who of course was in awe of Ms. Farrell. “It almost felt like a church service, she was so soulful. There was so much that came through her physically.” And the young girl had, literally, a firsthand experience with greatness: Ms. Kent was the lucky little one who got to hold Ms. Farrell’s hand on stage.

Ms. Kent recalls the experience vividly. “At that age, you really have to decide if you go to ballet every day or three or four times a week,” she said. “It was a huge experience in my life.”

Ms. Kent considers herself quite fortunate to have the opportunity to dance the ballet. When ABT presented it during its spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House, Ms. Kent was on maternity leave.” When I found out we were doing it during my hiatus, I was so sorry to be missing it.” But sometimes there are second chances: The ballet was brought back for the City Center season, and you can catch her coming full circle on Saturday, November 6, at 8 p.m.

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The Manhattan School of Music is presenting a dance-friendly symposium this Thursday at 5 p.m. “Balanchine The Musician” will include a demonstration and panel discussion of the master choreographer’s use and understanding of music. To show the intricacies of Balanchine’s approach to music and dance, Suki Schorer – an expert on Balanchine technique -will teach one of her students from the School of American Ballet an excerpt from “Agon.” Following that two dancers from Dance Theater of Harlem will dance the pas de deux from “Agon.”

The performance will be followed by a panel discussion at 6:00 p.m. moderated by Charles Joseph, author of the book “Stravinsky and Balanchine: A Journey of Invention.” Panel members will include Ms. Schorer, Dance Theater of Harlem’s artistic director Arthur Mitchell, and two members of the New York City Ballet orchestra. This free event will be held in the Manhattan School of Music’s John C. Borden Auditorium at Broadway and 122nd Street. For information call 917-493-4428.