Choreography: George Balanchine© The George Balanchine Trust
Music: Serenade for Strings in C, Op. 48
Composer: Tschaikovsky, Peter Ilyitch
Premiere: 1934
Photo credit: Moonbug Photography

Balancing Acts: A Glimpse into Balanchine’s Serenade

Sep 19, 2022 | From Our Partners, Indianapolis Ballet

The first performance of Serenade was on June 10, 1934, by students of the School of American Ballet, at Felix Warburg’s estate, White Plains, New York.

Serenade is a milestone in the history of dance. It is the first original ballet Balanchine created in America and is one of the signature works of New York City Ballet’s repertory. The ballet is performed by 26 dancers in blue costumes in front of a blue background. Originating it as a lesson in stage technique, Balanchine worked unexpected rehearsal events into the choreography. When one student fell, he incorporated it. Another day, a student arrived late, and this too became part of the ballet.

After its initial presentation, Serenade was reworked several times. In its present form there are four movements — “Sonatina,” “Waltz,” “Russian Dance,” and “Elegy.” The last two movements reverse the order of Tschaikovsky’s score, ending the ballet on a note of sadness.

Balanchine has a special affinity for Tschaikovsky. “In everything that I did to Tschaikovsky’s music,” he told an interviewer, “I sensed his help. It wasn’t real conversation. But when I was working and saw that something was coming of it, I felt that it was Tschaikovsky who had helped me.”

Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky (1840–1893) studied at the Conservatory in St. Petersburg, where Balanchine later studied piano in addition to his studies in dance. Tschaikovsky is one of the most popular and influential of all romantic composers. His work is expressive, melodic, and grand in scale, with rich orchestrations. His output was prodigious and was included in chamber works, symphonies, concerti for various instruments, operas, and works for piano. His creations for the ballet, composed in close partnership with Marius Petipa, included Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and The Sleeping Beauty.

This article was first published in the Balancing Acts playbill. It is published here courtesy of Indianapolis Ballet. These repertory notes were additionally provided courtesy of and adapted from New York City Ballet Online Repertory Index. Additional sources: Choreography by George Balanchine, A Catalogue of Works, An Eakins Press Foundation Book, published by Viking (1984); and Repertory in Review: 40 years of the New York City Ballet by Nancy Reynolds (1970; The Dial Press). Click here to learn more or read the entire playbill.