141. Serenade 1935 | The George Balanchine Foundation

141. Serenade 1935

Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky (Serenade in C for string orchestra, Op. 48, 1880, first three movements; arranged and reorchestrated by George Antheil)Scenery by Gaston Longchamp. Costumes by Jean Lurçat

George Balanchine

Scenery by Gaston Longchamp. Costumes by Jean Lurçat

March 1, 1935, American Ballet, Adelphi Theater, New York. Conductor: Sandor Harmati. (First performed by students of the School of American Ballet, June 10, 1934, at Woodlands, the estate of Felix Warburg, in Hartsdale [near White Plains], New York, in rehearsal costumes; then by the Producing Company of the School of American Ballet, December 8, 1934, Avery Memorial Theater, Hartford, Connecticut, with costumes by William B. Okie, Jr. “Preview” performance of the American Ballet, February 7, 1935, Bryn Mawr College)

SONATINA: Leda Anchutina, Holly Howard, Elise Reiman, Elena de Rivas, 13 women;
WALTZ: Anchutina, Howard, Sylvia Giselle [Gisella Caccialanza], Helen Leitch, Annabelle Lyon, 10 women;
ELEGY: Howard, Kathryn Mullowny, Heidi Vosseler, Charles Laskey, 8 women, 4 men

Performance Type

Ballet

See Also

Note

Created for students during the first year of the School of American Ballet, Serenade is the first work Balanchine choreographed for American dancers; it has come to be considered the signature piece of the New York City Ballet and is one of Balanchine’s most widely performed works. A ballet of patterns that newly explores academic ballet technique, the choreography, as the music, has overtones of love, loss, yearning. During the inaugural season of the American Ballet, the company formed by Balanchine, Lincoln Kirstein, and Edward M. M.Warburg, Serenade was performed in repertory with Alma Mater, Errante, Reminiscence, Dreams, and Transcendence. A ballet to the same music, Fokine’s Eros, was in the repertory of the Maryinsky Theater during Balanchine’s youth.

Additional Productions

Revisions

New Productions by Balanchine Companies

From 1936, American Ballet: Performed without décor.
1941, American Ballet Caravan: Costumes by Candido Portinari.
New York City Ballet: 1948, costumes uncredited, lighting by Jean Rosenthal; 1952, costumes by Karinska; 1964, lighting by Ronald Bates

Stagings

1940   Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
1941   American Ballet Caravan
1947   Paris Opera Ballet
1948   New York City Ballet
1952   San Francisco Ballet
1957   Royal Danish Ballet
1960   Ballett der Hamburgischen Staatsoper
1960   Netherlands Ballet (became Dutch National Ballet in 1961)
1960   Royal Swedish Ballet
1960   Teatro alla Scala (Milan)
1961   Atlanta Ballet
1961   Ballet Borealis (Minnesota)
1961   Dutch National Ballet
1962   National Ballet of Canada
1962   Paris Opera Ballet
1964   Ballet of Los Angeles
1964   National Ballet (Washington, D.C., 1963-1974)
1964   Royal Ballet
1964   Utah Civic Ballet (in 1967 became Ballet West)
1965   Ballett der Bayerischen Staatsoper (Munich)
1966   Ballett der Deutschen Oper am Rhein (Dusseldorf)
1966   Boston Ballet
1966   Tokyo Ballet Geikijo (disbanded)
1966   Ballett der Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna)
1968   Ballet la Jeunesse (California)
1968   Ballett der Bayerischen Staatsoper (Munich)
1968   Toledo Ballet Association
1969   Pennsylvania Ballet
1969   Royal Danish Ballet
1970   The Australian Ballet
1970   Den Norske Opera [Ballet] (Norway)
1970   Ballett der Deutschen Oper (Berlin)
1970   Geneva Ballet (Grand Theatre de Geneve [Ballet])
1970   Royal Swedish Ballet
1971   Dutch National Ballet
1972   Cincinnati Ballet
1974   Ballett des Stadtischen Bühnen (Frankfurt Opera)
1975   Israel Ballet
1975   Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
1975   North Carolina Dance Theatre
1975   Royal New Zealand Ballet
1976   The Australian Ballet
1976   Iranian National Ballet (disbanded)
1976   Pennsylvania Ballet
1976   Teatro dell’ Opera di Roma
1977   Dutch National Ballet
1977   Hungarian National Ballet
1977   Paris Opera Ballet
1977   Ballett der Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna)
1977   Washington Ballet
1978   Croatian National Theater (Balet Hrvatsko Narodno Kazaliste [Zagreb])
1978   Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
1978   Pacific Northwest Ballet
1978   Royal Ballet
1978   Zurich Ballet (Ballett des Opernhauses Zurich)
1979   Dance Theatre of Harlem
1980   Cleveland San Jose Ballet
1980   National Ballet of Canada
1980   Pacific Northwest Ballet
1980   Washington Ballet
1981   Cleveland Ballet
1981   Eglevsky Ballet Company
1981   Milwaukee Ballet
1981   National Ballet Lisbon
1981   Royal Ballet
1981   San Francisco Ballet
1982   Basler Ballet (Switzerland)
1982   Houston Ballet
1982   Kansas City Ballet
1982   Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
1982   Matsuyama Ballet Company (Japan)
1982   Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
1983   Ballet Municipal (Corporation Cultural de Santiago)
1983   CAPAB Ballet (Cape Performing Arts Board—Capetown, South Africa)
1983   Ballett der Deutschen Oper am Rhein (Dusseldorf, Germany)
1983   Ballett der Hamburgischen Staatsoper (Hamburg, Germany)
1983   Los Angeles Ballet
1983   Minnesota Dance Theater
1983   Star Dancers Ballet Company (Japan)
1984   National Ballet of Canada
1984   Philippine Ballet Theatre
1984   Tblisi Ballet (Russia)
1984   Universal Ballet Company (Korea)
1985   Atlanta Ballet
1985   Australian Ballet
1985   Ballet Dallas
1985   Ballet del Teatro Lirico Nacional (Madrid, Spain)
1985   Ballet du Nord (France)
1985   BalletMet (Columbus, Ohio)
1985   Boston Ballet
1985   Ballett der Deutschen Oper (Berlin)
1985   Dutch National Ballet
1985   Houston Ballet
1985   Minnesota Dance Theater
1985   Star Dancers Ballet Company (Japan)
1985   Teatro Colon (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
1986   Ballet de San Juan (Puerto Rico)
1986   Cleveland San Jose Ballet
1986   Dance Theatre of Harlem
1986   Kirov Ballet
1986   Pacific Northwest Ballet
1986   Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
1986   Teatro alla Scala (Milan)
1986   Teresa Carreno-Ballet Caracas (Venezuela)
1986   Ballett der Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna)
1986   Washington Ballet
1987   Central Ballet
1987   Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
1988   Ballet du Louvre
1988   BalletMet (Columbus, Ohio)
1988   Dance Theatre of Harlem
1988   Matsuyama Ballet Company (Japan)
1988   Royal Ballet
1988   Star Dancers Ballet Company (Japan)
1988   Teatro Nacional de San Carlo
1988   Universal Ballet Company (Korea)
1988   Ballett der Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna)
1988   Washington Ballet
1989   Ballet de San Juan
1989   Ballet du Nord (France)
1989   Bellas Artes (Madrid, Spain)
1989   Cleveland San Jose Ballet
1989   Den Norske Opera [Ballet] (Norway)
1989   Dutch National Ballet
1989   Louisville Ballet
1989   National Ballet of Canada
1989   Pacific Northwest Ballet
1989   Paris Opera Ballet
1989   Philippine Ballet Theatre
1989   San Francisco Ballet
1989   Universal Ballet Company (Korea)
1990   Ballet du Nord (France)
1990   Banff Center (Alberta, Canada)
1990   Dance Theatre of Harlem
1990   Ballett der Deutschen Oper (Berlin)
1990   Ballett der Hamburgischen Staatsoper (Hamburg, Germany)
1990   Milwaukee Ballet
1990   National Ballet Lisbon
1990   Richmond Ballet, The State Ballet of Virginia
1990   Star Dancers Ballet Company (Japan)
1991   Ballet of Flanders/Koninklijk Ballet Van Vlaanderen/Royal Flemish Ballet
1991   Houston Ballet
1991   Miami City Ballet
1991   Royal Danish Ballet
1992   Bellas Artes (Madrid, Spain)
1992   Milwaukee Ballet
1992   Texas Ballet (formerly Fort Worth Dallas Ballet)
1992   Universal Ballet Company (Korea)
1993   Hartford Ballet
1993   Houston Ballet
1993   Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo
1993   Louisville Ballet
1993   Mussorgsky Ballet Theatre (St. Petersburg, Russia)
1993   National Ballet of Canada
1993   Pacific Northwest Ballet
1993   Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
1993   Star Dancers Ballet Company (Japan)
1993   Washington Ballet
1994   BalletMet (Columbus, Ohio)
1994   Birmingham Royal Ballet/Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet
1994   Boston Ballet
1994   Cincinnati Ballet
1994   Miami City Ballet
1994   Pennsylvania Ballet
1995   Atlanta Ballet
1995   Ballett der Bayerischen Staatsoper (Munich)
1995   Colorado Ballet
1995   Hungarian National Ballet
1995   Hungarian State Opera
1995   Israel Ballet
1995   Milwaukee Ballet
1995   National Ballet Lisbon
1995   Paris Opera Ballet
1995   San Diego Ballet
1995   Star Dancers Ballet Company (Japan)
1995   Texas Ballet (formerly Fort Worth Dallas Ballet)
1995   Universal Ballet Company (Korea)
1996   Aspen Ballet
1996   Ballet Arizona
1996   Ballet Tech
1996   Ballett der Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna)
1996   Bellas Artes (Madrid, Spain)
1996   Dance Theatre of Harlem
1996   Dutch National Ballet
1996   Miami City Ballet
1996   National Ballet of Canada
1996   Philippine Ballet Theatre
1996   San Diego Ballet
1996   Southern Ballet Theatre
1997   American Repertory Ballet
1997   Ballet Austin
1997   Birmingham Royal Ballet/Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet
1997   Chautauqua Institution (New York)
1997   Cincinnati Ballet
1997   Cleveland San Jose Ballet
1997   Fundacao Municipal do Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
1997   Hartford Ballet
1997   Nashville City Ballet
1997   National Ballet of China (Central)
1997   Pennsylvania Ballet
1997   Sacramento Ballet
1997   Virginia Ballet Theater
1997   Zurich Ballet (Ballett des Opernhauses Zurich)
1998   Alabama Ballet/Ballet South
1998   BalletMet (Columbus, Ohio)
1998   Carolina Ballet
1998   The Georgia Ballet
1998   Hartford Ballet
1998   Houston Ballet
1998   Kirov Ballet
1998   North Carolina Dance Theatre
1998   Pacific Northwest Ballet
1998   Royal Winnipeg Ballet
1998   Star Dancers Ballet Company (Japan)
1998   Utah Regional Ballet
1998   Washington Ballet
1999   Boston Ballet
1999   Hannover Ballet (Germany)
1999   The Metropolitan Opera Association (Kirov Ballet performances at the Met)
1999   Milwaukee Ballet
1999   National Ballet of Canada
1999   Oregon Ballet Theatre
1999   Richmond Ballet, The State Ballet of Virginia
1999   Royal Ballet
1999   San Francisco Ballet
2000   Ballet Arizona
2000   Dance Theatre of Harlem
2000   Kansas City Ballet
2000   Louisville Ballet
2000   Nashville City Ballet
2000   Pennsylvania Ballet
2000   Utah Regional Ballet
2000   Vancouver Goh Ballet
2001   Alabama Dance Theatre
2001   Atlanta Ballet
2001   Charleston Ballet Theatre
2001   Compania Nacional de Danza (Mexico City)
2001   Ballett der Deutschen Staatsoper (Berlin)
2001   Finnish National Ballet
2001   The Georgia Ballet
2001   Inland Pacific Ballet
2001   Israel Ballet
2001   Kirov Ballet
2001   National Ballet Lisbon
2001   New Mexico Ballet Company
2001   Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
2001   Royal Ballet
2001   Royal Danish Ballet
2001   Texas Ballet (formerly Fort Worth Dallas Ballet)
2001   Utah Regional Ballet
2002   Fundacao Municipal do Rio de Janeiro
2002   Houston Ballet
2002   John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
2002   Miami City Ballet
2002   National Ballet of China (Central)
2002   Den Norske Opera [Ballet] (Norway)
2002   Philippine Ballet Theatre
2002   Richmond Ballet, The State Ballet of Virginia
2002   Washington Ballet
2003   Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico
2003   Ballet de Santiago
2003   Boca Ballet Theatre
2003   Cincinnati Ballet
2003   Croatian National Ballet
2003   Dance Theatre of Harlem
2003   Dutch National Ballet
2003   Paris Opera Ballet
2003   Royal Danish Ballet
2003   Suzanne Farrell Ballet
2004   Asami Maki Ballet (Akiko Tachibana Foundation)
2004   Ballet Arizona
2004   Ballet Chicago
2004   Finnish National Ballet
2004   Grand Theatre de Bordeaux
2004   Louisville Ballet
2004   Maine State Ballet (American Ballet East)
2004   National Ballet Lisbon
2004   National Opera and Ballet of Sofia
2004   Oregon Ballet Theatre
2004   Pacific Northwest Ballet
2004   Perm State Ballet (Russia)
2004   Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
2004   San Francisco Ballet
2004   Slovene National Ballet Company
2004   Stuttgart Ballet
2004   Teatro Comunale (Florence, Italy)
2004   Texas Ballet (formerly Fort Worth Dallas Ballet)
2004   The Australian Ballet
2004   National Ballet of Canada
2005   Alabama Ballet/Ballet South
2005   Ballet Pacifica
2005   California Riverside Ballet
2005   Minnesota Dance Theatre and The Dance Institute
2005   North Carolina Dance Theatre
2005   Sacramento Ballet
2005   State Ballet of Georgia
2005   Virginia Ballet Theatre
2005   Washington Ballet
2006   Ballet Austin
2006   Boston Ballet
2006   Miami City Ballet
2006   Nashville City Ballet
2006   Georgia Ballet
2006   Tulsa Ballet Theatre
2007   Alberta Ballet
2007   Anaheim Ballet
2007   Ballet de Santiago
2007   Bolshoi Ballet
2007   Bratislava Ballet
2007   City Ballet of San Diego
2007   Contra Costa Ballet
2007   Gem City Ballet
2007   Longview Ballet Theater
2007   Los Angeles Ballet
2007   Orlando Ballet
2007   Saint Louis Ballet
2007   New National Theater Foundation
2008   Ballet West
2008   Brandywine Ballet
2008   Houston Ballet
2008   Royal Winnepeg Ballet
2008   Sadamatsu-Hamada Ballet Company
2008   Royal Ballet
2008   Atlanta Ballet
2008   Ballet San Jose
2008   Novosibirsk Ballet
2008   Sao Paulo Companhia de Dança
2008   Star Dancers Foundation
2009   Texas Ballet Theater
2009   Nevada Ballet Theatre
2009   Hungarian National Ballet
2009   Compania Nacional de Danza (Mexico City)
2009   Guangzhou Ballet Company
2010   Deutsche Oper am Rhein
2010   San Francisco Ballet
2010   Los Angeles Ballet
2010   Bolshoi Ballet
2010   Pacific Northwest Ballet
2010   Bucharest National Opera
2010   Royal Danish Ballet
2010   Singapore Dance Theatre
2010   Asami Maki Ballet Tokyo
2010   National Ballet of Canada
2011   Alberta Ballet Company
2011   Ballet Chicago
2011   Grand Rapids Ballet Company
2011   Het National Ballet
2011   Mariinsky Ballet (Kirov)
2011   Sacramento Ballet
2011   Slovene Nationa Ballet Company
2011   Suzanne Farrell Ballet
2011   West Australian Academy of Performing Arts
2012   Ballet Idaho
2012   Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
2012   Royal Ballet Flanders
2012   Sarasota Ballet
2012   Theatre of Belarus
2012   West Australian Ballet
2013   Ballet Arizona
2013   Ballet Chicago
2013   Boston Ballet
2013   Miami City Ballet
2013   Richmond Ballet
2014   Ballet San Jose
2014   City Ballet of San Diego
2014   Deutsche Oper am Rhein
2014   Hong Kong Ballet
2014   Los Angeles Ballet
2014   Nashville Ballet
2014   Pennsylvania Ballet
2014   Royal Ballet
2014   Tbilisi Ballet
2014   Texas Ballet Theatre
2014   Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro
2015   Birmingham Royal Ballet
2015   Guangzhou Ballet
2015   Joffrey Ballet
2015   Mariinsky Ballet
2015   Miami City Ballet
2015   National Theater Brno
2015   Nevada Ballet Theatre
2015   Opera of Poznan
2015   Perm State Ballet
2015   San Francisco Ballet
2015   Singapore Dance Theatre
2015   St. Louis Ballet
2015   Teatr Wielki (Poznan)
2015   Theatro Municipal de Rio de Janeiro
2015   Washington Ballet
2016   Argentine National Ballet
2016   Ballet Tucson
2016   BalletMet
2016   Korean National Ballet Company
2016   Miami City Ballet
2016   Michiko Matsumoto Ballet
2016   National Ballet of Japan
2016   New Mexico Ballet Company
2016   Norwegian National Ballet
2016   Oklahoma City Ballet
2016   Opera di Roma
2016   Oregon Ballet Theatre
2016   Pennsylvania Ballet
2016   Perm State Ballet
2016   Tbilisi Ballet
2016   Tulsa Ballet Theatre
2017   Astana Ballet Theatre
2017   Ballet Chicago
2017   Ballet West
2017   Colorado Ballet
2017   National Theatre Ballet of Prague
2017   Orlando Ballet
2017   Stanislavsky Ballet
2017   Star Dancers Ballet Company
2017   Suzanne Farrell Ballet
2017   Tbilisi Ballet
2018   Ballet de Santiago
2018   Carolina Ballet
2018   Cincinnati Ballet
2018   Indianapolis Ballet Inc.
2018   Japan Performing Arts Foundation/Tokyo Ballet/NBS
2018   Royal Winnipeg Ballet
2018   Sacramento Ballet
2018   San Francisco Ballet
2019   Astana Ballet Theatre
2019   Cape Town City Ballet
2019   Colorado Ballet
2019   Festival Ballet-Providence
2019   Finish National Ballet
2019   Israel Ballet
2019   Los Angeles Ballet
2019   Louisville Ballet
2019   Royal New Zealand Ballet
2019   Singapore Dance Theatre
2019   Tokyo Ballet
2020   Ballet Tucson
2020   Estonian National Ballet
2020   National Ballet of China (Central)
2020   National Ballet of Japan/New National Theatre Tokyo
2020   Paris Opera Ballet
2020   Royal Swedish Ballet School
2021 Alabama Ballet
2021 Australian Ballet
2021 Japan Performing Arts Foundation
2021 Kansas City Ballet
2021 National Ballet of Canada, The
2021 Norwegian National Ballet (Den Norske)
2021 San Francisco Ballet
2021 Tbilisi Ballet
2022 Astana Ballet Theater
2022 Atlanta Ballet
2022 Ballet Arizona
2022 Ballet Company West Japan
2022 Ballet Idaho
2022 Cape Town City Ballet (C.A.P.A.B.)
2022 Grand Rapids Ballet Company
2022 Indianapolis Ballet
2022 Joffrey Ballet
2022 Latvian National Opera and Ballet
2022 Miami City Ballet
2022 Singapore Ballet
2022 Star Dancers Ballet Company
2022 Texas Ballet Theater
2022 The Sarasota Ballet
2022 Washington Ballet

Recorded Performances

Videos/DVD

2004, Kultur, Balanchine (SONATINA [excerpt]); 2005, Zeitgeist Films Ballets Russes (excerpt); 2008, City Lights Media, Bringing Balanchine Back: The Historic Return to Russia (excerpts); 2014 Video Artists International, New York City Ballet in Montreal, Vol. 1 (complete recorded 1957)

Film

1973, RM Productions

Television

1952 (BBC [London])
1956 excerpts (ABC)
1957 (CBC [Montreal], L’Heure du Concert)
1973 (RM Productions)
1975 (PBS, Great Performances, “Three by Balanchine”)
1977 (French television, FR3, “Balanchine à Arc et Senans”)
1990 (PBS, Dance in America, “Balanchine in America”)
1993 (BBC 2 [London])

Source Notes

Additional music and choreography revisions information provided by Balanchine, Ruthanna Boris, Rosemary Dunleavy, Annabelle Lyon, Marie-Jeanne, Francia Russell, Suki Schorer, and Robert Greskovic. Preview information provided by Richard Buckle. Lincoln Kirstein’s diaries (unpublished) suggest that Serenade, although announced and rehearsed in Hartford, was not performed there since the stage was found to be too small. However, a review of the performance there by John S. Kyes (Musical America, December 25, 1934) states that it was substituted for another ballet on the program.