Multi-part ballet evening

With "Classics", the Semperoper Ballett premieres a programme that unites three dance creations that have become signature pieces of their respective creators:

"Serenade"
The first part of the evening will be George Balanchine's symphonic ballet "Serenade" (1935), whose title is taken from its music by Peter I. Tchaikovsky, the four-movement Serenade for Strings in C major, op. 48. As a choreography for the students of the School of American Ballet, which Balanchine co-founded, and as his first ballet created in the USA, "Serenade" still represents a significant point in his oeuvre, whose fascination continues to this day. Although Mr Balanchine’s choreography is not a narrative work, it cannot be considered completely abstract, since it involves certain constellations of relationships and emotional tensions between the dancers. "Serenade" presents the ensemble in blue costumes with a matching set design and represents a homage to the "white ballets" of French-Russian Romanticism. This impression is also reinforced by the ballerinas in their long, light-colored tulle skirts and pointe shoes.

"Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes" by American choreographer Justin Peck, who brings this 2015 choreography to Semperoper.

With this work, Peck takes up the famous Americana theme of US composer Aaron Copland (1900 - 1990) whose cowboy ballet "Rodeo" (1942) is one of his best-known creations. Peck took on this score and developed a humorous, lively dance piece for 16 dancers.

"In The Upper Room"
In 1986, US choreographer Twyla Tharp commissioned the minimalist soundscape composer Philip Glass with an orchestral work for a new creation: "In The Upper Room (aka Dancer's Notebook #1-9)" offers its dancers scope to perform a wide range of physical techniques. In nine vibrant scenes, defined by a powerful movement vocabulary, ballet meets tap dance, boxing and yoga. The variety of steps and a refined sense of time-rhythm demand both body control and fitness on part of the company. This variety is also represented by the multifaceted costume design, which, in the course of the piece, develops a dynamic that matches with Ms Tharp’s style. The sensual component of this choreography is rounded off by the thought-out combination of light and haze effects. Due to its ethereal effect, this dance work has since become a repertoire classic of many international companies. In the 2023/24 season, the international ballet star will present one of her works at the Semperoper for the first time.