Ballet

Classics

George Balanchine · Justin Peck · Twyla Tharp

Three bone fide classic works, all created in New York over a period of eight decades.

Multi-part ballet evening

Premiere
2. June 2024

Dates & Cast

Serenade
Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes
In the Upper Room
  • Choreography  Twyla Tharp
  • Music  Philip Glass
  • Costume Design  Norma Kamali
  • Lighting Design  Jennifer Tipton
  • Staged by  Kaitlyn Gilliland, Marcelo Gomes
05
Mon
May 2025
7 pm
7 – 69 €
99+ Tickets
Starting Time: 7 pm
Two intermissions
Venue
Semperoper Dresden
Free introductory talk
held in the Semper Opera House cellar 45 minutes before curtain-up
Sub / Packages
Serenade
Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes
In the Upper Room
  • Choreography  Twyla Tharp
  • Music  Philip Glass
  • Costume Design  Norma Kamali
  • Lighting Design  Jennifer Tipton
  • Staged by  Kaitlyn Gilliland, Marcelo Gomes

Project Partners: Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe Sachsen, Ostsächsische Sparkasse Dresden, Sparkassen-Versicherung Sachsen, LBBW

07
Wed
May 2025
7 pm
7 – 69 €
99+ Tickets
Starting Time: 7 pm
Two intermissions
Venue
Semperoper Dresden
Free introductory talk
held in the Semper Opera House cellar 45 minutes before curtain-up
Serenade
Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes
In the Upper Room
  • Choreography  Twyla Tharp
  • Music  Philip Glass
  • Costume Design  Norma Kamali
  • Lighting Design  Jennifer Tipton
  • Staged by  Kaitlyn Gilliland, Marcelo Gomes

Project Partners: Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe Sachsen, Ostsächsische Sparkasse Dresden, Sparkassen-Versicherung Sachsen, LBBW

23
Fri
May 2025
7 pm
7 – 57 €
99+ Tickets
Starting Time: 7 pm
Two intermissions
Venue
Semperoper Dresden
Free introductory talk
held in the Semper Opera House cellar 45 minutes before curtain-up
Sub / Packages
Serenade
Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes
In the Upper Room
  • Choreography  Twyla Tharp
  • Music  Philip Glass
  • Costume Design  Norma Kamali
  • Lighting Design  Jennifer Tipton
  • Staged by  Kaitlyn Gilliland, Marcelo Gomes

Project Partners: Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe Sachsen, Ostsächsische Sparkasse Dresden, Sparkassen-Versicherung Sachsen, LBBW

26
Mon
May 2025
7 pm
7 – 69 €
99+ Tickets
Starting Time: 7 pm
Two intermissions
Venue
Semperoper Dresden
Free introductory talk
held in the Semper Opera House cellar 45 minutes before curtain-up
Sub / Packages
Serenade
Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes
In the Upper Room
  • Choreography  Twyla Tharp
  • Music  Philip Glass
  • Costume Design  Norma Kamali
  • Lighting Design  Jennifer Tipton
  • Staged by  Kaitlyn Gilliland, Marcelo Gomes

Project Partners: Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe Sachsen, Ostsächsische Sparkasse Dresden, Sparkassen-Versicherung Sachsen, LBBW

30
Fri
May 2025
7 pm
7 – 69 €
99+ Tickets
Starting Time: 7 pm
Two intermissions
Venue
Semperoper Dresden
Free introductory talk
held in the Semper Opera House cellar 45 minutes before curtain-up
Sub / Packages
Serenade
Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes
In the Upper Room
  • Choreography  Twyla Tharp
  • Music  Philip Glass
  • Costume Design  Norma Kamali
  • Lighting Design  Jennifer Tipton
  • Staged by  Kaitlyn Gilliland, Marcelo Gomes

Project Partners: Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe Sachsen, Ostsächsische Sparkasse Dresden, Sparkassen-Versicherung Sachsen, LBBW

In brief

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

The triple-bill opens with „Serenade« – the very first work that George Balanchine created in the US: by portraying ballerinas in floor-length light blue tulle dresses in a strictly geometrical choreography to Tchaikovsky’s „Serenade for Strings“, Mr Balanchine’s 1935 work diffuses the atmosphere of the „white acts“ as shown in classical narrative ballets. In this way, it bridges to abstract neoclassical ballet and new forms of body expression. This is creation is followed by „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. US choreographer Twyla Tharp premieres with another creation by presenting her work „In The Upper Room“ (1986), which nowadays is considered a favourite in the repertoire of many ballet companies. Accompanied by the commissioned composition by Philip Glass, the company once again demonstrates its enormous body control by performing not only ballet but also a variety of physical techniques such as boxing, yoga and tap dancing, and thus rounds off the ballet evening in this varied way.

Storyline

„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 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“
With „Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes“, Justin Peck created his eighth work for the New York City Ballet as its resident choreographer and artistic advisor. His musical basis is the version for symphony orchestra of the ballet music „Rodeo“, which Aaron Copland had originally composed for American choreographer Agnes de Mille. Copland’s musical style, called „Americana“, often reminds of pastoral sound-landscapes of endless vastness and sometimes incorporates American folk songs too. His 1942 ballet „Rodeo“ belongs to a triad that also includes the dance creations „Billy the Kid“ (1938) and „Appalachian Spring“ (1944). Justin Peck's work divides the »Rodeo« score into four episodes: „The first movement takes on a kinetic, engine-like quality; the second movement elicits recurring weather patterns; the third movement calls to mind the synchronicity illustrated by two birds in flight; and finally, the concluding fourth movement communicates a sense of total vitality, bright fervor, and healthy competition“, the choreographer stated.

„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.

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