Ballet “Serenade. Carmina Burana”

Ballet “Serenade” by George Balanchine is considered one of the cornerstones of dance history. This visually poetic choreography was originally created for ballet students. The ballet Serenade is based on Peter Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for String Orchestra in C Major and was first performed in 1934 by students of the School of American Ballet.

Edward Clug’s contemporary choreography is based on the legendary oratorio Carmina Burana by German composer Carl Orff (1895-1982), which illustrates the twists and turns of human life subject to the whims of fate. The cantata uses a medieval collection of poetry found in a Bavarian monastery, which deals with various themes: the impermanence of success and wealth, the fleeting nature of life, the coming of spring, and the pleasures and miseries of drink and lust. The central symbol of the oratorio, the wheel of fate, turns, transforming joy into bitterness and hope into mourning. The main visual element in Edward Clug’s choreography is the circle – the simplest and at the same time the most complete natural form.