Ballet Chicago

	2013 Spring Repertory

	Serenade Choreography by George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust Music: Serenade for Strings in C, Op. 48 by Peter Illyich Tchaikovsky Staged by Patricia Blair and Daniel Duell Costumes by Sandra Haggard after Karinska Premiere: 1934 Serenade is a milestone in the history of dance. It is the first original ballet Balanchine created in America, choreogrpahed on the inaugural students of the School of American Ballet and first performed in February of 1934. Serenade today is recognized as one of the great choreographic masterpieces of the 20th century, and is danced in almost every major ballet company in the world. At once a paean to the beauty of the classical female and a vision of the American classicism Balanchine would develop over the next fifty years, the ballet incorporates many of the technical innovations that Balanchine employed in redefining ballet technique. Set to the four movements of Tchaikovsky's lush "Serenade for Strings", the ballet unfolds in a continuous flow of unparalleled beauty, performed by twenty-four ballerinas and six men in blue costumes against a blue background. Swan Lake CHoreography by George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust Music: Swan Lake, Op. 20 by Peter Illyich Tchaikovsky Staged by Sandra Jennings Costume design by Patricia Blair / COstume construction by Primadonna Premiere: 1951 Ballet Chicago's production of Swan Lake in the Spring 2013 Season is dedicated to the beloved late Maria Tallchief. Swan Lake, with one of the finest musical scores composed by Tchaikovsky, is considered to be one of the greatest classical ballets of all time and has endured for more than a century. The plot contains all the elements of a true epic masterpiece: romance, betrayal, and sorcery. It is enduring popularity can be found in its romantic, but tragic story accentuated by the dramatic music that drives the choreography. Swan Lake's impact on the art form is unmistakable as the image of the swan has become representational with the lyical image of the ballerina. As the story opens, Prince Siegfried learns of his imminent pre-arranged marriage at his 21st birthday celebration. Prior to the marriage he decides to go on a hunting expedition and encounters an amazing swan. As he takes aim with his crossbow, she turns into a beautiful woman named Odette. She explains that the evil sorcerer, Von Rothbart, has cast a spell on her transforming her into a swan by day and only at night is she allowed to become human again. The only way to break the spell is for a prince to declare his eternal love for her. While productions of Swan Lake abound the world over in a lengthy three or four-act version, in 1951, George Balanchine produced a streamlined version that encapsulates the core of the story in a beautifully efficient single act in which the Swan Queen and Prince Siegfried meet, fall in love, and dance together. Mr. Balanchine added Tchaikovsky's apotheosis to the end of this act, bringing the story to its conclusion in a seamless transition. This version remains in the repertoire of only a select few companies (including Mr. Balanchine's New York City Ballet), and it has not been seen in Chicago since 1976. Celestial Rites World Premiere Choreography by Ted Seymour Music: Hymn of the CHerubim: Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom by Peter Illyich Tchaikovsky Staged by Ted Seymour Costumes by Missy Tulchinsky Premiere: 2013 This new ballet for the Tchaikovsky celebration is all about exploration. Exploring space, tradition, beauty and the mystery in art. Celestial Rites has allowed myself and the Studio Company to get inside and create from the values Tchaikovsky and Balanchine left for us.