Carmina Burana and Serenade

Two ballet firsts in one programme!

This pairing of two very different ballets celebrates the 20th anniversary of choreographer David Bintley's tenure at the Birmingham Royal Ballet. For this programme, you will see two ballet firsts; Serenade, which was George Balanchine's first piece created in America, and Carmina Burana by Bintley himself, his first piece for the BRB.

What to expect

Carmina Burana - Originally a set of satirical writings by a group of medieval priests, Bintley's first work for the BRB adapted the tongue-in-cheek Carmina Burana into a sinuous, sensual dance spectacular. The story follows the passions and adventures of three seminary students who abandon their revision after a chance encounter with the Goddess Fortuna, who encourages them to seek a more pleasurable existence. Soon the three men are lost to alcohol, lust and ecstasy.

Serenade is a beautiful, elegant non-narrative piece created by George Balanchine originally for the New York City Ballet as a studio exercise to accompany Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings. His very first American work, the ballet uses form and flowing costumes against a dark blue background to convey elegance and peace, and is possibly Balanchine's most loved works of ballet.