In Hartsdale, New York less than two miles down the road from the Greenburgh Public Library, American ballet began on a June day in 1934.  On the Warburg Estate (now Woodlands High School), the first performance of the first ballet choreographed by George Balanchine in America was performed.  Serenade, a ballet to Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings, now renowned as a Balanchine masterpiece and performed throughout the world, started on a makeshift outdoor stage in the rain as a birthday present for a wealthy young financial supporter of the fledgling company that would become the New York City Ballet and, by mid-century, establish Mr. B as the leading light of the ballet universe.

Ninety years later, The Greenburgh Public Library celebrates the creation of this first American ballet with a program featuring Patrick Raftery of the Westchester Historical Society on the Warburgs and their place in local history, an interview with Toni Bentley, former NYCB dancer, one of the last chosen by Balanchine himself, and author of the 2022 bestseller “Serenade: A Balanchine Story”, and a video performance of Serenade by the New York City Ballet.

Our presenter is Frank De Ligio, balletomane and host of GPL's Jazz Conversations and Opera Talk. 

Join us at 2 PM on Saturday, September 21^st in the Multipurpose Room of the Greenburgh Public Library or on Zoom as we pay tribute to the man hailed by many as the greatest choreographer in the history of ballet, George Balanchine.