A stage was erected on the lawn with the piano accompanist hidden in the bushes. 200 guests were invited for the event, but after the opening sequence the performance was rained out and rescheduled for the following day, June 10. The program included two earlier Balanchine works, Les Songes and Mozartiana . The public debut of ballet was by the newly named American Ballet at the Avery Memorial Theatre of the Wadsworth Athenaeum in Hartford, Connecticut, December 6, 1934. Serenade was produced by the American Ballet in its first New York season at the Adelphi Theatre, March 1 - 15, 1935.
Serenade is now a staple of the repertoires of companies around the world.
The version of the Serenade that we know today was not the same as that presented at these early performances, although the opening Sonatina and final Elegy are fairly similar. Balanchine has a history of changing his ballets to suit his dancers and also his tastes. In the original staging there were only three boys, and there was no male dancer in the Waltz section. Today we have two principal men and four corps de ballet men in Serenade . Normally performed with three soloist ladies, for the Ballet Russes version Balanchine chose Marie-Jeane to dance all the leading roles as one.