(Boston Ballet in the Diamonds section from Jewels, choreographed by George Balanchine. Larissa Ponomarenko and Roman Rykine, center. Photo: Gene Schiavone)
Mar 7 & 8 – George Balanchine's Jewels is filled with substantial dancing from start to finish. In its three sections that traverse ballet from France to Russia to America, there are ten principal and solo roles, three major composers and as many as thirty two bejeweled corps de ballet dancers on stage at once. Seeing Jewels is fun just to see so many different dancers and so much dancing, in three distinctly different styles of ballet. And, with so many solo roles, you get to see a big cross-section of a company's dancers in one night.
The work is new to Boston Ballet this year, and I saw two performances in the final weekend of the company's run (it was also my first time seeing Boston Ballet - I'm a new fan now). The company looked elegant and did the work justice, with a few of the principals giving really shining performances. Jewels has not, however, been fully absorbed by the company, and they perform some sections a bit too carefully to achieve the full effect. Still, there was much to admire, and it is always nice to see Jewels in performance.
Jewels is an entirely abstract work in that there is no specific narrative linking the evening's various parts. The image of gemstones is used as a visual theme through which Balanchine pays tribute to three major schools of influence in his history as a dancer and choreographer. In "Emeralds," there is the elegant Romanticism of the French school and the Paris Opera, ballet's historic birthplace and a place that he created several of his major early works. "Rubies" captures the jazzy showiness of American dancing; it was in New York with American dancers that Balanchine cemented his personal style and secured his reputation as a major choreographer. Finally, in "Diamonds," Balanchine pays tribute to the Imperial grandeur of Russian ballet; it was in Russia, of course, that Balanchine grew up and learned what ballet was all about. These three styles are filtered through Balanchine's own lens, with his penchant for quicker steps, intricate patterns for the corps de ballet and the way the dancers carry their arms while dancing.
(Boston Ballet in the Emeralds section from Jewels, choreographed by George Balanchine. Photo: Gene Schiavone)
Music, too, is a central element of the ballet. In Balanchine's choreography, the music comes alive: it is vibrant and moving, an aural pleasure as much as a visual one. "Emeralds" uses music by Gabriel Fauré, from his incidental music to Shylock and Peleas et Melisande; "Rubies" uses Stravinsky's Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra, a jazzy, rhythmic piano showpiece; and "Diamonds" uses the lush second through fifth movements of Tchaikovsky's third symphony.
"Emeralds" is my favorite of the three sections. I started out liking "Rubies" the most, with its blatant showiness and dance pyrotechnics. The "Rubies" pas de deux is angular and bendy, still a spectacular thrill, and all that red on stage is pure eye candy. As I saw Jewels more and more, however, the subtleties of "Emeralds" revealed themselves: Fauré's music is sensitive and glowing, Balanchine's steps, particularly in the two ballerinas' solo variations, are infused with quiet emotion - the entire work's soft, elegant musicality is deeply satisfying. "Diamonds" is a treat with its sparkling white tutus, but I find the quality of its performances varies depending on the prima ballerina (not unlike, I suppose, performances of the grand Russian ballets that it pays tribute to).
(Boston Ballet in the Rubies section from Jewels, choreographed by George Balanchine. Photo: Gene Schiavone)
The Boston dancers looked most comfortable in "Rubies": they seemed to be having a lot of fun and the performance exuded real pizzazz, particularly in the finale. At the Sunday afternoon performance, Misa Kuranaga was spectacular in the main ballerina role: her uninhibited performance was playful and technically brilliant (at one point, she was so uninhibited that she accidentally whacked herself in the forehead with her knee). This was the most exciting performance that I saw in this run. Melissa Hough danced the same role the night prior with great verve of her own.
"Emeralds" was neatly performed, but lacked the lushness and mystery that it can usually have. Most of the corps and soloists seemed to focus more on pretty – one soloist chose cute, alarmingly – than on the emotion hinted in the music. Erica Cornejo was an exception, her performance in the second ballerina variation and "walking" pas de deux at both performances were quite good, and on Saturday evening, Misa Kuranaga – another cheer for her – achieved an ideal, easy musicality in the Pas de Trois.
Neat and pretty also describes the Boston ensemble's "Diamonds," and again that wasn't the most exciting way to dance the work. Kathleen Breen Combes played the ballerina role as a remote glamour girl on Saturday night, where Larissa Ponomarenko brought a deeply Russian, almost Odette-like persona to the role on Sunday, making "Diamonds" a more stately, grand affair. The finale, with the entire company on stage, built to a satisfying climax at both performances.
Despite my quibbling about "neat and pretty," it was still a joy to see these performances. I'm looking forward to seeing more of the company, and maybe next time they do Jewels it will look more settled. While I was in Boston, I also found out that the company's upcoming staging of The Sleeping Beauty, in May, will use the choreographic text of the Royal Ballet production – it’s the most ideal way to perform Sleeping Beauty in my opinion, and not enough companies do it. I may have to take a quick trip to Boston again in May.
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Balanchine created Jewels in 1967 for his New York City Ballet, and it seems that in recent years, its presence has exploded on the ballet scene: last season, there were productions at the major companies in New York, Miami, London and Paris, this season there will be new productions in Seattle and Boston, and revivals in San Francisco and London. Not to mention the productions acquired since 2000 in St. Petersburg and Amsterdam, and the Paris Opera Ballet's DVD release of the work in 2006.
This is a remarkable number of performances for a work that was created in the last fifty years, particularly one that is not a story ballet. I'd venture to guess that this is because the work provides just the right amount of ballet dazzle (tutus in "Emeralds" and "Diamonds," plenty of pointe shoes, colorful costumes) as well as classical choreography from an acknowledged master in the field - a genuine challenge for a company to surmount.
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