Balanchine’s “Jewels” at New York City Ballet

October 5, 2018

New York City Ballet’s fall season has been running for close to three weeks (out of four, in total) and I’ve been lucky to attend a few performances so far, two of which were George Balanchine’s iconic ballet Jewels, with a different cast each time. Jewels is celebrated as the first full-length, abstract ballet. It is divided into three sections: Emeralds to the music of Fauré, Rubies to Stravinsky, and Diamonds to Tchaikovsky. Balanchine considered sapphires too, “but the color of sapphires is hard to get across onstage” (Balanchine and Mason 324-325). Suzanne Farrell, a former principal dancer with City Ballet, attributed the lack of a sapphire section to two different reasons: “the ballet would have been too long, and perhaps [Balanchine] couldn’t decide on any ‘blue’ music” (Farrell and Bentley 160). Each of the existing movements of the piece—Emeralds, Rubies, and Diamonds—is different not only in music but in style, costume, and structure. Although Balanchine remarks that “to try to describe…the dances themselves would be boring, for they have no literary content at all” (Balanchine and Mason 324-325), I am going to dive in anyway!

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Emeralds oozes elegance. The women are dressed in romantic-style green tutus, which extend to around the middle of the calf. The bodices are a darker green and are adorned with large emerald jewels, as one might expect. The headpieces for this section are perhaps the largest and perch at quite a height on the women’s heads. This bit features two lead couples, as well as a pas de trois of two women and a man, and a corps de ballet of ten women.

The choreography here is the least flashy and “tricky,” and seems to me to highlight port de bras (the movement and position of the arms) and épaulment (the movement and placement of the shoulders, neck, and head, together the upper body). To illustrate this point, one of the lead women has a couple of sections in which she performs a series of dévelopṕes en avant (extensions of the leg to the front of the body) which open into luxurious cambrés (backbends), seemingly initiated by the sweep of the arm in fifth en haut (an arm position in which the arm is curved above the head) and the lowering/resolution of the raised leg. This movement seems to be less about the extension of the leg and more about the ensuing cambré and full port de bras. The same lead woman’s solo section opens with a lovely port de bras section, where the focus is once again on the arms, shoulders, upper body, and head placement, rather than on the feet and legs. Reflecting on this feature of the dance, I wonder if perhaps one of the intentions of the tall headpieces is to draw the eyes upward, to the upper body.

Emeralds includes both smooth, calm, and more serious sections, as well as brighter sections, but the whole piece firmly embodies elegance. Interestingly, by watching two casts, I noticed that this is the section that changes most, depending on the casting. It can easily become tenuous, perhaps because it lacks any major or typical “tricks;” its magnificence is more subtle and nuanced. While it may be the “easiest” to dance in terms of the steps, since it focuses more on the port de bras and upper body, it is perhaps the one in which it is most difficult to achieve excellence.

The first cast I saw projected the delicacy and dignified nature of Emeralds. The second cast I saw was less strong. The second cast did bring out some moments of delight and playfulness that I hadn’t noticed before, but these qualities also felt somewhat out of place in the Emeralds atmosphere. One of the leading women, in particular, inserted a harshness into her variation, that was uncharacteristic of the Emeralds sensibility. The effort of the dance was at times apparent, and while she was certainly moving in time with the music, sometimes it seemed as if she were anticipating the music before it arrived. Overall, the second cast was less cohesive, but then again, I may not have noticed this as readily had I not seen a previous cast.

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Rubies is the shortest of the three and the most modern feeling. When the curtain rises, most of the cast is set in a fierce “V” formation, with the point of the “V” upstage, and all participating dancers in a wide fourth position either on relevé (for the men) or en pointe (for the women). Both times I attended, this opening pose drew audible gasps and ultimately applause from the audience. The women here are dressed in red bodices or leotards with a short skirt attached, made of panels of red fabric with jewels at what appears to be the end of each panel. Due to the jewel attachments, these costumes make a clacking noise—not too loud, but enough to draw attention—when the women move. Just as with the opening pose, this was another engaging surprise, and atypical for ballet, as the only sound the audience typically hears from the stage is the women’s pointe shoes when they run or jump.

I found this section of Jewels to be filled with surprises: the opening tableau, the noise-making costumes, sequences in the leading couple’s pas de deux in which the man places the woman either in a static passé (one leg is raised to touch the leg either just above or just below the knee) or in a pirouette (a turn) and leaves her there, either to continue balancing or turning.

Rubies features a lead couple, a soloist woman (“the tall girl”), and a corps de ballet of both men and women. The movement here is both playful and sexy at the same time, and is oriented more on a vertical axis than Emeralds. It is much more jumpy and buoyant.

Both casts I saw included corps member Claire Kretzschmar as “the tall girl.” I think, due to another dancer’s injury, Ms. Kretzschmar performed all or most of the Jewels performances. The role includes a lot of whacking extensions of the leg to the front, side, and back. Ms. Kretzschmar still seems to be coming into this role—which I have confidence she can!—and, as one of my show dates remarked, it generally took her a couple of these repeated leg extensions to get it “right.” She did not seem to hold total command of the stage yet, in the way “the tall girl” must, but with more time, I think she will.

Sterling Hyltin and Lauren Lovette were the principal women in Rubies, respectively, for the performances that I saw. Both women were “on” and committed fully to this energetic, athletic role, full of “wow.” They went for every hit, turn, and pose. Ms. Hyltin seemed a bit more at ease in the role, whereas Ms. Lovette was a bit more wild, but they both interpreted it genuinely and impressively.

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Diamonds, the concluding component of the ballet, is the epitome of regalness. This part of the ballet includes a leading couple, a supporting cast of soloist women, and a large group of male and female corps de ballet dancers. The leading woman is dressed in a white pancake tutu (one that protrudes outward from her hips at close to a right angle in all directions, like a disc that is attached to her hips), and the supporting women are dressed in short, white, tulle tutus that hit just above the knee. These costumes, in particular, twinkle constantly in the light. The lead woman’s crown is mostly situated at the back of her head, below her bun, and appears from the audience to be a wall of jewels.

Diamonds is a romantic ballet to a T. It is the most classical of the sections: it features large corps de ballet sections, and then a pas de deux and variation sections for the lead couple. It is as if this ballet could be plopped into any classical, three-act story ballet (e.g. Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Coppélia, etc.) as the wedding or celebratory concluding act and function perfectly. Although this is a non-narrative ballet, a romantic plot could easily be inserted into the work. The grandeur of the piece is at its height in the ending polonaise section in which, as Suzanne Farrell—on whom the Diamonds leading female role was created—explains, “thirty-four bodies move with the precision of a Russian court presentation” (Farrell and Bentley 164). She further elucidates: “Diamonds was a foray into [Balanchine’s] Imperial Russian heritage in all its austere, crystalline beauty” (Farrell and Bentley 160).

The Fauré and Stravinsky are remarkable pieces of music in the prior two sections of the ballet, but the Tchaikovsky music in this segment (Symphony No. 3 in D major, Op. 29) stood out to me, in particular. I think this, again, is due to Diamonds’ clear connection to the classic story ballets: the score made me think of Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker. In fact there was one sequence, I think in the main pas de deux, that sounded very similar to a part of the Swan Lake score—either due to the violins or the oboe. Ms. Farrell notes, “Diamonds…represents Tschaikovsky in his grandest manner” (Farrell and Bentley 160).

The lead man and woman in the two casts that I saw were both fairly strong, though I found the woman in the first cast (Sara Mearns), to be stronger than the woman in the second (Teresa Reichlen), and the man in the second cast (Russell Janzen) to be stronger than the man in the first (Joseph Gordon). Ms. Mearns is particularly well-suited for this role: she is glamorous, but also strong, and sometimes subdued, in a steely way that is fitting for a role meant to exemplify a very hard stone. Her presence expands across the stage. Ms. Reichlen has stunning lines—those penchés!—but there is something stilted about her upper body and shoulders. It often appears as if her legs, arms, and head all move while her torso/center remains in place. She hits all of her lines perfectly (similarly to senior ballerina Maria Kowroski), but the transition steps sometimes lack clarity and can become muddled or lost. Mr. Janzen and Mr. Gordon both impressed with their jumps and turns in the bravura sections, but Mr. Janzen’s calm demeanor and expert partnering (sometimes you don’t even notice him there supporting the ballerina) make his performance stand out. Mr. Gordon seemed more boyish, which was endearing, but seemed less authentic to the role. In addition, there were some uncomfortable partnering moments between he and Ms. Mearns. Ultimately, both casts proved strong in this part of the ballet, though I would have loved to see Ms. Farrell dance the role, with Jacques D’Amboise (the original cast), back in the day.

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Before I close, I’ll mention one overarching, concluding thought, inspired by my viewing of the ballet and by a rereading of certain sections of Ms. Farrell’s autobiography, in which she describes the making and performing of this work. Ms. Farrell states, “I have always felt that the thread that connects the three gems is woven by walking” (Farrell and Bentley 161). While I too noticed the different walking vocabulary and moments of walking in all three sections of Jewels, I think that the walking is less what keeps them connected, and more what distinguishes each from the other.

Walking sections in Emeralds are silky and smooth. A few instances remain in my memory. The first pas de deux couple exits to the upstage right corner, stepping carefully and slowly backward, in time with each other; then, the second pas de deux couple enters from the downstage left corner with the man gliding on half-toe and the woman en pointe: it is a fluid moment of transition, through stylized walking. Later, toward the end of the ballet, the whole cast walks slowly, deliberately backward with their arms open and facing upward, while they look up. It is reverent, and almost religious, in posture.

In Rubies, the dancers’ walking is more like bounding. There is a section is which they jog, with their arms pumping at their sides, and an exit upstage of the men’s group that features a loping run/walk. The walking here is energetic, spirited, dynamic.

In Diamonds, I am continuously struck by the entrance walk of the pas de deux. The man and woman enter from opposite corners, and proceed to perform a series of zig-zagging, slow walks and poses before they finally reach one another. Ms. Farrell remarks, at length, about this entrance, with her partner, Jacques D’Amboise:

Jacques entered from the opposite front corner, and to the very quiet sound of a single French horn we approached each other with the simplest of walks, laced with courtly intricacies. It was very difficult to make an entrance with great ceremony and yet no steps, no technical fireworks with which to catch the audience’s attention. One somehow had to produce an atmosphere full of almost eerie foreshadowing that would make them sit on the edge of their seats even though very little was happening physically.

This entrance was a great lesson to me in dancing without dancing, in being interesting without steps, in being alone with a single sound instead of the aural comfort of a full orchestra. Presence would have to be everything. Contrary to what I had expected, the lonely horn did not encourage me to retreat or emphasize the loneliness onstage. It make me want to fill the void, but I was given nothing with which to fill in—except an overwhelming feeling of vulnerability. That is probably what Balanchine had in mind. (Farrell and Bentley 161-162)

Vulnerability didn’t register as much for me, but I did recognize anticipation and a sense of fate (that the couple will eventually meet), which captivate me during this walk. I don’t know if either Ms. Mearns or Ms. Reichlen fully “fill[ed] the void” (Ms. Mearns seemed closer to doing so), but this is something I will watch for in future performances.

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The first live Balanchine ballet I ever saw New York City Ballet perform, Jewels, has made a special mark on me, and I look forward to revisiting it, again and again, for, like all (or at least most) Balanchine ballets, there is always something new to see, to notice, and to appreciate.

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Works Cited

Farrell, Suzanne, and Toni Bentley. Holding On to the Air: An Autobiography. 1st ed., University Press of Florida, 2002.

“Jewels.” Balanchine’s Complete Stories of the Great Ballets, by George Balanchine and Francis Mason, Revised and Enlarged ed., Doubleday & Company, 1977.