Jewels (ballet)

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See also: New York City Ballet repertory, NYCB 2008 Winter Repertory, and NYCB 2008 Spring Repertory

Jewels is a ballet in three parts, choreographed by balletmaster George Balanchine in 1967. It premiered on the 13th of April of the same year with the New York City Ballet at the New York State Theater.

The premiere included sets designed by Peter Harvey and lighting by Ronald Bates. It was staged by Karin von Aroldingen, Sarah Leland, Elyse Borne and Sean Lavery and required more than 50 dancers.

Jewels was erroneously billed as the first full-length abstract ballet. It was in fact originally conceived as three separate ballets, to music by three different composers: Emeralds is set to the music of Gabriel Fauré, Rubies to the music of Igor Stravinsky and Diamonds, to music by Pyotr Ilyich Tschaikovsky. ^[1]

The costumes were created by Balanchine's long-time collaborator Barbara Karinska who created a distinct look for each different act: romantic, calf-length tulle skirts for Emeralds, fabric that flared at the hips of both men and women in Rubies, and the flat, classical tutu of the Imperial Russian Ballet for Diamonds. The costumes were such finely crafted pieces of art in their own right that some of them have been exhibited in museums and in theater lobbies. Even Arpels was impressed with her attention to finding the finest trim that would accurately represent the true glitter of genuine gemstones. Additionally, Karinska's painstaking work is credited with making the costumes last despite the sweat and strain of dancing in them. Her designs, needlework and choice in fabrics made them both durable and danceable, illustrating that the bodies inside the costumes were deserving of her utmost respect. When questioned about her attention to her almost extravagant detail she replied, "I sew for girls and boys who make my costumes dance; their bodies deserve my clothes."

1 The three acts
2 Companies which have performed Jewels
3 Trivia
4 Quotes
5 DVD Recordings
6 Revivals
- 6.1 Winter 2008
- 6.2 Spring 2008
7 Notes
8 References
9 External links

[edit] The three acts

[edit] Emeralds

Music: Extracts from Gabriel Fauré's Pelléas et Mélisande (1898) and Shylock (1889).

Dancers at the premier: Violette Verdy, Conrad Ludlow, Mimi Paul, Francisco Moncion, Sara Leland, Suki Schorer, John Prinz and 10 additional women.

[edit] Rubies

Music: Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra (1929) by Igor Stravinsky.

Dancers at the premier: Patricia McBride, Edward Villella, Patricia Neary and 8 women and 4 men.

[edit] Diamonds

Music: Symphony No. 3 in D Major (1875) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Dancers at the premier: Suzanne Farrell, Jacques d'Amboise and 4 demi-soloist couples, plus 12 women and 12 men.

[edit] Companies which have performed Jewels

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New York City Ballet in 1976; premiere on April 13, 1967
Kirov Ballet, Rubies (together with Ballet Imperial and Serenade) at New York City Center, April 2008
Cincinnati Ballet in 1996, the first company outside New York City Ballet to perform Jewels.^[2]
BalletMet Columbus in 2003; company premiere on October 2, 2003^[2]
Pacific Northwest Ballet in 2006; company premiere of all three acts together on June 1, 2006^[3]
The Royal Ballet, company premiere of the full ballet on 23 November 2007 at the Royal Opera House, London. This production by the Royal Ballet was nominated for and winner of the Best New Dance Production and Outstanding Achievement in Dance categories at the 2008 Laurence Olivier Awards.^[4]^[5]
National Ballet of Canada on February 11, 2000, at the (then) Hummingbird Centre in Toronto.

[edit] Trivia

The ballet went officially untitled at the premiere.^[6]

The last act, Diamonds, was created for dancer Suzanne Farrell, who Balanchine was deeply in love with at the time. ^[7]

It did not premiere at the Mariinsky Theatre until October 1999.

[edit] Quotes

"It is open to doubt whether even George Balanchine has ever created a work in which the inspiration was so sustained, the invention so imaginative or the concept so magnificent as in the three-act ballet that had its world premiere at the New York State Theater last night." (Clive Barnes, The New York Times, April 14, 1967).

[edit] DVD Recordings

Balanchine - Jewels by the Paris Opera Ballet (2000). With Aurelie Dupont, Alessio Carbone, Marie-Agnes Gillot, Agnes Letestu, Jean-Guillaume Bart, Clairemarie Osta and Kader Belarbi. ^[8]

Choreography By Balanchine by the New York City Ballet (1979). With Suzanne Farrell and Merrill Ashley. ^[9]