Jewels (ballet)

Jewels is a three-act ballet created for the New York City Ballet by co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine. It premièred on Thursday, 13 April 1967 at the New York State Theater, with sets designed by Peter Harvey and lighting by Ronald Bates.[1]

Jewels has been called the first full-length abstract ballet.[2] It has three related movements: Emeralds, Rubies, and Diamonds (usually separated by intermissions). It can also be seen as three separate ballets, linked by their jewel-colored costumes. Balanchine commented: "The ballet had nothing to do with jewels. The dancers are just dressed like jewels."[3] Each of the three acts features the music of a different composer: Emeralds is set to the music of Gabriel Fauré, Rubies to the music of Igor Stravinsky and Diamonds to music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.[4]

Costumes

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 theatre lobbies. Even Claude Arpels of Van Cleef & Arpels, who suggested the idea of a ballet based on gems to the choreographer, 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."

Rupert Pennefather and Alina Cojocaru in the Diamonds suite from the opening night of the revival of George Balanchine's Jewels performed by The Royal Ballet, Friday, November 23, 2007

Music

Emeralds

Rubies

Diamonds

Casts

Original

NYCB revivals

2008 winter

First cast
Second cast
t.b.a.

2008 spring

First cast
Second cast
Third cast

Stagings (other than NYCB)

2017 Royal Danish Ballet

Excerpts

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Rubies
  2. ↑ Diamonds
  3. ↑ Emeralds

Venues

  1. ↑ John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
  2. ↑ Metropolitan Opera Association

Companies

  1. ↑ Garnier
  2. ↑ Ballett des Opernhauses Zurich
  3. ↑ closed
  4. ↑ East Berlin
  5. ↑ Strasbourg, France
  6. ↑ Koninklijk Ballet Van Vlaanderen/Royal Flemish Ballet
  7. ↑ New York
  8. ↑ formerly Fort Worth Dallas Ballet
  9. ↑ France
  10. ↑ Performing Arts Council of the Transvaal—Johannesburg, South Africa
  11. 1 2 Berlin
  12. ↑ Corpo do Ballo del Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Italy
  13. ↑ Japan
  14. ↑ Columbus, Ohio

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 première at the New York State Theater last night." Clive Barnes[5]

Awards

In 2008, the Royal Ballet won two Laurence Olivier Awards for their company premiere of Jewels at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. This was the first performance of the full-length ballet by the company, picking up the awards for Best New Dance Production and Outstanding Achievement in Dance. The Olivier Awards are the highest honour in professional British theatre and are equivalent to Broadway's Tony Awards.

DVD recordings

References

Bibliography

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