Joseph Gordon and Unity Phelan danced "Diamonds" in George Balanchine's "Jewels" on Wednesday night at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. (Photo by Erin Baiano) Why is it that New York City Ballet sparkles more at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center than it does in New York City?
Is it the open air, the acoustic, the audience? While that will remain a debate for the decades, it is true – and none more true than on Wednesday night. The opening performance of the ballet and orchestra’s short summer stay glowed and we have George Balanchine’s “Jewels” to thank. I must admit “Jewels” has never been one of my favorites – yet that triptych achieved all that it was meant to achieve — embodiment of a precious stone and all the romance, flash and elegance that it engenders. The ballet, which premiered in 1967, is in three acts, “Emeralds,” to the music of Gabriel Faure, “Rubies,” to the music of Igor Stravinsky and “Diamonds,” to the music of Peter Ilytich Tchaikovsky. And each brings to it a reflection of a particular country’s style – “Emeralds,” France; “Rubies,” America; and “Diamonds,” Russia. And while “Emeralds” is a slow simmering wooing the viewer with a lovely stroll through a forest glade. But in the end, it leaves the viewer with just a savory scent, a whiff of wonderment. Yet “Rubies” leggy sass and “Diamonds” surging energy of palatial portions clings to the mind’s eye – perhaps because these are the styles that most represent Balanchine. At the core, he was trained in the classical Russian style that he shared and then adapted to pioneer the faster, jazzier American style. Of course, New York City Ballet dancers are at the apex of that style. And Emma Von Enck and Anthony Huxley in the pas de deux and Mira Nadon as the soloist with the male quartet were exceptional on Wednesday. Von Enck and Huxley are sharp as they kick up their legs, trot and shimmy. Yet they are also soft, melting from their explosion of energy in a playful expression of feigned exhaustion. Miller was also daring as the commanding figure who appears with four men who arranged her like a mannequin or sculpture. Though more than 50 years old, the ballet remains fresh. Balanchine outdid himself in “Diamonds,” which is stunningly gorgeous in its architectural display of dancers and in the courtship between the two lead dancers – Unity Phelan and Joseph Gordon. The ballet begins with a brief opening for the female corps de ballet and then slips into the encounter between the couple who tentatively circle each other before gently touching hands. Here the woman is revered and the man, a means to help her express her virtues. Phelan is understated as she swoons in backbends and gains strength from her guiding partner. Gordon, for his part, symbolically flexes his muscles and drew cheers in his solo of grand jetes in a circle. Throughout, he stayed cool and composed, not a hair out of place. The “Diamonds” finale is impressive with the couple and 34 dancers endlessly moving to the crashing of Tchaikovsky’s last notes until the last moment when Gordon slips on bended knee for his princess. This same cast repeats this performance on Thursday afternoon. I would recommend, dear reader, you go.
1 Comment
Jay Rogoff
7/14/2024 06:50:46 pm
I adore Jewels, and as I say in my review, it implicitly tells the story of all the sources that went into NYCB & Balanchine's choreography. Emeralds differs from the others because of its interiority. That's why the first solo, in which the ballerina looks up at her port de bras, is so difficult, and Indiana Woodward, who is a wonderful dancer, has not yet grasped just how inward and erotic it is. It's like a woman preparing for a romantic encounter, admiring her arms or her gloves or her bracelets and rings, and practicing flirtation when she lifts her skirts and performs prancing little footwork. It's also a ballet about the past & memory--all that backward walking seems to signify a psychological movement into the past, so the ballet has a double consciousness--what's happening now & what has happened before. It's gorgeous, but because of this interiority, it's the hardest of the 3 for audiences to "get." It's the hardest for dancers to get, too. A production I saw by Sarasota Ballet looked wooden--the steps were there, but the imagination wasn't. And the Paris Opera Ballet rendition of it in the three-company Jewels in NYC back in 2017 was perfectly dreadful. They simply didn't get it. Violette Verdy said that Balanchine made Emeralds to give the French their balletic tradition back, but 50 years later, it hadn't quite taken.
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