Behind the Ballet returns again after our summer hiatus! Ballet companies will be returning to the stage soon for a new season, and depending on where you are, you are quite likely to see Jewels. This Balanchine ballet has become incredibly popular, performed by companies around the world. Although Balanchine ballets can seem somewhat overwhelming given how lauded Balanchine is, this is the perfect ballet for any audience member as it is an abstract ballet. (Yes, even someone who has never seen a ballet.) Welcome to Behind the Ballet: Jewels where we are exploring the history of Jewels ballet!
Jewels Synposis
Jewels is a plotless ballet, meaning that there is not technically a synopsis. However, each of the three acts is very individual and represents a different period in ballet. (You can enjoy this ballet from start to finish without knowing this, but it does add more depth.) The George Balanchine Trust succinctly describes each act:
Act I: Emeralds
Emeralds, which Balanchine considered “an evocation of France — the France of elegance, comfort, dress, perfume,” recalls the 19th century dances of the French Romantics.
Act II: Rubies
Rubies is crisp and witty, epitomizing the collaboration of Stravinsky and Balanchine
Act III: Diamonds
Diamonds recalls the order and grandeur of Imperial Russia and the Maryinsky Theater, where Balanchine was trained. Mary Clarke and Clement Crisp have written: “If the entire imperial Russian inheritance of ballet were lost, Diamonds would still tell us of its essence.”
The History of Jewels Ballet
George Balanchine
George Balanchine was a Georgian dancer (born in 1904) who studied at the Imperial Ballet School in St. Petersburg, and other state run academies following the revolution. After teaching in Russia, he and his first wife joined the Ballet Russes. In the mid-1930s, he established a ballet school in New York City, and he then established the New York City Ballet company in 1948. He would be known as the Father of American Ballet.
Many dancers, typically those who have trained in the US and studied in the Balanchine style, tend to almost worship Balanchine. While he certainly made his mark on ballet as an artform, he was also a predator who preyed on the dancers in his company. He married several of his very young dancers and carried on liasons with others. Balanchine very much used the power he had over his dancers and their careers to his advantage, and I find that many Balanchine-trained dancers are still choosing to ignore this dark history.
I would say that Jewels is Balanchine’s most popular ballet world-wide, and his version of The Nutcracker largely dominates in US companies.
Jewels Premieres in 1967
This abstract ballet premiered in April of 1967 with the New York City Ballet performing at Lincoln Centre. Balanchine created it after jeweller Claude Arpels (yes, of Van Cleef & Arpels) suggested the theme and built on past choreography. When it premiered, some critics likened the ballet to one long product placement that aimed to usher patrons to Van Cleef & Arpels Fifth Avenue shop. However, over time critics recognised the intricate choreography, impecable costumes, and distinct performances and Jewels is now widely lauded.
Jewels Costuming
The costumes for Jewels are one of it’s strongest aspects. It provides a very visual clue to the type of ballet you are about to see. Designer Barbara Karinska worked with Balanchine for much of her later career, and her costumes are still used a standard today. For Emeralds, she created a Romantic tutu (a longer bell-shaped skirt) with a rich, green bodice. In Rubies, we see short, flared red skirts on the female dancers and flared short tunics on the male dancers- these are very angular, much like the choreography on stage. And finally for Diamonds, there is a flat, pancake-style tutu and bodice in a crisp white. There is a very good likelihood that you have seen at least one of these costumes even if you have not seen Jewels itself.
Performances of Jewels
Many companies will perform Jewels as a complete ballet, with Emeralds, Rubies, and Diamonds in completed. However, one of the acts will often be included in a mixed performance (an evening of ballet with portions of two to three different ballets). Rubies and Diamonds will be included as a piece in a mixed repertoire, but Emeralds rarely is.
Curious about other ballets? You can read more!
Behind the Ballet: Swan Lake
Behind the Ballet: Giselle
Behind the Ballet: Don Quixote
Behind the Ballet: Sleeping Beauty
Behind the Ballet: La Fille mal gardée
Behind the Ballet: Coppélia
Behind the Ballet: The Nutcracker
Behind the Ballet: The Firebird
Behind the Ballet: Mayerling
Were you familiar with the history of Jewels ballet?
Cheers,
The Historian
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