Through his art, George Balanchine \u2014 a Russian immigrant to the United States called the father of American ballet \u2014 was happy upon occasion to pay tribute to the red, white, and blue. But in \u201cJewels,\u201d his 1967 masterwork for New York City Ballet, recognized as the first full-length plotless ballet, the palette changes to green, red, and white in reference to the hues of precious stones.<\/p>\n
Yet even this three-act work bows, at its center, to American zest.<\/p>\n
Miami City Ballet performs \u201cJewels\u201d Friday, March 27 through Sunday, March 29 at Miami\u2019s Adrienne Arsht Center and on Friday, April 3, for a performance at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach.<\/p>\n
In addition, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa\u2019s \u201cCarmen,\u201d an MCB world premiere last season, returns on Thursday, March 26, with a Saturday matinee, March 28, at the Arsht, and on Saturday, April 4, and Sunday, April 5, at the Kravis.<\/p>\n
Each section of \u201cJewels\u201d \u2014 \u201cEmeralds,\u201d \u201cRubies,\u201d and \u201cDiamonds\u201d \u2014 set to scores by different composers, has a design and a prevailing mood determined by a gem. In some iterations, one part will be presented separately rather than as an entire composition. MCB rolled out \u201cRubies\u201d first in 1990, two years before the company debut of the three-act offering.<\/p>\n
Adrienne Carter and Nicole Stalker doubling the grandness of a balanced pose in \u201cDiamonds\u201d from Jewels. Choreography by George Balanchine. REN Media courtesy of Miami City Ballet <\/p>\n
For MCB principal Hannah Fischer, with leading roles in \u201cEmeralds\u201d and \u201cDiamonds\u201d alongside partner Cameron Catazaro, the complete set of dances has the stature of a trifecta. \u201cI love how everything comes together \u2014 though with very different music and characterizations \u2014 to create beautiful images bouncing off the jewels,\u201d Fischer says.<\/p>\n
As a lead in \u201cRubies,\u201d in a rocket-flight of a role, principal Alexander Peters says that even after many viewings during his days at New York\u2019s School of American Ballet and performances at Pennsylvania (now Philadelphia) Ballet and \u2014 after 2017 \u2014 at MCB, he\u2019s still swept away by this ballet.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a teenager, I immediately identified with it,\u201d he says. \u201cSo gorgeous and well-integrated, with three ways of presenting the ballerina, it stirs something overwhelming in me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEmeralds\u201d \u2014 which he\u2019s never danced \u2014 initially captured his imagination with its contemplative tone. But now Peters feels his dance identity wrapped up in \u201cRubies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a barometer of my career as I note how I\u2019ve evolved and compare differences among partners \u2014 some things becoming more challenging, others easier.\u201d<\/p>\n
The story goes that Balanchine was so struck by the multi-colored glow of the jewelry displays at the Van Cleef & Arpels New York showroom that this led him to create a dance exalting their beauty. The choreographer may have felt his inspiration bolstered by ballet\u2019s penchant to personify the inanimate \u2014 flowers, snowflakes, toys. So why not a ballet about fabulous bling?<\/p>\n
The great Ukrainian-born costume designer and Balanchine collaborator Barbara Karinska \u2014 cloth and cut in her hands inseparable from the excellence of the dance\u2014was instrumental in strutting out the effects of jewelry on stage.<\/p>\n
In \u201cEmeralds,\u201d cascading tulle skirts, as if reflecting foliage, stir below the shimmer of green bodices with glassy ornamentation; in \u201cRubies,\u201d scarlet leotards are festooned with glittering pendants; and \u201cDiamonds,\u201d with its powder-puff tutus and crystal-beaded tops, unveils enough shine for a dynasty\u2019s treasure.<\/p>\n
Formations in \u201cJewels\u201d abound which suggest necklaces, medallions, bracelets. Evasive about how his work should read, Balanchine did not certify an interpretation of this splendor. Asked once what \u201cRubies\u201d was about, he purportedly quipped, \u201cAbout twenty minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
But these jewels appear as a tribute to the styles that coursed through the choreographer\u2019s career. The romanticism of \u201cEmeralds,\u201d to dreamy compositions by Gabriel Faur\u00e9 (excerpts from \u201cPell\u00e9as et M\u00e9lisande\u201d and \u201cShylock\u201d), harkens back to the pliancy and needlepoint fastidiousness of ballet at the Paris Opera, a French perfume lingering over scenes of chivalry and longing.<\/p>\n
\u201cDiamonds\u201d opens the gilded doors of a ballroom in Imperial Russia, the dance both regal and rousing, to four movements from \u201cSymphony No. 3 in D Major\u201d by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky at his most forceful.<\/p>\n
\u201cRubies,\u201d like the central panel of a triptych which the wings contextualize, is a vortex of ingenious movement. Dancers meet up and run by as if in an urban setting \u2014 Manhattan hustle? \u2014 where Igor Stravinsky\u2019s jazzy \u201cCapriccio for Piano and Orchestra\u201d seems to raise musical skyscrapers. Balanchine\u2019s American-grown neoclassicism salutes the setting that supported it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis does give off an Americana showstopper kind of energy,\u201d Fischer says. \u201cBut it\u2019s got to be done with great taste.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following a scripted storyline unlike the more abstract scenes of \u201cJewels,\u201d Dawn Atkins leaps toward her fate in \u201cCarmen,\u201d which will be performed in Miami and West Palm Beach. Choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. Alexander Izliaev courtesy of Miami City Ballet <\/p>\n
For the dancer, that requires a deep understanding of Balanchine style, something she\u2019s blossomed in at MCB, with each step acutely responsive to the music and the beauty every individual brings, honoring that legacy. To that end, Fischer has relied on the insights of her father Lindsay, formerly a NYCB principal (and high-carat cavalier in \u201cDiamonds\u201d) and ballet master at National Ballet of Canada, where Hannah trained and performed.<\/p>\n
Fischer says she draws resourcefulness from him. \u201cI will do the walking pas de deux in \u2018Emeralds,\u2019 and being on pointe for the duration is a technical feat meant to look elegant and effortless, as if gliding on water. But you\u2019re sort of holding your own weight, with your partner not supporting you in a traditional manner.\u201d<\/p>\n
The challenge of \u201cDiamonds\u201d starts with its slow, 10-minute pas de deux, which requires strength. \u201cBut it contains some of the most beautiful moments in the ballet,\u201d Fischer exclaims. \u201cWhen I watch it, it kind of puts me in a trance.\u201d Yet bolder moves accrue toward the finale, when a Grande Polonaise tests the dancers\u2019 stamina while they uphold a majestic bearing.<\/p>\n
Peters can share his own experience with his \u201cRubies\u201d partner, the young dynamo Taylor Naturkas. \u201cHow far off to place her or angle her, how to turn in this or that direction, that can be made thrilling \u2014 a bit like being on a tightrope. I can help her feel more comfortable with these strange geometries.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fischer and Peters agree that \u201cJewels\u201d isn\u2019t just a construct of shapes and colors derived from adornment. Though it has no scripted romance or conflicts, like \u201cCarmen,\u201d they suggest that \u2014 whether striving or serene \u2014 the ballet extols humanity.<\/p>\n
Peters is beguiled by ballets that \u201ccapture natural human connections.\u201d\u201cJust by doing these steps, you can suggest all sorts of atmospheres and narratives.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you go Renan Cerdeiro and Ashley Knox showing Imperial Russian classicism in a previous production of \u201cDiamonds\u201d from \u201cJewels.\u201d Choreography by George Balanchine. Alexander Iziliaev courtesy of Miami City Ballet <\/p>\n
What: Miami City Ballet\u2019s \u201cJewels\u201d<\/p>\n
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 27 and Saturday, March 28; 2 p.m., Sunday, March 29<\/p>\n
Where: Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami<\/p>\n
Additional performances: 7:30 p.m., April 3, Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach. Also, \u201cCarmen,\u201d 7:30 p.m., Thursday, March 26 and 2 p.m., Saturday, March 28 at the Arsht Center; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 4, and 1 p.m. Sunday, April 5<\/p>\n
Cost: $45\u2013$265, depending on show, time and venue<\/p>\n
Information: 305-929-7010 or miamicityballet.org<\/p>\n
ArtburstMiami.com<\/a> is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music, and more. Don\u2019t miss a story at www.artburstmiami.com<\/a><\/p>\n MCB Dancers rehearsing a circle formation resembling a necklace in Rubies, Jewels. Choreography by George Balanchine. REN Media courtesy of Miami City Ballet <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Through his art, George Balanchine \u2014 a Russian immigrant to the United States called the father of American…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":204913,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[55722,94161,94160,123,94159,125,124],"class_list":{"0":"post-204912","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami","8":"tag-adrienne-arsht-center","9":"tag-balanchine","10":"tag-jewels-ballet","11":"tag-miami","12":"tag-miami-city-ballet","13":"tag-miami-headlines","14":"tag-miami-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204912"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204912\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}