JEWELS

Review by Celia Ipiotis

The shape of a dance phrase says as much about a ballet as the actual steps. In George Balanchine’s Jewels it’s all about the shape. Inspired by his love of rare jewels (think of the czarina’s tiara) and encounter with Claude Arpels (of the Van Cleef & Arpels), each section of the ballet is dedicated to a rare gem:  Emeralds, Rubies and Diamonds.

Mira Nadon and Ashley Laracey, were the featured dancers in the delicate, finely crafted Emeralds section set to Faure. Whereas both alighted excellently on the dance’s lyrical rhythms, Laracey transformed the choreography into the poetry of movement lifted by dreams.

Energized by the dynamic Stravinsky score performed by pianist Stephen Gosling, Rubies demanded a light-hearted friskiness provided by Emma Von Enck and Anthony Huxley. They ran and pranced like horses; shared phrases, exchanged multiple turns and leaps outdoing each other. On the other hand, Emily Kikta, an impressively tall ballerina, had to work hard to wrangle her wonderfully long limbs around the quicksilver movement. 

Elegantly designed, the set by Peter Harvey bedazzled all with the glittering garlands of white diamonds streaming at the back of the stage. Unity Phelan stretched into arabesques that compressed into sparkly turns to the grand music of Tschaikovsky.  Partnered by the up and coming Owen Flacke he managed his solo sequences with aplomb, but was less steady when holding Phelan during her high-backed arches and balances. Joined by a stage full of regally held dancers in the final processional, the grand scale bespoke of gracious ballrooms from a long gone era.

EYE ON THE ARTS, NY– Celia Ipiotis