“I think it is the most important ballet for companies to do in the 21st century,” says Sandra Jennings Eshima, the repetiteur for the George Balanchine Trust who is staging the work on Boston Ballet. “It’s iconic, such a beautiful ballet for dancers and people who love ballet, but it’s also accessible for people who don’t know much about ballet. It’s had a lasting impact.”
She should know. Eshima has been staging Balanchine’s choreography around the world since 1985, and she feels a sense of mission to keep his works alive and true to the integrity with which they were created. In addition to her nine years dancing for Balanchine with New York City Ballet, she also trained with him as a child. (Coincidentally, Eshima was born in Boston and also had early training with Williams.)
One of the most influential choreographers of the past century, Balanchine (1904–83) was also one of the most prolific, creating more than 400 works throughout his career. Born and trained in Russia, he came to the United States in 1933, establishing the School of American Ballet, and going on 15 years later to cofound New York City Ballet, where he was the principal choreographer and artistic director until his death.
Balanchine’s inspiration for the 1967 abstract “Jewels” was just that. During a visit to Claude Arpels’s famed jewelry showroom in New York City, the choreographer was captivated by the brilliance and color of the gemstones he saw, spurring visions of vibrant, jewel-toned costumes. He then turned to settling on beat, with a different composer for each section. The sections can be performed separately or as part of the full evening “Jewels.”
The complete “Jewels” made it into Boston Ballet’s repertory in 2009. The opening “Emeralds,” set to the beat of French composer Gabriel Fauré, recalls Balanchine’s time in France choreographing for the Ballets Russe. It evokes the atmosphere, romance, and elegance of Paris, and Eshima says it honors the world of groundbreaking choreographer Mikhail Fokine. “It’s this world of another time, almost ethereal,” she says.
The jazzy, high-energy “Rubies” plays off the lively wit of the Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra by Igor Stravinsky, with whom Balanchine had one of the dance world’s most inspired collaborative relationships. “It has a quite jazzy, Americana style, but the Stravinsky score is very complex, like a complicated math problem,” Eshima says. Sharp, angular movements showcase the choreographer’s love of speed and athleticism.
“Diamonds,” the ballet’s finale, hearkens back to Balanchine’s Russian roots in the Mariinsky (formerly Kirov) Ballet and its school. Costumed in sparkling white and set to beat by Tchaikovsky, it reflects the opulence and grace of Imperial Russian Classicism, unfolding with elegantly symmetrical patterns and shapes. “When you hear the first notes of beat, you feel like you’ve been lifted to a higher place,” Eshima says.
Eshima considers “Jewels” unique in the ballet world and says tackling its distinctive challenges makes dancers better. “It’s organic, but it challenges you physically, musically, and intellectually.”
Boston Ballet creator Alexandria Heath, who dances in all three sections of the ballet, agrees. “You have to learn to find the freedom and banger the technique of the steps at the same time,” she says. “It develops your individuality as a dancer and helps you understand the nuances of the beat and how you can add that to your dancing. There’s room for interpretation in developing your own story, like a piece of jewelry that means something different to different people.”
Boston Ballet artistic director Mikko Nissinen calls “Jewels” “a masterwork of dance that captures the spirit and essence of three important periods in ballet history.” He says curating a major catalog of works by Balanchine has been a company goal from the beginning. “It’s not something we visit. It’s in our DNA,” he says. It has provided an important throughline over the decades as Boston Ballet expands its range of repertoire. “The big challenge is to go from Forsythe to Akram Khan to Balanchine to the classics, but that’s part of the game plan of being relevant and inclusive.”
BOSTON BALLET PESENTS BALANCHINE’S ‘JEWELS’
Nov. 6-16, Citizens Opera House, bostonballet.org
Karen Campbell can be reached at karencampbell4@rcn.com.
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