Ballet companies team up for Balanchine’s ‘Jewels’

Every jewel box needs its jewels.

Especially when the jewel box in question is Reynolds Hall at Las Vegas' new Smith Center for the Performing Arts - and the gems are the "Emeralds," "Rubies" and "Diamonds" of choreographer George Balanchine's "Jewels."

Launching its first full Smith Center season Saturday and Sunday, Nevada Ballet Theatre teams up with Seattle's Pacific Northwest Ballet and Salt Lake City's Ballet West for a first-ever collaboration that brings the legendary choreographer's classic triptych to life in an entirely new way.

Each company will present one of Balanchine's three "Jewels."

Ballet West dancers will perform "Emeralds," set to movements from French composer Gabriel Faure's "Pelleas et Melisande " and "Shylock." NBT will dance "Rubies" to Stravinsky's three-movement Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra. "Diamonds" climaxes the evening, with Pacific Northwest Ballet dancing to three movements from Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 3 in D major.

Heightening the evening's impact: a 52-member live orchestra, including members of the Las Vegas Philharmonic, conducted by Pacific Northwest Ballet's music director, Emil de Cou . ("Rubies" will feature pianist Christina Siemens .)

Each of Balanchine's three choreographic gems can stand alone - and are often presented individually.

But seeing "Jewels" in one full-length program - as it was first danced by Balanchine's New York City Ballet in 1967 - creates a definite synergy, said Peter Boal , artistic director of Pacific Northwest Ballet. (And he should know; in his more than 22 years with New York City Ballet, he's danced in all three works.)

"It's like when you see a work of art in the setting it was intended for," Boal says.

And the "unprecedented" collaboration among three ballet companies "really makes it complete," notes NBT executive director Beth Barbre . (Barbre also is at home in Balanchine territory; she spent five years administering the George Balanchine Trust, which licenses the choreographer's works, and another five running the New York City Ballet, which Balanchine co-founded in 1948.)

Besides reminding audiences of Balanchine's genius, "Jewels" also explores three different eras of ballet history, from more classical to more contemporary, NBT artistic director James Canfield said. "It's so unique that we get this opportunity."

Some 66 dancers will take the stage during "Jewels" - "Diamonds" alone calls for 34 dancers.

And NBT is "many moons away from that," Canfield points out, with a company of 22 - 31 if you count the nine trainees.

" 'Diamonds' is always a challenge," acknowledges Boal.

Then again, presenting any of Balanchine's dances - and preserving their artistic integrity - qualifies as a challenge all its own.

That's where Elyse Borne steps in.

As a repetiteur for the Balanchine Trust, it's Borne's job to serve as "gatekeeper" for the works of the greatest choreographer of the 20th century. (And, many would argue, the greatest choreographer of any century.)

Borne knows "Jewels" well - at least when it comes to "Emeralds" and "Rubies," both of which she performed for "Mr. B," as the legendary Balanchine was known to his dancers.

"Jewels" reflects three facets of Balanchine's artistry and life, with "a common thread" linking each ballet, Borne explains.

Unlike traditional "story" ballets, each of "Jewels' " three works exemplify the abstract, plotless dances that became a Balanchine trademark.

Even without a traditional plot, "there's so much emotion there," Canfield says.

"You feel story, you feel plot, you feel love, you feel grandeur, you feel mystery," Boal says. "It's not with characters and it's not with mime," but "you can take from it and write your own story."

Especially because each of the three ballets in "Jewels" has its own individual mood, Borne says.

"Emeralds" reflects Balanchine's "heritage of classicism," she says, citing its "romantic" elements.

Boal attributes some of that to the "lightness and flow to the Faure composition" that sets the stage, he says, describing it as "a very feminine ballet."

By contrast, "Rubies" generates a jazzy, more contemporary energy.

"It's really Balanchine's love poem to America," Barbre says.

It's also "exhausting," Boal admits, remembering that when he danced it he thought of it as "a sprinter's ballet - but the sprint lasts 20 minutes."

In contrast to the all-American mood of "Rubies," the climactic "Diamonds" represents Balanchine's homage to his artistic roots in the ballet of 19th-century Imperial Russia.

Boal likens it to attending "a black-tie function you've spent your whole life getting ready for," noting its "connections to the wonderful traditions of classical ballet."

Thanks to Borne and her fellow repetiteurs working for the Balanchine Trust, the choreographer's legacy has enabled ballet companies across America - and around the world - to share the repertoire he created for the New York City Ballet.

As a result, "his ballets are done more than ever," Barbre says.

It also illustrates how "Balanchine's influence has spread across the country," contributing to "a unified American way of dancing," Boal points out.

That spirit informs the three-way "Jewels" collaboration, says Borne, who's been shuttling between Seattle and Las Vegas to supervise "Diamonds" and "Rubies." (Another repetiteur oversaw Ballet West's "Emeralds.")

Working with dancers from different companies - all of whom were scheduled to converge on Las Vegas on Wednesday - is "so fun," Borne says. "It's like a big ballet camp for us."

And for Smith Center audiences, it's an opportunity to "show Las Vegas what is possible" in NBT's first full season as a resident company, Canfield notes. "We want to put some jewels in that jewelry box."

Contact reporter Carol Cling at ccling@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272.