Three for the Price of One
Jewels
San Francisco Ballet
April 6, 2021
Streamed
I only vaguely remember my first encounter with Jewels, Balanchine’s 1967 masterful triptych, supposedly influenced by the respective precious stones. Karinska’s costumes, most certainly, glittered and shimmered, almost excessively. I wish I could credit the company-it was not SFB that I saw it on. I recall being puzzled by “Emeralds”, almost laughing in delight at “Rubies” and taken aback by “Diamonds.” All were beautifully danced, but I kept wondering how those three “acts” related to each, other except for being Balanchine’s work.
Maybe the most satisfying aspect in SFB’s fourth season program was the newly recorded “Emeralds.” It is a masterful ballet, one for which SFB’s women carried much of the choreography’s load. “Emeralds” honors the expressive potential and range of the port de bras. “Port” as in “to carry” again and again focused attention on this group of women. Tendril like arms floated to invisible breezes; dancers offered canons, and mirror images; low arms rose to couronnes only to finish modestly with overlapping wrists. Impeccably disciplined but without the slightest sense of effort, these ten dancers--all but one still in the corps gave “Emeralds” its backbone.
In the first solo, refined, yet with a sense of exuberant energy about her, Misa Kuragava might even have offered flirtatious arms to an invisible suitor. The regal Sasha Mikhamedov had already impressed with Hippolyta’s speed and floating jetés in Balanchine’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. In her solo her long neck and beautiful épaulés enveloped her with a sense of mystery. Even partnered by a solicitous Aaron Robison, she sent her focus way beyond the stage. Her arm resting lightly on his spoke of distance. Their duet is supposed to convey sadness; I didn’t see it.
“Rubies” must be one of Balanchine’s most popular ballets. Its light-hearted and impressive athleticism strikes a chord but even its wit and frolicking finally wear thin. Also, Stravinsky’s Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra does not keep its interest beyond the choreography. But to see the sparks fly between Mathilde Froustey and Pascal Molat in this video from 2016 was a treat. Wanting Zhao did her best as a sexy man-eating queen of the night.
Structurally “Diamonds” remains an oddity. What it lacked in originality, it made up in finesse. Video-taped in July 2017, it starred Sasha de Sola and Tiit Helimets in a demanding and pristinely elegant pas de deux. De Sola almost seemed to discover the art of ballet; she so relished the details of every move that gradually opened herself toward her princely partner. Among the variations, Helimet had it all: power, presence and superb control. Polonaises are show stoppers but I had not remembered how intricately designed this one is, so the spectacular finale was earned. That came as a welcome surprise. But then it was just one of several in this reprise of Jewels.
copyright 2021 © by Rita Felciano
