Siphesihle November and Koto Ishihara in Rubies from Jewels.Karolina Kuras/Supplied
Keep up to date with the weekly Nestruck on Theatre newsletter. Sign up today.
Title: Jewels
Choreographer: George Balanchine
Dancers: Koto Ishihara, Svetlana Lunkina, Heather Ogden, Tina Pereira
Company: National Ballet of Canada
Venue: Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
City: Toronto
Year: Runs until June 22
George Balanchine had no time for plot, but he was a zealot when it came to atmosphere. His ability to conjure entire worlds using nothing but music and movement changed our understanding of ballet. Jewels, his 1967 triptych, may be storyless in the conventional sense, but it’s so rich in mood, history and tone – so vivid and transportive to experience – that it challenges what story means in dance’s vocabulary.
The National Ballet’s production, which opened in Toronto on Saturday, marks the first time the company has performed all three parts of the work – Emeralds, Rubies and Diamonds – since 2006. They merit being seen together, as the choreographer intended, to understand the whole self-reflexive point.
This is a ballet about ballet. Balanchine wanted to evoke the form’s history and evolution; he wanted to consider how elements from major eras shaped his love for the art and his understanding of its technique. Thus, Emeralds explores the soft lines and sensitivity of French romanticism; Rubies tackles the playful dynamism of mid-century American ballet; and Diamonds takes us to Imperial Russia, with its elegance, gravitas and grandeur.
Ben Rudisin and Heather Ogden in Diamonds from Jewels.Karolina Kuras/Supplied
These days, Jewels is a booming industry. It’s performed by top companies around the world, each striving to achieve the trademark qualities of Balanchine-ism that defined the original (there’s a Balanchine trust that must certify each production). Critics are often the loudest proponents of this cult of authenticity, assessing a production’s success on how well it recreates those native details, a process that’s becoming increasingly arcane as time goes by and generations change. So, let’s forget that approach momentarily and consider the National’s production on its own terms.
The company has changed considerably in the past five years, and it looks strong across the board. In Emeralds, the female corps captures the mellifluous quality of French composer Gabriel Fauré's melodic music. There are expressive accents in their port de bras, and beautiful levity in their footwork. As the backdrop to this semi-pastoral world of diffuse light and gentle detail, they offer a texture that’s both earthy and ephemeral. There are moments of luscious adagio, followed by slippery sections of allegro – it’s like velvet chased by silk. There are strong performances from the men, too, particularly Spencer Hack who showed vibrance and presence.
The corps is no less impressive in Rubies, the jazzy middle section that audiences either love or find a bit twee (there’s a lot of skipping, trotting, hip thrusting). They are clean, energetic and playful with Igor Stravinsky’s score, selling each hip twist and flat-footed turn, while finding all the non-classical wrist flicks and soaring legs.
Koto Ishihara is compelling as the lead gem, showing high-spirited dynamism and precision. And there’s a standout performance from corps dancer Monika Haczkiewicz as the Tall Girl (Balanchine was ever the literalist). This unique non-partnered role calls for speed and athleticism alongside presence and command. Haczkiewicz is powerful and flirtatious, staring the audience down as she travels downstage flaunting high attitude kicks.
Monika Haczkiewicz with Artists of the Ballet in Rubies from Jewels.Karolina Kuras/Supplied
Balanchine loved his ballerinas (he married four of them), and Jewels was made to showcase the unique talents and strengths of his favourite three. So, in addition to the rich atmosphere and evocative ensemble configurations, this is a ballet meant to feature three stars in roles that epitomize their personalities.
It’s here that the National’s production doesn’t hit the mark. The company has had a massive turnover of principal female dancers in the past few years, with a major drain of rising talent. It’s left them with little range among the top tier. Svetlana Lunkina felt low-energy in the lead in Emeralds, and while Heather Ogden was clean, elegant and strong as the lead in Diamonds, there was a want for more lusciousness, risk and depth. This final section, set to Tchaikovsky, was made for Balanchine’s chief muse Suzanne Farrell, who brought a haunted and unforgettable power to the role.
I’ve inadvertently circled back to the cult of Balanchine and the standards he set in 1967. It’s worth adding that there are some refreshing ways that this production subverts them. Balanchine was notorious for being overly involved in his ballerinas’ lives: If he wasn’t marrying them or wooing them, he was discouraging them from having children. So there was beautiful irony in having a visibly pregnant Tina Pereira perform the second soloist role in Emeralds, a rare sight on major ballet stages.
Her performance was sensitive, her port de bras expressive, her presence intense. When she curtsied to the audience after her main solo, she placed a hand on her belly, an acknowledgment that she wasn’t alone onstage, in case we happened to notice that her centre of gravity seemed altered.
It was an acknowledgment of something greater, too: The rules have changed since Balanchine’s era.
In the interest of consistency across all critics’ reviews, The Globe has eliminated its star-rating system in film and theatre to align with coverage of music, books, visual arts and dance. Instead, works of excellence will be noted with a critic’s pick designation across all coverage. (Television reviews, typically based on an incomplete season, are exempt.)