Jewel Tones
Balanchine's three-act, "Jewels," opened the New York City Ballet's winter repertory season on Wednesday night. The three individual ballets, "Emeralds," "Rubies," and "Diamonds," are set to sharply contrasting scores by Fauré, Stravinsky, and Tchaikovsky, and each seems to salute a different dance culture: French, American, and Russian, respectively. But there are motivic links between the ballets that indicate Balanchine's intention to make this work cohesive in aggregate as well.
Throughout the performance, NYCB's dancers seemed unusually attuned to each other, and their performance made for an impressive array of precious stones. When the curtain rises on "Emeralds," a lead couple and a 10-member ensemble of nereids saturate us instantly in the piece's dreamy languor. Sometimes, however, they fail to do so. Last June, when Ashley Bouder made her debut in the ballerina role first danced by Violette Verdy, she churned the ballet's lapping current too furiously. But on Wednesday, Ms. Bouder employed an entire battery of persuasive strategies to soften her attack, her silhouette, and her partnering responses. Her habit of punching things out became a matter of stating some things emphatically in a way that did no harm to the gracious, reflective, charmingly self-adorning role. In her solo, Ms. Bouder's arms sounded trills and roulades worthy of Marguerite's "Jewel Song" in "Faust."
Since they danced "Emeralds" together last spring, Ms. Bouder and Stephen Hanna have sorted out their partnering entanglements, and what had seemed then like flailing near-collisions in their two duets were carefully and comfortably recalibrated for Wednesday's performance. Mr. Hanna was also good in his short but tricky solo in the rousing penultimate movement.
Sara Mearns danced the second ballerina lead of "Emeralds." Ms. Mearns teased out a good deal of the role's mystery, but she also made heavy going of the large-scale extensions. Jonathan Stafford paid gallant attendance in their haunting duet, in which they walk silently into the night.
The "Emeralds" pas de trois was danced by Antonio Carmena, Alina Dronova, and Ana Sophia Scheller, all of whom sprang into their roles with just the right kind of coursing energy. Forty years after it was created, the man's solo continues to be a technical challenge; Mr. Carmena performed the double tours better than he has in the past. His jump has its own plasticity and sensuality, even if it comes at a price: The role would have been more articulately Balanchine had his feet been faster pointing on the uptake.
Following "Emeralds" comes "Rubies," where on Tuesday the lead couple's vaudevillean give-and-take was delivered by Megan Fairchild and Benjamin Millepied. Ms. Fairchild didn't quite get the rhythmic hang of the role, with her repartee a little flat. But Mr. Millepied filled out his role with more athletic exertions than he did the last time I saw him do "Rubies," several years ago. His legs had power and pliancy, and he worked from strength in his byplay with Ms. Fairchild. As the Amazonian "pinup" soloist, Teresa Reichlen exploited the full wallop of a very tall woman who can really jump.
Finally, in "Diamonds," Wendy Whelan's aquiline performance emitted a soft shimmer as well as hard glitter. She was exquisitely poised, rather than melting and rapturous. This role is as much about the woman's aloofness and reserve as it is about the ecstatic union of the many classical pas de deux from which Balanchine devised much of its imagery. Ms. Whelan bore up exceptionally well in this enormously taxing role, which calls upon almost every kind of ballet technique: After a very long adagio, she returns for a scherzo and a concluding polonaise that never lets up. Ms. Whelan's stamina held to the very last. She was partnered with Philip Neal, and together they paced the adagio so that individual moments were put in right perspective without being unduly underscored. Mr. Neal's scherzo solos were not only accurate but threw off some panache. These two mature performers put a finely judged and proportioned stamp on "Diamonds."
