Miami City Ballet

George Balanchine’s elegant and animated Jewels (1967) has been dazzling audiences ever since it pre­miered more than 50 years ago. A beloved favorite in the Balanchine canon, Jewels is a triptych of dances evoking French (“Emeralds”), American (“Rubies”), and Russian (“Diamonds”) ballet traditions, inspired by the choreographer’s visit to the jeweler Van Cleef & Arpels. The renowned Miami City Ballet, famed for its dedication to Balanchine’s repertory, style, and technique, returns to UC Berkeley for the first time in more than a decade with his seminal ballet, danced to music by Fauré, Stravinsky, and Tchaikov­sky—performed live by the Berkeley Symphony—to open Cal Performances’ 2022/23 Season on September 23–25 at Zellerbach Hall.

Like brilliant bursts of light refracting from the world’s most sought-after gemstones, MCB’s performances of George Balanchine’s Jewels have dazzled audiences since the company premiered it in 1992.

We sat down with three of the company’s leading ballerinas—Tricia Alberston (“Emeralds”), Jordan-Elizabeth Long (“Rubies”), and Katia Carranza (“Rubies” and “Diamonds”)—to share their take on the genius of Balanchine and what makes Jewels such an endearing, popular ballet.

What makes “Emeralds” so exceptional in Balanchine’s Jewels?

Tricia: To me, “Emeralds” is the dream leading into the rest of Jewels. There is something other-worldly about it—a special quality that exists along with moments of joy, melancholy, and hopeful human connection. I like to envision I’m underwater. The unique port de bras (graceful arm movements) in this ballet makes it very special. I imagine I’m pushing the water, dancing through it, letting it help to suspend me. Since the composer is French, I also like to imagine leaving trails of alluring perfume behind me.

Tell us more about the music?

Tricia: The music by French composer Gabriel Fauré is the kind that makes you take a deep breath and appreciate life. It flutters and bends and is full of hope. It takes you on a journey.

What do you enjoy most about performing “Rubies”?

Jordan-Elizabeth: I love how seamlessly Balanchine has married the choreography to the music. He was famous for saying “see the music, hear the dance,” and “Rubies” is a perfect example of that. Balanchine was friends with the “Rubies” composer, Igor Stravinsky, and you can see his understanding of the different roles of the orchestra in the steps he gives to the other groups of dancers. I have a strong connection to music, and my favorite thing about dancing is that it allows a person to become the music. When I dance the Tall Girl role in “Rubies,” I feel like I am one of the string instruments in the orchestra, making the music with my body.

The audience tends to love “Rubies.” What makes this piece such a showstopper?

Jordan-Elizabeth: “Rubies” is a ballet that all dancers want to dance and all audiences love seeing. It is full of fun, joy, and a little bit of spiciness and sass. It is so exciting in its contrast with the preceding ballet, “Emeralds,” which has an entirely different mood. I always like to think of it as the appetizer of the whole evening, getting the audience relaxed and ready to be taken away to a different realm. When the curtain goes up on “Rubies,” the entire audience sits up in their seats a little bit. I think seeing all those people on stage on their toes is always kind of mysterious: “What’s going to happen now?”

Katia, you have been praised for your portrayals in both “Rubies” and “Diamonds.” Can you tell us what makes these works so different and what you enjoy most about performing them?

Katia: “Rubies” is one of the most enjoyable ballets to perform. It is also tough because the energy is so high; at the same time it is so fun that you forget how tiring it is. Everything about “Rubies” is thrilling. The movements, the hips, the legs kicking, keeping your balance out of center… even the color red. It’s electrifying.

“Diamonds” is completely different. I love the grand pas de deux. It is so pure and beautiful, just like a diamond. It is very controlled, elegant, and opulent. With Tchaikovsky’s music, I feel like a queen. It is very grand, imperial Russia. It’s majestic.

And finally. What do you think is the genius of Balanchine’s choreography?

Tricia: What isn’t the genius of Balanchine’s choreography?! The patterns of the corps de ballet and how he weaves the principals among them is incredible. And the musicality! He always made steps that speak the music, which makes his works the most satisfying to watch and dance.

It is said that a visit to famed French jewelers Van Cleef & Arpels piqued George Balanchine’s imagination. Who knew that those tiny light-refracting brilliant bursts of color from some of the world’s most sought-after gemstones would inspire one of Balanchine’s most revered ballets?

In Jewels, each gemstone suggests contrasting moods and situations. When the ballet premiered in April 1967 at the new New York State Theater (now the Koch) at Lincoln Center, Balanchine evoked these moods in terms of dance styles and musical characteristics associated with the countries of its three composers. “Emeralds,” set to music by the French composer Gabriel Fauré, is gracious, elegant, languorous. “Rubies,” to the music of Russo-American Igor Stravinsky, is a spirited jazz essay, brash and irreverent. “Diamonds,” set to music by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, is reminiscent of Marius Petipa’s Mariinsky ballet.

Each ballet was dominated by its lead ballerina. In “Emeralds,” Violette Verdy, was known for her supremely witty musicality; Patricia McBride’s teasing sauciness made sparks fly in “Rubies”; and the astounding Suzanne Farrell, at the time Balanchine’s primary instrument for reinventing the hallmarks of classical ballet, blazed in “Diamonds.”

“Emeralds,” the first ballet in this full-evening trilogy, is remarkable for its mysterious and plangent romanticism. It is the quietest—and, to some viewers, the most profound—section of Jewels. The Fauré music Balanchine chose to employ is distinguished by a seamless haunting fluidity.

“Rubies” spotlights a small female with a big personality and her dynamo partner, a role created for the amazing pyrotechnics of Edward Villella. The couple flirt and compete with each another, engaging in provocative clashes and amorous contests as Balanchine exhibits a full array of what dance critic Deborah Jowitt called his “Stravinsky” steps: “The pinup-girl poses, the jutting hips, the legs that swing down and up like scythes, the paw-hands, the prances, the big quick lunges, the flexed feet, the heelwalks.” Sensational!

“Diamonds”—to Tchaikovsky at his grandest—represents Balanchine’s homage to the classicism of late 19th-century Imperial Russia. Whereas “Emeralds” showcased two couples, and “Rubies” a playful pair, “Diamonds”—majestic and daring—is the ultimate statement of Balanchine’s famous credo, “Ballet is woman.”