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"JEWELS" FROM THE PARIS OPERA BALLET premieres on August 28, 2006 on PBS (check local listings).
Over a career spanning more than six decades, groundbreaking choreographer George Balanchine made ballet a modern art. From his early days in Russia to his trailblazing role as co-founder of New York City Ballet, Balanchine became one of the primary visionaries to shape the history of 20th-century dance. Premiering in 1967, "Jewels" is the choreographer's only plotless work in three acts. The abstract ballet illuminates, with clarity and brilliance, the music of Fauré, Stravinsky, and Tchaikovsky in its three movements -- the romantic "Emeralds," the jazzy, neoclassical "Rubies," and the classically inspired "Diamonds." "Jewels" literally shines, as the dancers' costumes are imbued with the brilliance of the stone for which each section is named. Brought to life by the Ballet de l'Opéra National de Paris, the splendid "Jewels" features opulent costumes and sets by renowned French designer Christian Lacroix.
The New York City Ballet first presented the three-act ballet on April 13, 1967. Inspired by a visit to a Fifth Avenue jeweler, Balanchine had originally considered including a fourth section, "Sapphires," arranged to Schoenberg, but decided against it because "the color of sapphires is hard to get across on stage." Peruse a biography from the INTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY OF BALLET about the revolutionary choreographer who began creating dances while still in his teens. In addition to his ballet training at St. Petersburg's Imperial Theater School, Balanchine studied piano and music at the Petrograd Conservatory of Music. Find the music and performers featured in each of the ballet's three acts in the dance list.
Special funding for this program was provided by The Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, The Lillian Goldman Programming Endowment, The Irene Diamond Fund, and The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation.
Top banner photos: Aurélie Dupont and Alessio Carbone in "Rubies," the Paris Opera Ballet corps in "Emeralds," and Agnès Letestu and Jean-Guillaume Bart in "Diamonds" (all photos by Francette Levieux). |
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Aurélie Dupont and Alessio Carbone (photo by Francette Levieux). |
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Ballerina Eleonora Abbagnato (photo by Francette Levieux). |
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The program is available on DVD. |
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