Preview: George Balanchine’s Jewels™ at Pacific Northwest Ballet
George Balanchine’s Jewels™ opens today at the Pacific Northwest Ballet and runs January 29 – February 7, 2009.
Rarely seen as a complete trio, this radiant production of Emeralds, Rubies, and Diamonds in one evening-length production is an homage to the three golden ages of dance and showcases George Balanchine’s masterful choreography.
Poetic and flowing, Emeralds evokes France, the birthplace of Romantic dance. Its ballerinas drift on stage in clouds of tulle, whispering of elegance, fashion and fragrance. Rubies is a sassy, jazzy burst of sunshine. Diamonds dazzles as Balanchine evokes the grandeur and precision of the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg with each shimmering wave of classical elegance.
George Balanchine is considered one of the greatest choreographers of the 20th century. I love him not just for having created such beautiful dances but his obsession with selecting such stunning and beautiful dancers for his ballets throughout the century. Balanchine kept dancing well into his 70’s before he passed away in 1983 at the age of 79. He had one of my favorite ballet quotes;
“Someone once said that dancers work just as hard as policemen, always alert, always tense. But I don’t agree with that because policemen don’t have to look beautiful at the same time.”
Jewels runs from January 29 through February 7 at Seattle Center’s Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. Tickets range in price from $25 to $155. Single tickets priced at $15 for patrons age 25 and under (two for $25) for the Friday performances of Jewels are available to both performances on January 30 and February 6 at 7:30pm. More info about Jewels is available online at www.pnb.org.
