In recent years there has been a little inkling from NYCB that it wants to treat Jewels less as a three-act, full length ballet and more as a collection of distinct repertory pieces. For years, the company has excerpted Rubies, and then last year for the first time, Diamonds was excerpted and presented as part of a highly successful evening with other unrelated ballets.
These days, the Repertory index of NYCB's website doesn’t even include Jewels in the alphabetical listing. It lists Diamonds, Emeralds, and Rubies as separate ballets under D,E,&R. Jewels, it seems, could be on the path to becoming simply another block programing concept and title. It’s all fine, though, and probably the best way to leverage the value of the repertory, but it is kind of interesting to watch this little bit of evolution slowly play out.
The season’s first performance of Jewels on Wednesday night – or Emeralds, Rubies, and Diamonds – was quite enjoyable in many ways, not so in others.
Emeralds, led by Ashley Bouder and Sara Mearns, who were graciously partnered by Jared Angle and Jonathan Stafford, was blunt in the port de bras department. Arms that don’t work from the back + dropped elbows = saggy triceps brachii, regardless of how thin one is.
Ashley’s feet were beautifully supple and silent, and her leg lines revealed an occasional nice touch of French Romanticism. Flirty with a sense of mystery, she knew exactly where to dab the parfum.
The PdT danced by Erica Pereira, Ashley Laracey and Antonio Carmena was outstanding in its style, form, unison, and temperament. The elegance with which Erica and Ashley carried their upper bodies, the tapered lines of their tidy arms which never flew too high or too far behind their torsos, and the lift and ease of their grand allegro was stunning. Theirs was the type of dancing that will bring Haglund back to Jewels again and make him look forward to the time when these two artists dance the leading roles in Emeralds. The few moments when Jonathan Stafford partnered Ashley in a spectacular arabesque lift made it clear that his partnering abilities are going to be sorely missed when he retires this year.
Megan Fairchild and Joaquin De Luz in the Rubies PdD with Teresa Reichlen in the tall girl role delivered spunky allegro that was awe-inspiring.
It is probably safe to say that the main reason many people showed up for this program was Diamonds. You could sense the excitement and anticipation as the audience waited for the close of the second intermission followed by the absolute silence in the house when Maria Kowroski appeared in the upstage corner in her glittering cream bodice and white tutu.
Imperial and glamorous, Maria was born to wear diamonds. As she elegantly walked forward, slightly over-crossing each step to emphasize its importance, a gallant Tyler Angle walked from the opposite corner to meet her. What followed was a deeply-felt private conversation in a public setting, perhaps between choreographer and ballerina or perhaps only in our imaginations. But on this night, the conversation swelled with love and resistance, vulnerability and trust, and compromise and acceptance.
When watching Maria and Tyler dance Diamonds, one never knows the details of the story, but one always feels its depth. Their performance on Wednesday night was filled with beautiful shapes and tender moments. This eternal diamond Pump Bump Award is bestowed upon them.
Haglund,
I went to the January 30th performance of "Jewels".....and went home very disappointed. What struck me immediately was the lackluster playing of the orchestra.....which has been the case since the prior music director Karoui (SP ?) left for greener pastures conducting in Europe...the lovely Faure score sounded like a dirge , which is shame...the Stravinsky fared a little better...but the Tchaikovsky was a real disaster. Casting: "Emeralds "- Peck and Stafford were a revelation....probably the best performances in these roles in years....King and Le Crone competent , but Huxley danced way beneath his usual high standard....Ramasar....a real surprise...and an attentive partner for Peck.....ditto for Danchig-Waring partnering Stafford. "Rubies".....an exiting ,sexy Bouder with Garcia....it probably was his best performance in this role.....Lowery - up to her usual high standard."Diamonds"... Mearns - I cannot share the Times` critic high opinion of her.... She was partnered by Catazaro....and that is a real mystery - he is tall and good looking...but has no partnering skills , and the few solos that this role has, were a disaster...one of the worst performances I have seen in years ! Perhaps he could handle the "walking pas" in Emeralds...which was given to Danching-Waring - who should have partnered Mearns . That bring me to the corps.....it used to be that the NYCB corps was known for its speed and musicality.....but now ? Incredibly slow and sloppy with a port the bras that looked like the flopping of turkey wings...and the corps choreography in "Jewels" is not that difficult - unlike most of Balanchine. Could it be not enough rehearsals , too many new works ? Whatever the reason , they are just not producing anymore ( I saw one "Nutcracker" - and had the same impression of their work last month ). It is perhaps time to get new designs for this ballet.....look at the beautiful Christian Lacroix designs for the POB.....All in all - some wonderful performances by most principals dancers......but ballet is more....
Posted by: friedrich | February 09, 2014 at 11:56 AM
Hi Friedrich.
I saw Catazaro's debut in Diamonds on Jan. 28th which wasn't bad at all. But you could sense it was his first time out in it.
I think Catazaro is being thrown some huge challenges in an effort to increase his usefulness as quickly as possible. I've seen him dance solos well and I've seen him partner well. But partnering Diamonds and on top of that partnering Mearns in Diamonds is a tall order to fill. It takes someone with the skills and experience of Jonathan Stafford to pull it off smoothly with Mearns. Catazaro is a long ways off from being a partner in Stafford's class but it is apparent that he's receiving a lot of attention and that he's trying hard to execute precisely as told - even if it ultimately doesn't turn out pretty the first few times.
Friedrich, I think you're going to be a fan of Catazaro's in the not too distant future. Hang in there.
Posted by: Haglund | February 09, 2014 at 07:42 PM
Haglund,
To be fair to Catazaro - I have seen him in some of the"Black and White" ballets , and he acquitted himself well . I do remember Stafford in that role - attentive , competent , but utterly boring. He does not erase memories of Askegard and Adam Lueders...or Peter Martins ( You can see him and Farrell in that pas on Youtube ) . ." Catazaro is along ways off from being a partner..." How true . Remember when Stiefel was in the corps - he stood out...and outdanced everyone - I do not see that with C. Tall , good-looking - that is about all . Perhaps you are right about his potential..only time will tell. But at this stage he should not be dancing major roles . I do not want to pay premium prices for such performances....
Posted by: friedrich | February 10, 2014 at 12:58 PM