Review: Dutch National Ballet Jewels- joy of pure dance

I watched George Balanchine's Jewels by the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam 0n 12th February 2025, the premiere night of the programme.

Diamonds

I had not planned to watch Jewels because of my "Balanchine again!"-feeling. It is same as "Forsythe again!" "Wheeldon again!" and "Ratmansky again!". Sooner or later, "Dawson again!" will be added to the list.

Nevertheless, I always end up with watching Balanchine, especially Jewels. Because Jewels is a pure dance and the jazzy Rubies is one of my all-time favorite ballets. I like jewellery in real life and ruby (my mother's birthstone) and red garnet (my birthstone) are my favorite stones.

There was another reason I felt obliged to watch it. Balanchine stager Patricia Neary would retire in April and it would be my last opportunity to see Rubies staged by her. So, as usual, I thought, "Okay, I will go later on, may be in March."

Then at the last minute, my better half's aunt asked if we could step in because my mother-in-law (her sister) and sister-in-law caught cold and could not make it. I screamed, yes definitely!

Cast and credits. Please click to enlarge.

As usual, I fell for the Balanchine trap. It was a pure joy to watch. Every dancer and every facet of Emeralds, Rubies and Diamonds was sparkly and shiny. Probably, it was one of the best and cleanest Jewels performances I have ever seen.

Emeralds was serene and fresh. Rubies was so energetic and mischievous I could hear the noise of rhinestones on the female rubies' iconic short skirts.

And as usual, I enjoyed spotting familiar faces. Some of them were in all three stones. It must be taxing on them. Toi toi toi!

I confess, however, that Olga Smirnova was the show stopper. She was brilliant without showing off. She danced with precision and understated elegance. She was the epitome of the crown jewel.

Patricia Neary stepped out on stage after Rubies, wearing a sequined sleek black maxi dress and a fur shawl. She looked so slender and fit. Does she have to retire? May be she deserves!

The Dutch National Ballet's Jewels programme runs until 9th March 2025.

About Jewels (source: The George Balanchine Trust, New York City Ballet)

Jewels is a three-act ballet created for the New York City Ballet by George Balanchine in 1967. Balanchine was inspired by the artistry of jeweller Claude Arpels of Van Cleef & Arpels.

Each of the three stones features music by three different composers. Emeralds is choreographed to the music of Gabriel Fauré, Rubies to the music of Igor Stravinsky and Diamonds to music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.