BalletNotesthe national ballet of canada

karen kain, artistic director

Jewels

The FourTemperaments

Apollo

Theme andVariations

the balanchine season

Ballet Talks and Ballet Notes are generously sponsored by

jewelsFebruary 22 to 26, 2006

balanchine triple billMarch 1 to 5, 2006

The Balanchine SeasonChoreography by George Balanchine

Guest Repetiteurs Lindsay Fischer, Joysanne Sidimus

Music:

Emeralds Gabriel Fauré, from Pelleas et Mélisande and ShylockRubies Igor Stravinsky, Capriccio for Piano and OrchestraDiamonds Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, from Symphony No. 3 in D Major

Costume Design by Karinska

Lighting Design by Robert Thomson

Piano Soloist for Rubies andrew burashko

I The Four TemperamentsChoreography by George Balanchine

Staged by Joysanne Sidimus

Music by Paul Hindemith,Theme and Four Variations – The Four TemperamentsUsed by arrangement with European/American Music Distributors Corporation, sole U.S. and Canadian Agent for B.Schott’s Soehne, publisher and copyright owner.

Lighting Design by Ronald Bates

Piano Soloist Mark Harjes

II ApolloChoreography by George Balanchine

Music by Igor Stravinsky, Apollon MusagèteBy arrangement with Boosey & Hawkes Inc., publisher and copyright owner

Lighting Design by Robert Thomson

III Theme and VariationsChoreography by George Balanchine

Guest Repetiteur Lindsay Fischer

Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky,

the final movement of Suite No. 3 for Orchestra in G major, Op. 55

Set and Costume Design by Santo Loquasto

Lighting Design by Robert Thomson

The performances of Jewels, The Four Temperaments, Apollo and Theme and Variations, Balanchine® Ballets, are presented byarrangement with The George Balanchine Trust sm and have been produced in accordance with the Balanchine Style® and Balanchine Technique®Service standards established and provided by the Trust.

Jewels, The Four Temperaments, Apollo and Theme and Variations are gifts from the volunteer committee, the national ballet of canada.y lydia pawelak; jennifer founier, greta hodgkinson, jaimie tapper and rex harrington in apollo, 1999 photo cover photo: xiao nan yu in jewels, 2003 photo by david street opposite: ryan boorne and jennifer fournier in the four temperaments, 1997 photo by cylla von tiedemann

jewelsFebruary 22 to 26, 2006

balanchine triple billMarch 1 to 5, 2006

The Balanchine SeasonChoreography by George Balanchine

Guest Repetiteurs Lindsay Fischer, Joysanne Sidimus

Music:

Emeralds Gabriel Fauré, from Pelleas et Mélisande and ShylockRubies Igor Stravinsky, Capriccio for Piano and OrchestraDiamonds Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, from Symphony No. 3 in D Major

Costume Design by Karinska

Lighting Design by Robert Thomson

Piano Soloist for Rubies andrew burashko

I The Four TemperamentsChoreography by George Balanchine

Staged by Joysanne Sidimus

Music by Paul Hindemith,Theme and Four Variations – The Four TemperamentsUsed by arrangement with European/American Music Distributors Corporation, sole U.S. and Canadian Agent for B.Schott’s Soehne, publisher and copyright owner.

Lighting Design by Ronald Bates

Piano Soloist Mark Harjes

II ApolloChoreography by George Balanchine

Music by Igor Stravinsky, Apollon MusagèteBy arrangement with Boosey & Hawkes Inc., publisher and copyright owner

Lighting Design by Robert Thomson

III Theme and VariationsChoreography by George Balanchine

Guest Repetiteur Lindsay Fischer

Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky,

the final movement of Suite No. 3 for Orchestra in G major, Op. 55

Set and Costume Design by Santo Loquasto

Lighting Design by Robert Thomson

The performances of Jewels, The Four Temperaments, Apollo and Theme and Variations, Balanchine® Ballets, are presented byarrangement with The George Balanchine Trust sm and have been produced in accordance with the Balanchine Style® and Balanchine Technique®Service standards established and provided by the Trust.

Jewels, The Four Temperaments, Apollo and Theme and Variations are gifts from the volunteer committee, the national ballet of canada.y lydia pawelak; jennifer founier, greta hodgkinson, jaimie tapper and rex harrington in apollo, 1999 photo cover photo: xiao nan yu in jewels, 2003 photo by david street opposite: ryan boorne and jennifer fournier in the four temperaments, 1997 photo by cylla von tiedemann

George Balanchine, co-founder and director of the New York CityBallet until his death in 1983, is one of the most renowned andprolific choreographers of the 20th century. Balanchine created anew genre of classical ballet that is synonymous today with the NewYork City Ballet. Though that company is without a doubt thegreatest repository of Balanchine’s works, his ballets are also in therepertoires of more companies than any other choreographer’s.Balanchine’s ballets not only add diversity to a company’s reper-toire, but also challenge dancers to a new level of technical bril-liance.

Balanchine was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and received hisdance training at the Imperial Ballet School there. Nurtured in theballet traditions of the turn of the century, particularly the balletsand pedagogy of the Russian ballet master Marius Petipa,Balanchine received a classical education. After leaving Russia in1924, Balanchine was exposed to the work of Serge Diaghilev’sBallets Russes, and in turn created works for Diaghilev’s company.The artistic milieu of the Ballets Russes was highly stimulating, asDiaghilev brought his choreographers into collaboration with thecomposers Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Erik Satie andMaurice Ravel and such artists as Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau andMarc Chagall. Later, with his own company, Les Ballets 1933,Balanchine collaborated with such leading artistic figures as BertoltBrecht, Kurt Weill, Pavel Tchelitchev and composers DariusMilhaud and Henri Sauget.

In 1933, at the invitation of Lincoln Kirstein, Balanchine travelledto the United States, where he and Kirstein established the Schoolof American Ballet in 1934 and the New York City Ballet in 1948.Through the creation of these two institutions, Balanchine wasable to invent a very distinct style of American dance. Writes dancecritic Marilyn Hunt: “When Balanchine first came to the UnitedStates, he devised a way for Americans to appear on stage withoutfeeling weighed down by traditions of court and ballet that theyweren’t born to.”

Balanchine’s style has been described as neo-classic, a reaction tothe Romantic anti-classicism (which had turned into exaggeratedtheatricality) that was the prevailing style in Russian and Europeanballet when he had begun to dance. The beauty of Balanchine’sdances is found in their patterning, structure and in their rela-tionship to the music. The majority of Balanchine’s works areabstract, one-act ballets. But for a handful, most of his works arenon-narrative, the music and the dance conveying all necessarymeaning. Some of Balanchine’s ballets pay homage to his Russianheritage, including Ballet Imperial (1941) and the Diamonds section ofthe three-act, full-evening work Jewels (1967). While others provedprovocative (The Four Temperaments in 1946 and Agon in 1957), roman-tic (Serenade in 1934) and spectacular audience pleasers (Stars andStripes in 1958, Union Jack in 1976 and Vienna Waltzes in 1977), all wereachieved within his extended framework of classical ballet.

Balanchine’s use of movement organically links the music and thedancers’ bodies. His work is always inventive and nothing superflu-ous is ever included. It is as if no step other than the one choreo-graphed could possibly work within the structure of the piece.“Dance can be enjoyed and understood without any verbal intro-

duction or explanation,” Balanchine said. “The important thing inballet is the movement itself, as it is sound which is important in asymphony. A ballet may contain a story, but the visual spectacle,not the story, is the essential element.”

Balanchine created a distinctive vocabulary and style of movementthat closely reflects the structure of the music he used. Com-menting on Balanchine’s use of music, dance critic KennethLaFave has noted: “Balanchine has explored the interactions ofmusic and dance with almost every ballet, and has approached theircombination afresh countless times. Look at his ballets superficial-ly and they may seem to be illustrations of the music. Look at themclosely and they appear as they really are: works that dance in themusic, not merely to the beat.”

Traits inherent in the Balanchine style:

The movements are athletic and emphasized by their speed,sharp attack and absorption of space.

The body takes on new dimensions through an elongated line,uplifted chest and high leg extensions.

The music is illustrated in the choreography, but Balanchinealso invents movement that provides his own personal visualiza-tion of the music.

Balanchine’s relationship with music stemmed from his earlychildhood, when his musical studies were as important as his dancetraining. His understanding of musical theory, composition andplaying enabled him to develop intimate working relationships withhis composers. The National Ballet of Canada’s late ArtisticDirector, Erik Bruhn, once noted: “He unravelled the intricatestructure and emotional texture of music. Using the music ofBach, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and of course his close friend IgorStravinsky, Balanchine actually made ballet more aware of its musi-cal potential.”

Balanchine’s understanding of music allowed him to reach into theinner life of the music. It is not the obvious beat but the harmonyin the music that motivates the dance. Said Balanchine of his useof music previously untouched by ballet choreographers: “If thedance designer sees in the development of classical dancing acounterpart in the development of music and has studied themboth, he will derive continual inspiration from great scores.”

In 1970, U.S. News and World Report wrote of Balanchine, “Thegreatest choreographer of our time, George Balanchine is respon-sible for the successful fusion of modern concepts with older ideasof classical ballet. Balanchine received his training in ImperialRussia before coming to America in 1933. Here, the free-flowingU.S. dance forms stimulated him to develop new techniques indance design and presentation which have altered the thinking ofthe world of dance. Often working with modern music, and thesimplest of themes, he has created ballets that are celebrated fortheir imagination and originality. His company, the New York CityBallet, is the leading dance group of the United States and one ofthe greatest companies in the world.”

balanchine: see the music and hear the dancing

clockwise from top left: george balanchine with igor stravinsky, ca. 1957 photo by martha swope;chan hon goh with suzanne farrell in rehearsal forjewels, 2000 photo by cylla von tiedemann; martinelamy in theme and variations, 1998 photo by lydiapawelak; jennifer founier, greta hodgkinson, jaimietapper and rex harrington in apollo, 1999 photo byandrew oxenham

George Balanchine, co-founder and director of the New York CityBallet until his death in 1983, is one of the most renowned andprolific choreographers of the 20th century. Balanchine created anew genre of classical ballet that is synonymous today with the NewYork City Ballet. Though that company is without a doubt thegreatest repository of Balanchine’s works, his ballets are also in therepertoires of more companies than any other choreographer’s.Balanchine’s ballets not only add diversity to a company’s reper-toire, but also challenge dancers to a new level of technical bril-liance.

Balanchine was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and received hisdance training at the Imperial Ballet School there. Nurtured in theballet traditions of the turn of the century, particularly the balletsand pedagogy of the Russian ballet master Marius Petipa,Balanchine received a classical education. After leaving Russia in1924, Balanchine was exposed to the work of Serge Diaghilev’sBallets Russes, and in turn created works for Diaghilev’s company.The artistic milieu of the Ballets Russes was highly stimulating, asDiaghilev brought his choreographers into collaboration with thecomposers Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Erik Satie andMaurice Ravel and such artists as Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau andMarc Chagall. Later, with his own company, Les Ballets 1933,Balanchine collaborated with such leading artistic figures as BertoltBrecht, Kurt Weill, Pavel Tchelitchev and composers DariusMilhaud and Henri Sauget.

In 1933, at the invitation of Lincoln Kirstein, Balanchine travelledto the United States, where he and Kirstein established the Schoolof American Ballet in 1934 and the New York City Ballet in 1948.Through the creation of these two institutions, Balanchine wasable to invent a very distinct style of American dance. Writes dancecritic Marilyn Hunt: “When Balanchine first came to the UnitedStates, he devised a way for Americans to appear on stage withoutfeeling weighed down by traditions of court and ballet that theyweren’t born to.”

Balanchine’s style has been described as neo-classic, a reaction tothe Romantic anti-classicism (which had turned into exaggeratedtheatricality) that was the prevailing style in Russian and Europeanballet when he had begun to dance. The beauty of Balanchine’sdances is found in their patterning, structure and in their rela-tionship to the music. The majority of Balanchine’s works areabstract, one-act ballets. But for a handful, most of his works arenon-narrative, the music and the dance conveying all necessarymeaning. Some of Balanchine’s ballets pay homage to his Russianheritage, including Ballet Imperial (1941) and the Diamonds section ofthe three-act, full-evening work Jewels (1967). While others provedprovocative (The Four Temperaments in 1946 and Agon in 1957), roman-tic (Serenade in 1934) and spectacular audience pleasers (Stars andStripes in 1958, Union Jack in 1976 and Vienna Waltzes in 1977), all wereachieved within his extended framework of classical ballet.

Balanchine’s use of movement organically links the music and thedancers’ bodies. His work is always inventive and nothing superflu-ous is ever included. It is as if no step other than the one choreo-graphed could possibly work within the structure of the piece.“Dance can be enjoyed and understood without any verbal intro-

duction or explanation,” Balanchine said. “The important thing inballet is the movement itself, as it is sound which is important in asymphony. A ballet may contain a story, but the visual spectacle,not the story, is the essential element.”

Balanchine created a distinctive vocabulary and style of movementthat closely reflects the structure of the music he used. Com-menting on Balanchine’s use of music, dance critic KennethLaFave has noted: “Balanchine has explored the interactions ofmusic and dance with almost every ballet, and has approached theircombination afresh countless times. Look at his ballets superficial-ly and they may seem to be illustrations of the music. Look at themclosely and they appear as they really are: works that dance in themusic, not merely to the beat.”

Traits inherent in the Balanchine style:

The movements are athletic and emphasized by their speed,sharp attack and absorption of space.

The body takes on new dimensions through an elongated line,uplifted chest and high leg extensions.

The music is illustrated in the choreography, but Balanchinealso invents movement that provides his own personal visualiza-tion of the music.

Balanchine’s relationship with music stemmed from his earlychildhood, when his musical studies were as important as his dancetraining. His understanding of musical theory, composition andplaying enabled him to develop intimate working relationships withhis composers. The National Ballet of Canada’s late ArtisticDirector, Erik Bruhn, once noted: “He unravelled the intricatestructure and emotional texture of music. Using the music ofBach, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and of course his close friend IgorStravinsky, Balanchine actually made ballet more aware of its musi-cal potential.”

Balanchine’s understanding of music allowed him to reach into theinner life of the music. It is not the obvious beat but the harmonyin the music that motivates the dance. Said Balanchine of his useof music previously untouched by ballet choreographers: “If thedance designer sees in the development of classical dancing acounterpart in the development of music and has studied themboth, he will derive continual inspiration from great scores.”

In 1970, U.S. News and World Report wrote of Balanchine, “Thegreatest choreographer of our time, George Balanchine is respon-sible for the successful fusion of modern concepts with older ideasof classical ballet. Balanchine received his training in ImperialRussia before coming to America in 1933. Here, the free-flowingU.S. dance forms stimulated him to develop new techniques indance design and presentation which have altered the thinking ofthe world of dance. Often working with modern music, and thesimplest of themes, he has created ballets that are celebrated fortheir imagination and originality. His company, the New York CityBallet, is the leading dance group of the United States and one ofthe greatest companies in the world.”

balanchine: see the music and hear the dancing

clockwise from top left: george balanchine with igor stravinsky, ca. 1957 photo by martha swope;chan hon goh with suzanne farrell in rehearsal forjewels, 2000 photo by cylla von tiedemann; martinelamy in theme and variations, 1998 photo by lydiapawelak; jennifer founier, greta hodgkinson, jaimietapper and rex harrington in apollo, 1999 photo byandrew oxenham

jewels

Softly focused, Emeralds is Balanchine in a gentle mood. In a sense it isreminiscent of royalty, of court life and exquisite symmetry. Evocativeof a seamless ebb and flow, with an essence of 1840s Romanticism,Emeralds is lyrical and lovely, a creation of a dream world that constant-ly surprises and delights. It is the perfect opening volley in this beau-tiful three-point ballet.

The glitter and drama of Stravinsky’s music is the vibrant thread thatpulls Rubies taut and tight. The mood is American, sharply focused,visceral in attack, a quirky, triumphant homage to show dance, full offeral invention. This is Balanchine at his most sophisticated. Into themix he has woven elements of his more serious works, Theme andVariations, The Four Temperaments and The Prodigal Son. On one hand is thesexy Broadway milieu of the fashionable 1920s, on the other is thebrilliant virtuosity of Balanchine at his most technically delirious.

The music is the 1929 Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra and the dance fol-lows its urban, sharp-edged brilliance. These are Rubies that are redhot at the centre, jewels that refract a multi-faceted brilliance. Pelvicthrusts, blatant athleticism, classical positions turned inside out;these are the counterpoints of this show business ballet.

Against the slow burn of Emeralds and the hot rage of Rubies, comes thewhite heat of Diamonds. A glorious evocation of 19th century classicaldance, it was set to Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 3 in D major. A fluid, col-lective work for 34 dancers, Diamonds fills the stage with an abundanceof movement.

More than anything, Diamonds is Balanchine’s tribute to Petipa and theformal architecture of classicism. In a rush back to his own Russianroots, the great choreographer set this quintessential classical homageto Tchaikovsky and Ivanov, with the same intense choreographicimagery as we recall from Swan Lake.

This is a grand ensemble ballet full of sweeping developés, gracefulthough dangerously held arabesques, yielding yet pliant dancing, that

suggests the entwining symbolism of the diamond in a luxurious lovering uniting two distinct and beating hearts. This is a world of bal-anced order, cast against the outrageous asymmetrical, slightly out oftune flash of Rubies. It is a world of celebration, ceremony and poisedexpectation.

Though no formal linkage unites this jewel of a ballet, it is lockedtogether by the genius of Balanchine’s eclectic spirit and imagery. Atits very heart is a sense of flawless elegance; the exquisite beauty thatinforms Jewels’ brilliant choreography remains a hallmark for the kindof sophistication and effervescence that alludes to much of dancetoday.

Over the years, a number of companies including The National Balletof Canada have danced the Rubies segment from Jewels. From Britain’sRoyal Ballet, to Edward Villella’s Miami City Ballet, Rubies has beenembraced by a variety of companies and audiences eager to sample itsdark, energetic heart.

Yet few companies outside New York City Ballet attempt the completeJewels, with its demanding, three-point style. It is a perfect choice forThe National Ballet of Canada. The company’s history of dancingBalanchine, from those first tentative steps with Concerto Barocco, to the brilliant 1998 “All Balanchine Programme,” reveals a company committed to exploration of the sacred and the profane. With Jewels, it has the perfect full-length evening of Balanchine, exquisite archi-tecture to celebrate its allegiance to the glorious underpinnings ofneo-classical invention.

by Gary Smith

Gary Smith is the theatre and dance critic for The Hamilton Spectator. He also writes on the Arts for a variety of international publications.

George Balanchine’s Jewels, his 1967 triptych in celebration of the fireof exotic gemstones, was created for the grand new space New YorkCity Ballet occupied in State Theater, Lincoln Center. In the tieredelegance of the gracious theatre, with its wrap around wristbands ofjewel-encrusted tiers, it seemed a glittering trio of precious stones,ideally set. Jewels received its premiere on April 13, 1967 by New YorkCity Ballet. The principal roles were performed by Violette Verdy,Conrad Ludlow, Mimi Paul and Francisco Moncion in Emeralds;Patricia McBride, Edward Villella and Patricia Neary in Rubies andSuzanne Farrell and Jacques d’Amboise in Diamonds.

The National Ballet of Canada first performed Jewels at Toronto’sHummingbird Centre on February 11, 2000. This production fea-tured Martine Lamy, Rex Harrington, Rebekah Rimsay and WilliamMarrié in Emeralds; Greta Hodgkinson, Johan Persson and JenniferFournier in Rubies; and Chan Hon Goh and Aleksandar Antonijevic in Diamonds.

George Balanchine and The National Ballet of Canada have had along relationship. The Canadian company has embraced Balanchine’sneo-classical genius since 1961 in an early staging of Concerto Barocco byUna Kai. In 1962 this first tenuous foray into Balanchine territorywas followed by the mysterious and melodic Serenade, Balanchine’s sig-nature work of exquisite, shadowed beauty.

The National Ballet’s fascination for Balanchine’s work over the yearsis not surprising. More than any other choreographer of this century,he set a standard for genius. What made his work revolutionary, andalmost impossible to label was the way he systematically redefinedclassicism.

For Balanchine, movement was not merely a configuration of stepsallied to musical rhythms and motifs of a brilliant piece of music. His choreography lives not only as an organic fusion with the scorethat gives it life, but also as a brilliant and distinct kinetic entity thatmoves with, against, and almost inside the very nature of the musicitself.

Balanchine’s works are always about dancing – that conscious invasionof time and space that freezes brilliant after-images on the retina ofthe imagination. For any company to attempt Balanchine is to re-affirm its belief in the divine right of mortals to make movement intometaphor.

Nowhere is that more clear than in Jewels, Balanchine’s equation ofgem stones to the architecture of dance. A ballet in three parts, eachdefined by the colour, physical perfection and lustre of a particularstone, Jewels celebrates the inner fire of emeralds, rubies and dia-monds in terms of the movement of neo-classical ballet. From suchan exciting premise it creates dance that is at once physically exquisiteand pristine, yet always imbued with darker facets of mystery. Thecostumes suggest the jewels with their appropriate gem tones andflashes of crystalline elegance. The three distinct ballets composingthe triptych are set to the works of three very different composers.Gabriel Fauré for Emeralds, Igor Stravinsky to suggest Rubies and thebrilliance of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky for Diamonds.

Balanchine suggests Emeralds is French, permeated by a whiff of per-fume, borne aloft by elegance and style. Deliciously romantic, fraughtwith feeling, this is a ballet that suggests lovers meeting, parting andmeeting again.

opposite: xiao nan yu with artists of the ballet in rubies, 2003 photo by david hou;this page left: artists of the ballet in diamonds from the wings, 2003 photo bybruce zinger; right: rebekah rimsay in emeralds, 2003 photo by david hou

jewels

Softly focused, Emeralds is Balanchine in a gentle mood. In a sense it isreminiscent of royalty, of court life and exquisite symmetry. Evocativeof a seamless ebb and flow, with an essence of 1840s Romanticism,Emeralds is lyrical and lovely, a creation of a dream world that constant-ly surprises and delights. It is the perfect opening volley in this beau-tiful three-point ballet.

The glitter and drama of Stravinsky’s music is the vibrant thread thatpulls Rubies taut and tight. The mood is American, sharply focused,visceral in attack, a quirky, triumphant homage to show dance, full offeral invention. This is Balanchine at his most sophisticated. Into themix he has woven elements of his more serious works, Theme andVariations, The Four Temperaments and The Prodigal Son. On one hand is thesexy Broadway milieu of the fashionable 1920s, on the other is thebrilliant virtuosity of Balanchine at his most technically delirious.

The music is the 1929 Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra and the dance fol-lows its urban, sharp-edged brilliance. These are Rubies that are redhot at the centre, jewels that refract a multi-faceted brilliance. Pelvicthrusts, blatant athleticism, classical positions turned inside out;these are the counterpoints of this show business ballet.

Against the slow burn of Emeralds and the hot rage of Rubies, comes thewhite heat of Diamonds. A glorious evocation of 19th century classicaldance, it was set to Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 3 in D major. A fluid, col-lective work for 34 dancers, Diamonds fills the stage with an abundanceof movement.

More than anything, Diamonds is Balanchine’s tribute to Petipa and theformal architecture of classicism. In a rush back to his own Russianroots, the great choreographer set this quintessential classical homageto Tchaikovsky and Ivanov, with the same intense choreographicimagery as we recall from Swan Lake.

This is a grand ensemble ballet full of sweeping developés, gracefulthough dangerously held arabesques, yielding yet pliant dancing, that

suggests the entwining symbolism of the diamond in a luxurious lovering uniting two distinct and beating hearts. This is a world of bal-anced order, cast against the outrageous asymmetrical, slightly out oftune flash of Rubies. It is a world of celebration, ceremony and poisedexpectation.

Though no formal linkage unites this jewel of a ballet, it is lockedtogether by the genius of Balanchine’s eclectic spirit and imagery. Atits very heart is a sense of flawless elegance; the exquisite beauty thatinforms Jewels’ brilliant choreography remains a hallmark for the kindof sophistication and effervescence that alludes to much of dancetoday.

Over the years, a number of companies including The National Balletof Canada have danced the Rubies segment from Jewels. From Britain’sRoyal Ballet, to Edward Villella’s Miami City Ballet, Rubies has beenembraced by a variety of companies and audiences eager to sample itsdark, energetic heart.

Yet few companies outside New York City Ballet attempt the completeJewels, with its demanding, three-point style. It is a perfect choice forThe National Ballet of Canada. The company’s history of dancingBalanchine, from those first tentative steps with Concerto Barocco, to the brilliant 1998 “All Balanchine Programme,” reveals a company committed to exploration of the sacred and the profane. With Jewels, it has the perfect full-length evening of Balanchine, exquisite archi-tecture to celebrate its allegiance to the glorious underpinnings ofneo-classical invention.

by Gary Smith

Gary Smith is the theatre and dance critic for The Hamilton Spectator. He also writes on the Arts for a variety of international publications.

George Balanchine’s Jewels, his 1967 triptych in celebration of the fireof exotic gemstones, was created for the grand new space New YorkCity Ballet occupied in State Theater, Lincoln Center. In the tieredelegance of the gracious theatre, with its wrap around wristbands ofjewel-encrusted tiers, it seemed a glittering trio of precious stones,ideally set. Jewels received its premiere on April 13, 1967 by New YorkCity Ballet. The principal roles were performed by Violette Verdy,Conrad Ludlow, Mimi Paul and Francisco Moncion in Emeralds;Patricia McBride, Edward Villella and Patricia Neary in Rubies andSuzanne Farrell and Jacques d’Amboise in Diamonds.

The National Ballet of Canada first performed Jewels at Toronto’sHummingbird Centre on February 11, 2000. This production fea-tured Martine Lamy, Rex Harrington, Rebekah Rimsay and WilliamMarrié in Emeralds; Greta Hodgkinson, Johan Persson and JenniferFournier in Rubies; and Chan Hon Goh and Aleksandar Antonijevic in Diamonds.

George Balanchine and The National Ballet of Canada have had along relationship. The Canadian company has embraced Balanchine’sneo-classical genius since 1961 in an early staging of Concerto Barocco byUna Kai. In 1962 this first tenuous foray into Balanchine territorywas followed by the mysterious and melodic Serenade, Balanchine’s sig-nature work of exquisite, shadowed beauty.

The National Ballet’s fascination for Balanchine’s work over the yearsis not surprising. More than any other choreographer of this century,he set a standard for genius. What made his work revolutionary, andalmost impossible to label was the way he systematically redefinedclassicism.

For Balanchine, movement was not merely a configuration of stepsallied to musical rhythms and motifs of a brilliant piece of music. His choreography lives not only as an organic fusion with the scorethat gives it life, but also as a brilliant and distinct kinetic entity thatmoves with, against, and almost inside the very nature of the musicitself.

Balanchine’s works are always about dancing – that conscious invasionof time and space that freezes brilliant after-images on the retina ofthe imagination. For any company to attempt Balanchine is to re-affirm its belief in the divine right of mortals to make movement intometaphor.

Nowhere is that more clear than in Jewels, Balanchine’s equation ofgem stones to the architecture of dance. A ballet in three parts, eachdefined by the colour, physical perfection and lustre of a particularstone, Jewels celebrates the inner fire of emeralds, rubies and dia-monds in terms of the movement of neo-classical ballet. From suchan exciting premise it creates dance that is at once physically exquisiteand pristine, yet always imbued with darker facets of mystery. Thecostumes suggest the jewels with their appropriate gem tones andflashes of crystalline elegance. The three distinct ballets composingthe triptych are set to the works of three very different composers.Gabriel Fauré for Emeralds, Igor Stravinsky to suggest Rubies and thebrilliance of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky for Diamonds.

Balanchine suggests Emeralds is French, permeated by a whiff of per-fume, borne aloft by elegance and style. Deliciously romantic, fraughtwith feeling, this is a ballet that suggests lovers meeting, parting andmeeting again.

opposite: xiao nan yu with artists of the ballet in rubies, 2003 photo by david hou;this page left: artists of the ballet in diamonds from the wings, 2003 photo bybruce zinger; right: rebekah rimsay in emeralds, 2003 photo by david hou

the four temperaments

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George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments has a rather interesting history. Sub-titled A Dance without a Plot, the ballet was created for Ballet Society — one of Balanchine’s earliest American troupes — and premiered on November 20, 1946, at the Central High School of Needle Trades in New York. It proved to be a turning point inBalanchine’s career, anticipating a new classical style that he wouldlater elaborate on in Agon (1957), Symphony in Three Movements (1963),Ivesiana (1954) and Episodes (1959). As New York dance critic CliveBarnes has written: “The ballet is of historic as well as historicalimportance, for it marked Balanchine’s new style of ‘character classicism’ (the use of gesture for its emotive and aesthetic effectrather than its narrative meaning), which was to play a vital part in the development of American ballet.”

Paul Hindemith’s 1940 score for The Four Temperaments, entitled Themewith Four Variations, alluding to the four medieval temperaments, wastranslated by Balanchine into a non-narrative form of dance. Theballet was specifically created with the high school’s stage in mind. It was so small — a low, broad platform with little depth — thatBalanchine had to treat his movement as a type of bas relief composed in linear sequence. Today, the choreography remainsunchanged, even though it is presented on larger stages, making for consistently interesting pattern formations.

The Four Temperaments heralded a new age in movement. As new soundsare found in language, Balanchine had found a new way of executingthe steps of the classical ballet vocabulary, giving dance a whole newlook. The ballet had a more modern look with inverted and distortedmovements as well as angular steps and patterns, which were shockingto audiences.

Balanchine dared his audience with the introduction of flexed feet,extreme contrasts, and movements that turned in on themselves,rather than the traditional outward motions. Classical ballet no

longer needed to be airborne, precise and pretty, but could aspire to difficult, deliberately evasive and challenging through choreogra-phy that demanded speed, precision, abrupt shifts in direction, bril-liance and clean execution. Though it lay within a plotless context, TheFour Temperaments challenged all the senses in a new venue of jarringinventiveness.

The four medieval temperaments

The four temperaments or humours were, according to the ancientGreeks, components of human personality. The Melancholic

Temperament is a tendency to sadness and depression. The

Sanguinic Temperament represents a much happier and hopefuldisposition, signifying confidence. The Phlegmatic Temperament

describes an extreme coolness of character that is sluggish and causesapathy. The Choleric Temperament indicates an irascible, angrypersonality. Each personality displays portions of all four humoursbut in different measures, which accounts for the different disposi-tion of each person. In other words, noted George Balanchine, “Eachof us possesses all four but in different degrees, and it is from thedominance of one of them that the four physical and psychologicaltypes were derived.”

Balanchine went on to add, “Although the score is based on this ideaof the four temperaments, neither the music nor the ballet itselfmakes specific or literal interpretation of the idea. An understandingof the Greek and medieval notion of the temperaments was merely thepoint of departure for both composer and choreographer.”

The National Ballet of Canada first performed The Four Temperaments in1969. It was revived in 1984 as part of “The Tribute to Balanchine,”after the great choreographer’s death in 1983.

artists of the ballet in the four temperaments, 1992 photo by david street; inset: artists of the ballet in the four temperaments, 1993 photo by cylla von tiedemann

the four temperaments

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George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments has a rather interesting history. Sub-titled A Dance without a Plot, the ballet was created for Ballet Society — one of Balanchine’s earliest American troupes — and premiered on November 20, 1946, at the Central High School of Needle Trades in New York. It proved to be a turning point inBalanchine’s career, anticipating a new classical style that he wouldlater elaborate on in Agon (1957), Symphony in Three Movements (1963),Ivesiana (1954) and Episodes (1959). As New York dance critic CliveBarnes has written: “The ballet is of historic as well as historicalimportance, for it marked Balanchine’s new style of ‘character classicism’ (the use of gesture for its emotive and aesthetic effectrather than its narrative meaning), which was to play a vital part in the development of American ballet.”

Paul Hindemith’s 1940 score for The Four Temperaments, entitled Themewith Four Variations, alluding to the four medieval temperaments, wastranslated by Balanchine into a non-narrative form of dance. Theballet was specifically created with the high school’s stage in mind. It was so small — a low, broad platform with little depth — thatBalanchine had to treat his movement as a type of bas relief composed in linear sequence. Today, the choreography remainsunchanged, even though it is presented on larger stages, making for consistently interesting pattern formations.

The Four Temperaments heralded a new age in movement. As new soundsare found in language, Balanchine had found a new way of executingthe steps of the classical ballet vocabulary, giving dance a whole newlook. The ballet had a more modern look with inverted and distortedmovements as well as angular steps and patterns, which were shockingto audiences.

Balanchine dared his audience with the introduction of flexed feet,extreme contrasts, and movements that turned in on themselves,rather than the traditional outward motions. Classical ballet no

longer needed to be airborne, precise and pretty, but could aspire to difficult, deliberately evasive and challenging through choreogra-phy that demanded speed, precision, abrupt shifts in direction, bril-liance and clean execution. Though it lay within a plotless context, TheFour Temperaments challenged all the senses in a new venue of jarringinventiveness.

The four medieval temperaments

The four temperaments or humours were, according to the ancientGreeks, components of human personality. The Melancholic

Temperament is a tendency to sadness and depression. The

Sanguinic Temperament represents a much happier and hopefuldisposition, signifying confidence. The Phlegmatic Temperament

describes an extreme coolness of character that is sluggish and causesapathy. The Choleric Temperament indicates an irascible, angrypersonality. Each personality displays portions of all four humoursbut in different measures, which accounts for the different disposi-tion of each person. In other words, noted George Balanchine, “Eachof us possesses all four but in different degrees, and it is from thedominance of one of them that the four physical and psychologicaltypes were derived.”

Balanchine went on to add, “Although the score is based on this ideaof the four temperaments, neither the music nor the ballet itselfmakes specific or literal interpretation of the idea. An understandingof the Greek and medieval notion of the temperaments was merely thepoint of departure for both composer and choreographer.”

The National Ballet of Canada first performed The Four Temperaments in1969. It was revived in 1984 as part of “The Tribute to Balanchine,”after the great choreographer’s death in 1983.

artists of the ballet in the four temperaments, 1992 photo by david street; inset: artists of the ballet in the four temperaments, 1993 photo by cylla von tiedemann

theme and variations

Apollo had its premiere on June 12, 1928 by Diaghilev’s BalletRusses at the Théâtre Sarah Bernhardt in Paris. It was premieredby Balanchine’s own company, New York City Ballet, onNovember 15, 1951 at City Center of Music and Drama in NewYork. The National Ballet of Canada first performed Apollo as partof an “All Stravinsky” programme on February 18, 1999.

The ballet depicts Apollo, the young god of music, who is visited and instructed by three Muses including Calliope, Muse of poetry, whose symbol is a tablet; Polyhymnia, Muse of mime,whose symbol is the mask that represents the power of gesture; and Terpsichore, Muse of dance and song, whose symbol is a lyre.Like Apollo, the Muses are the children of Zeus and therefore hishalf-sisters.

Balanchine wrote, “Apollo I look back on as the turning point of mylife. In its discipline and restraint, in its sustained oneness of toneand feeling, the score was a revelation. It seemed to tell me that Icould dare not use everything, that I, too, could eliminate.”

The music for Apollo was composed by Igor Stravinsky. As dancecritic Paula Citron wrote, “During his long life, Stravinsky experimented with several different musical styles. ... No matterwhat period, however, Stravinsky trademarks have been audaciousorchestrations, daring harmonies, and most importantly, com-plex, abrasive rhythmic structures. When Diaghilev introducedStravinsky to the young Russian expatriate George Balanchine, the composer found a choreographer who would create a neo-classical dance style to match his music.”

Citron continued, “The score “Apollon musagète” was originallycomposed for a contemporary music festival held in Washington,D.C. in 1928 with choreography by Adolph Bolm. BecauseStravinsky reserved the European rights for Diaghilev, the balletwas rechoreographed by Balanchine and made its Paris debut twomonths later. Apollo, as the ballet would later be called, marked the first collaboration between Stravinsky and Balanchine. Thepiece is about creativity as seen through the birth of Apollo andhis education by the Muses. Stravinsky produced a refined score in polyphonic style governed by the rules of classical harmony, but redolent with rhythmic vitality and jazz inflections. Balanchinecreated choreography with crude movements, turned-in legs,flexed feet, contractions and heel spins, yet firmly anchored intraditional classical ballet vocabulary. This fusion of past traditionswith modernisms is considered the birth of neoclassical ballet.”

apollo

George Balanchine wrote that Theme and Variations, one of the choreographer’s best-knownworks, was intended, “to evoke that great period in classical dancing when Russian bal-let flourished with the aid of Tchaikovsky’s music.” And while the work is a beautifuland exuberant tribute to the Petipa legacy, it is also pure Balanchine.

Set to the final movement of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Suite No. 3 for Orchestra in G major,the ballet consists of a set of twelve variations, through which the vocabulary of classicaldance is explored and celebrated. A corps of twelve women forms the basis of the bal-let’s choreographic excursions, and their dances are interwoven with the solo perform-ances of a principal couple. A grand polonaise builds to the climatic finale for theentire cast of 26 dancers. Theme and Variations is one of the most technically demanding inthe Balanchine canon, especially for the male dancers, whose variations are not only ofan astonishing intricacy, but are intended to be danced at great speed.

Theme and Variations was premiered on November 26, 1947 by Ballet Theatre (later knownas American Ballet Theatre). The first performance starred Alicia Alonso and IgorYoukesvitch and was hailed an immediate success by critics and audiences alike. It wasnot until February 5, 1960 that Balanchine’s own company, New York City Ballet, pre-miered this work. In 1970 Balanchine added the first three movements of theTchaikovsky suite to Theme and Variations to create a larger ballet known as Suite No. 3.

The National Ballet of Canada first performed Theme and Variations on February 18, 1998at the Hummingbird Centre starring Martine Lamy and Johan Persson in the principalroles.

opposite: aleksandar antonijevic in apollo, 2003 photo by peter stipcevich; artists of the ballet intheme and variations, 2001 photo by richard lautens

the national ballet of canadaThe Walter Carsen Centre for the national ballet of canada

470 Queens Quay West, Toronto, Ontario m5v 3k4 416-345-9686

national.ballet.ca

theme and variations

Apollo had its premiere on June 12, 1928 by Diaghilev’s BalletRusses at the Théâtre Sarah Bernhardt in Paris. It was premieredby Balanchine’s own company, New York City Ballet, onNovember 15, 1951 at City Center of Music and Drama in NewYork. The National Ballet of Canada first performed Apollo as partof an “All Stravinsky” programme on February 18, 1999.

The ballet depicts Apollo, the young god of music, who is visited and instructed by three Muses including Calliope, Muse of poetry, whose symbol is a tablet; Polyhymnia, Muse of mime,whose symbol is the mask that represents the power of gesture; and Terpsichore, Muse of dance and song, whose symbol is a lyre.Like Apollo, the Muses are the children of Zeus and therefore hishalf-sisters.

Balanchine wrote, “Apollo I look back on as the turning point of mylife. In its discipline and restraint, in its sustained oneness of toneand feeling, the score was a revelation. It seemed to tell me that Icould dare not use everything, that I, too, could eliminate.”

The music for Apollo was composed by Igor Stravinsky. As dancecritic Paula Citron wrote, “During his long life, Stravinsky experimented with several different musical styles. ... No matterwhat period, however, Stravinsky trademarks have been audaciousorchestrations, daring harmonies, and most importantly, com-plex, abrasive rhythmic structures. When Diaghilev introducedStravinsky to the young Russian expatriate George Balanchine, the composer found a choreographer who would create a neo-classical dance style to match his music.”

Citron continued, “The score “Apollon musagète” was originallycomposed for a contemporary music festival held in Washington,D.C. in 1928 with choreography by Adolph Bolm. BecauseStravinsky reserved the European rights for Diaghilev, the balletwas rechoreographed by Balanchine and made its Paris debut twomonths later. Apollo, as the ballet would later be called, marked the first collaboration between Stravinsky and Balanchine. Thepiece is about creativity as seen through the birth of Apollo andhis education by the Muses. Stravinsky produced a refined score in polyphonic style governed by the rules of classical harmony, but redolent with rhythmic vitality and jazz inflections. Balanchinecreated choreography with crude movements, turned-in legs,flexed feet, contractions and heel spins, yet firmly anchored intraditional classical ballet vocabulary. This fusion of past traditionswith modernisms is considered the birth of neoclassical ballet.”

apollo

George Balanchine wrote that Theme and Variations, one of the choreographer’s best-knownworks, was intended, “to evoke that great period in classical dancing when Russian bal-let flourished with the aid of Tchaikovsky’s music.” And while the work is a beautifuland exuberant tribute to the Petipa legacy, it is also pure Balanchine.

Set to the final movement of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Suite No. 3 for Orchestra in G major,the ballet consists of a set of twelve variations, through which the vocabulary of classicaldance is explored and celebrated. A corps of twelve women forms the basis of the bal-let’s choreographic excursions, and their dances are interwoven with the solo perform-ances of a principal couple. A grand polonaise builds to the climatic finale for theentire cast of 26 dancers. Theme and Variations is one of the most technically demanding inthe Balanchine canon, especially for the male dancers, whose variations are not only ofan astonishing intricacy, but are intended to be danced at great speed.

Theme and Variations was premiered on November 26, 1947 by Ballet Theatre (later knownas American Ballet Theatre). The first performance starred Alicia Alonso and IgorYoukesvitch and was hailed an immediate success by critics and audiences alike. It wasnot until February 5, 1960 that Balanchine’s own company, New York City Ballet, pre-miered this work. In 1970 Balanchine added the first three movements of theTchaikovsky suite to Theme and Variations to create a larger ballet known as Suite No. 3.

The National Ballet of Canada first performed Theme and Variations on February 18, 1998at the Hummingbird Centre starring Martine Lamy and Johan Persson in the principalroles.

opposite: aleksandar antonijevic in apollo, 2003 photo by peter stipcevich; artists of the ballet intheme and variations, 2001 photo by richard lautens

the national ballet of canadaThe Walter Carsen Centre for the national ballet of canada

470 Queens Quay West, Toronto, Ontario m5v 3k4 416-345-9686

national.ballet.ca