Jewels
The Australian Ballet
Following a critically acclaimed debut in Melbourne and Sydney last year, and a sold-out season at the Royal Opera House in London, The Australian Ballet is delighted to present Adelaide audiences with Jewels – an opulent three-part ballet from one of the world’s most revered choreographers, George Balanchine.
A work that is both soft and sharp, racy yet refined, flashy and majestic, Jewels has fast become a glamourous addition to the Company’s repertoire and will be staged at Adelaide Festival Centre from 12 – 18 July 2024.
The Australian Ballet’s Artistic Director David Hallberg said: “After our premiere season in 2023, I am thrilled that Adelaide audiences will get to experience Jewels in all its glittering glory. Some ballets, over the course of their time, create an aura of elegance and myth that holds up to our expectation of it. That is true with one of George Balanchine’s greatest masterpieces, Jewels.”
Balanchine created Jewels in 1967 after visiting a Van Cleef & Arpels jewellery store on Fifth Avenue, New York. Over three acts, the ballet showcases three distinct facets of the balletic art form, each represented by a different precious stone: emeralds, rubies and diamonds.
“Each jewel in this ballet has equal beauty and power. Emeralds, soft and mysterious. Rubies, sharp and stylised. Diamonds, brilliant and sparkling. It is a visual feast for the eye and an enormous opportunity for the dancers to tackle one of Balanchine’s greatest masterpieces,” Hallberg said.
In a twist on the traditional ballet form, this full-length piece is a plotless, abstract work which distils the artform to pure movement and mood and showcases both the classical precision and stylistic versatility of The Australian Ballet’s dancers.
Each of Jewels’ three acts is distinct in style, set to music by three different composers: Gabriel Fauré for Emeralds, Igor Stravinsky for Rubies, Piotyr Illich Tchaikovsky for Diamonds.
The costumes for each ‘jewel’, designed by Balanchine’s legendary collaborator Barbara Karinska, are as equally important as the choreography, unifying each of the three sections to achieve one regal whole. The costumes have been re-created by The Australian Ballet’s wardrobe department to ensure every detail has been captured.
