Classical Ballet

Piece: "Jewels"

Created By: George Balachine 

Performed By: The New York City Ballet

About George Balachine 

Balachine started his ballet career in Russia, absorbing and participating in the work of the famous Marius Petipa. As a teeenager, he had began choreographing others and traveled westward to the United States in the 1930s- his style ever steadily progressing. He became active in Broadway and Hollywood, and soon founded the New York City Ballet in 1946.

Overview

"Jewels" is a three-part classical ballet that premiered in New York in 1967, and has been called "the first full-length abstract ballet". This means that the ballet has no story line, and only focuses on the movement of the dancers. This piece has three movements: "Emeralds", "Rubies", and "Diamonds", with each of the pieces featuring music composed by three different composers- Faure, Stravinsky, and Tchaikovsky.


Emeralds:

     



Rubies:

  

Diamonds: