Just saw in the TV listings that Great Performances on PBS tonight is The Paris Opera Ballet doing Balanchine's "Jewels." I love that ballet--what a great reason to flake out in front of the TV!

Wow, I wish I had seen this earlier . I've never seen the "Rubies" section of Jewels. This would have been a perfect opportunity...sigh!

I recorded it; thanks for the heads-up, BG!

Did anyone else ever read, that Mr. Balanchine used to choose a different parfum, for each of his dancers? Almost sure I read that, many years back.

Armanis, I believe that is true. He liked his Primas to absolutely douse themselves with the scent of his choosing for each dancer.

Speaking of the ballet/perfume connection, I remember once reading that Diaghilev adored Mitsouko so much, he insisted that the galleries and the stage curtains be suffused with it, so that the entire theater smelled of it.

That's playing tomorrow night at the NYC PBS station. Very excited to see it. With that and Project Runway, I'm putting my phone off the hook.

Here's the NY Sun's dance critic's view on the dancing.

http://www.nysun.com/pf.php?id=38719

thanks, Velvet! I had read that he wanted the stage to smell 'alive, and of flowers and spices, and woods!'

Maria Tallchief, who was married to Balanchine, wore L'Heure Bleue.

Alas, I didn't get to see that much of the broadcast. We had a wild thunderstorm that started about 20 minutes into the performance, and I was busy managing a panic-stricken chow/retriever (don't ask).

Thanks for posting the review, Chenas. I didn't realize this performance was available on DVD. Maybe I'll treat myself and DH to it, since he didn't get to see it either.

I've a few books about Balanchine, and this was mentioned in one of them:

Balanchine gave perfume to some of his female principals, because that way, he could tell who had just been in the elevator, down the corridor, etc, etc. I know it doesn't sound very romantic, but with so many muses, a current wive, and ex-wives running around the studio, theater and backstage, I can see why he would do that...lol!!

That's funny! He seemed to have a reason for everything he did... a very pragmatic man behind the romanticism.

Oh thanks! I'm a dancer!

All I'm finding is a special on hurricanes..............BTW.....this Ernesto is nothin!

Well, I watched it last night and it was truly wonderful, all three parts of the Program (Emerald, Ruby, Diamond). I wish there was more ballet on TV, but I'm grateful to PBS for the ones they do show.

Originally, Balanchine had planned to choreograph a "Sapphire" section as well. I can't remember why he didn't , but I certainly wish that he had done it...

Ahhh Sapphire would have been a great addition!

I read that Balanchine themed these three dances around the three countries he lived and worked in: Emerald is France; Ruby is America; Diamond is Russia.

I watched Rubies for as long as I could stand it. Ridiculous. If you can't stage Rubies with verve and energy, stick to Giselle. What a methodical, impersonal, hygienic treatment of a dance made to teeter on the brink. Very frustrating. I must be getting eccentric - I was shouting at the TV before I flatout turned to watch something much more alive: Tony Bourdain happening to be in Beirut this summer when all hell broke loose.

That review explains some of the mood of the performance - the dancers moved like people assured of their tenures. Ballet with a pension. Like, bless their hearts, postal workers putting on a show.

Preach on it, SAG! I understand what your frustration--but I still wish I'd gotten to see it. I think it's a challenge for companies to capture that "teetering on the brink" quality of Balanchine's dances, without Mr. B himself there to bully them. We saw NYCB do Agon a couple of years ago, and it was pretty lifeless.

I missed it! :-(

That's a bummer about Rubies. I haven't seen it, but I know it's supposed to be, jazzy, full of life...

Grace, I am so happy you thought to post a notice about the broadcast. It's always worth it - the POB might have done an excellent job with the material. And thank you for understanding my tantrum about a dance company that can't figure out what RED means when they dance something called Rubies. Not to mention that gems are meant to sparkle and not bore us.

I thought the corps were good, but the main female soloist for Rubies needs to be more demented to make the dance work. The music for Rubies is very edgey, and if the dancers can't match it, it's pleasant but a little dissapointing. I went up and did the dishes ten minutes into it.

The only time I saw Jewels "live" was with the Kirov, I saw it was with Diana Vishneva, who doesn't make a good Giselle, but is perfect for Rubies, with her perverse pixie quality. I have yet to see a performance of Emeralds and Diamonds that totally enchants me, but then again, I am more into the strange and weird Balanchine ballets like Agon and Rubies than I am into his classical, more traditional choreography.

Off topic, but if you like ballet and have a Netflix account, go put on your queue a 2 1/2 hour documentary of Margot Fonteyn, titled Margot. I enjoyed watching it and it brought me close to tears a few times. There is a lot of footage of her dancing and the director, Tony Palmer, goes into detail about her unluckiness in love and her weird sideline of gun smuggling in Latin America.

My favorite of the three was Diamonds, only because it was at least somewhat energetic, and the corps had a chance to shine.

I thought Rubies was okay...but as the 'American' of the three, I wasn't feeling the connection.

What did you think of Christian Lacroix's set decoration? I think he should stick to clothing.

But overall, I thought it was wonderful.

I saw only bits and pieces because I was making dinner, but it wasn't gripping enough for me to put everything on hold and sit down to watch. Ballet on television generally does not work for me, possibly because of the small 21" screen on my tv. I saw Jewels danced by NYCB shortly after Balanchine died, so I think it still had the spirit. I loved it then. Dance companies used to performing three-act story ballets with lots of mime tend to have a problem with Balanchine, even at this late date.

Maria Tallchief (I recently read her autobiography) said that Balanchine wasn't being performed up to his standards anymore...even easier steps were being substituted.

Anyway, my PBS station wasn't showing it, so I didn't get to see it.

Chenas, I've almost ordered Tony Palmer's movie about Margot Fonteyn several times, but knew it would be very sad. I hate how her life ended up.