Nevada Ballet opens season on a sparkling note with ‘Jewels’

It was a gem of an opening to the season as the Nevada Ballet Theatre, as well as members of Ballet West and the Pacific Northwest Ballet, glittered through Balanchine’s “Jewels” at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts.

The evening was made even more special because 50-plus members of the Las Vegas Philharmonic, under the direction of Emil de Cou, provided live accompaniment from the pit.

It is well known that Nevada Ballet’s artistic director James Canfield is a Balanchine devotee.

Ballet West, under the direction of Adam Sklute and Pacific Northwest Ballet, with Peter Boal as artistic director, can unequivocally state this is not their first Balanchine rodeo, either.

So all three companies were off and dancing, pirouetting their ways through the 150 years of ballet history that Balanchine has set together in this glorious ornament, choreographed in 1967.

Think of the three dances as links in a chain. The first, “Emeralds,” set to music by Fauré, was a paean by Ballet West to the 19th century romantic ballets, with love and flourishes. Costumes, with long tulle skirts and bright green weskits, were sweet but not subtle, and added green faux jewels meant automatic sparkle.

Graceful and generous with its luxe yet commanding moves, this was a portrait of what ballet in the 1800s should be – down to the company pose, moments before the conclusion, frozen in smile, style and substance.

If “Emeralds” is to be revered, “Rubies” is to be adored. Everything about it screamed “vibrancy:” from the fast-paced moves; the bright red tutus with short, flippy shirts and the weskits for men, encrusted with faux rubies dangling and clinking with each move; and even Stravinsky’s work, captured here with aplomb by piano soloist Christina Siemens.

Balanchine was going more contemporary here, with some fun mixed with the dancers’ quick, intricate moves, all adding to the “what will happen next” feel – smart and street smart. How else to explain the hand slap (not quite a “high five”) after a particularly good pas de deux?

Nevada Ballet’s Mary LaCroix, Grigori Arakelyan and Alissa Dale along with a dozen more NBT dancers were coquettes and commanders, manipulating and manipulated, marching and jogging, falling into others’ arms and showing solo strength – and suddenly it was over.

After a second intermission, the 30-plus members of Pacific Northwest Ballet returned for “Diamonds,” choreographed to Tchaikovsky with tributes to “Swan Lake,” “Sleeping Beauty” and other romantic ballets.

Balanchine was paying tribute to his youth and his native Russia.

Here, it was pageantry defined as the dancers took the stage in white, knee-length tutus and tiaras, with white weskits for the men.

The women even seemed to have some wired, silvery tinsel glimmering from each shoulder.

Moves were gentle but precise, solos and the groups working well to bring expected elegance and drama to the stage.

The Philharmonic added dynamism, especially with rich strings and a fortissimo closing section that urged the best from the dancers. A languid, emotional conclusion brought forth the sensations that Balanchine must have envisioned.

This was a noteworthy open to the 2012-2013 Nevada Ballet program, with the promise of a brand new “Nutcracker” by Canfield bringing visions of quite different sugarplums in December.