At the ballet

Guess where I was the other night?

If you guessed "Lincoln Center", you'd be right.

My friend B has had a subscription to the NYC Ballet since the 70's.  Occasionally I will go with her.

This is what we saw:

Every summer Lincoln Center presents a festival, with guest performers supplementing the presentations of the resident companies.  This year, the NYC Ballet was joined by the Paris Opera Ballet and the Bolshoi.  The three companies combined to present George Balanchine's Jewels.

Balanchine was a Russian dancer and choreographer, who later worker with the Paris Opera Ballet, and who immigrated and founded a ballet school and company that would become the NYC Ballet. 

Balachine's Jewels, presented in 1967, was the first "plotless" full length ballet, and saluted his mixed-heritage roots as a dancer and choreographer.

Emeralds, which was performed by the French dancers, is lush and romantic, danced to the music of Faure.  The American dancers performed Rubies, a quick-paced number using a Stravinsky score, and incorporating elements of jazz and musical theater into the performance.  The final dance, Diamonds, done to a piece by Tchaikovsky, is elegant, classic and majestic.

I was able to get a few pictures during the curtain call.  They're not very good -- I was in the third ring, after all, and the stage lights were very bright, but ...

The French dancers.  Loved the tulle skirts.  So pretty.

The Americans.  Cute little dance dresses with flutter skirts. And while you can barely see the dancers in the last photo, those are the Russians. She's wearing a classic tutu.

The bows.