Kansas City Ballet: Jewels

Visit the ballet performance calendar to view dates of all showings of this program.

JEWELS
Choreographer: George Balanchine

◆ Kansas City Ballet
◆ Balanchine’s Jewels: A Brilliant Ballet With No Title

Kansas City Ballet is currently preparing for their final production of the 2023-2024 season at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts: George Balanchine’s full-length ballet Jewels.

“We close with an elegant grand finale with one of the most celebrated Balanchine full-length works of all time. Jewels has been called the first full-length abstract ballet, accompanied by lavish costumes and sets. The choreography is known for its technical difficulty and precision, so our audiences are in for an incredibly special treat. Watch the Emeralds, Rubies and Diamonds shimmer resplendently upon the world class Kauffman Center
stage.”

– Devon Carney, Artistic Director of Kansas City Ballet

Accompanied by the Kansas City Symphony under the baton of Kansas City Ballet Music Director Ramona Pansegrau, the dancers will perform to music by Gabriel Fauré, Igor Stravinsky, and Peter Tchaikovsky, respectively, in three distinct movements which characterize the qualities of the gemstones as Balanchine envisioned them.

Emeralds evokes the elegance, comfort, couture, and perfume of the French Romantics’ 19th century dances while Rubies is crisp, witty and jazzy, unleashing a fiery American ballet, and Diamonds recalls the essence of Imperial Russia where Balanchine was trained.

Featured photo for Kansas City Ballet’s production of George Balanchine’s Jewels of Kaleena Burks, Amaya Rodriguez, and Taryn Mejia. Photography by Kenny Johnson.