The paradox of ballet is that while its dancers have the bearing of kings, their eyes show the heart’s true longings. You see it in Alina Cojocaru, the Royal Ballet’s tsarina who continues her tentative come-back after a year or more off injured. Cojocaru has royal lines and precision placing yet in Diamonds it was her soft gaze that spoke of trust and love and the gossamer gallantry that ballet portrays because we do not.
Her duet with the much improved Rupert Pennefather to the Andante elegiaco from Tchaikovsky’s Third was the poignant highlight of Diamonds, with Diamonds the highlight of Jewels, George Balanchine’s three-act masterpiece recently acquired by the Royal.
Jewels is usually called a plotless ballet in that it has no story except for the story of ballet itself from France’s romantic sylph (Emeralds) to Russia’s classical swan (Diamonds) to America’s modern-day cheerleader (Rubies). It’s also looks deceptively easy, which is a roundabout way of saying that those who dance it can only be tip-top.
The Royal looked confident in Diamonds but less so in Rubies and Emeralds. Rubies is easy to like. It’s a jazzy, playful piece to Stravinsky’s Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra, with the dancers as much native New Yorkers as classical dancers.
However, Alexandra Ansanelli lacked control, and Laura McCulloch looked over-stretched. Carlos Acosta was his appealing self but the corps were uncertain.
Likewise in Emeralds, although Leanne Benjamin was excellent in the so-called walking duet, and Valerie Hristov, Bennet Gartside and Steven McRae made an effective trio in the closing promenade.
In rep until 19 June. Information: 020 7304 4000, www.roh.org.uk
Jewels
Covent Garden
