George Balanchine is synonymous with the American ballet aesthetic, credited with developing a distinctive style defined by musicality, precision, and physicality. His 1967 production, Emeralds, Rubies, and Diamonds - referred to collectively as Jewels - functions as an homage to the traditions that shaped him. Balanchine’s early training began at the Imperial Ballet School in St. Petersburg, Russia, and he later danced with the Mariinsky Ballet before his defection from the USSR during the Bolshevik Revolution, where he joined Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes based in Paris.

Presented here as part of Balanchine & Peck, Emeralds is an evocation of what Balanchine described as “the France of elegance, comfort, dress, and perfume” and his experience with the burgeoning French modernist cultural scene. However, it was in New York, where he chose to establish his school and company, that Balanchine’s stylistic culmination took shape, culturally influenced by both past and present, unequivocally American, and distinctly Balanchine.

Emeralds, showcasing some of Balanchine’s finest qualities, is presented alongside In Creases (2012) by Justin Peck, current Resident Choreographer and Artistic Advisor for New York City Ballet (NYCB), and Balanchine’s Prodigal Son (1929), both considered early works for their respective creators. Yet Balanchine’s artistic legacy rests on more than choreographic brilliance alone. Jewels underscores the importance of tradition and the balletic practice of passing down an artistic lineage, paired with innovation and cultural integration. Together, these elements ensure that a choreographer’s influence endures, carried forward through the achievements of the next generation.

In Peck’s work, we see an example of the continuation of Balanchine’s lineage. With a background in tap, which helps inform his musicality, Peck began training with the School of American Ballet, founded by Balanchine in 1934, and has since been engrossed with the Balanchine and New York dance scene. Peck’s In Creases, situated here between Emeralds and Prodigal Son, is a legacy revived and reformed for contemporary audiences. When it premiered, Peck’s choreography had not yet been widely appraised. A new face on the choreographic circuit, he was a corps de ballet member creating work both on and for his peers. It was in their shared background that Peck learned how to harness his educational and professional training, creating a shared dialogue through a movement language. “I live in the style that has been honed by Balanchine. It's a way of moving that prioritizes musicality and precision. When I'm creating work for NYCB, I am able to harness that style and that technique to see if I could extend it in different ways,” said Peck.

At a similar point in his career, at age 25, Balanchine choreographed Prodigal Son. Created for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, it is one of Balanchine’s few narrative works. In a New York Times review of the revival, it was described as “gauche and cruel, funny and naive, lascivious and tender,” and said that its physical and emotional energy “could scarcely belong to anyone but a young choreographer of 25.”

Prodigal Son tells the biblical story of the son who has it all, squanders his wealth, and ultimately seeks forgiveness. At the time, many choreographers were working to move ballet away from its aristocratic roots by incorporating elements of popular culture, acrobatics, sensuality, and folk dance styles, aiming to make the art form more accessible to everyday people. In that environment, and with the Ballets Russes’ history of bold experimentation, a biblical story seemed like an unusual choice. But through the combined vision of the artists who created Prodigal Son, including a young Balanchine, Prokofiev, and costume and set designer Georges Rouault, Diaghilev’s bold decision produced something both innovative and timeless. Designed to be accessible and intriguing, Sergei Prokofiev’s score matched this goal, reflecting his shift at the time toward a simpler, more direct style. Diaghilev even said that in the ballet’s final scene, Prokofiev had “never been more clear, more simple, more melodious, and more tender.”

When viewed alongside In Creases and Emeralds, Prodigal Son helps map the evolution of ballet through different eras, with each work emerging from its creator’s unique moment in history while contributing to a shared legacy. Together, Emeralds, In Creases, and Prodigal Son offer audiences a rare opportunity to experience a conversation across generations of ballet, illuminating how tradition and innovation coexist. Seeing all three works in one program underscores the dynamic continuum of ballet, where legacy is not static but alive, continuously reimagined by each new generation of artists.

Choreography by George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust.

Program Notes by Margaux Nicolas.