美国国家公共电台 NPR 3 Top Ballet Companies Convene For The Golden Anniversary Of 'Jewels'

 

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

There's a very important meeting tonight in New York City involving Russian, American and French ballet dancers. They have gathered in a bit of cultural diplomacy¹ at Lincoln Center to celebrate the 50th anniversary of George Balanchine's masterpiece "Jewels." It is considered the first full-length non-narrative ballet. Here's Jeff Lunden.

JEFF LUNDEN, BYLINE²: It's two days before the gala opening, and New York City Ballet's dancers have gathered to rehearse "Rubies³," the middle movement of "Jewels." They practice under the watchful⁴ eye of ballet mistress Rosemary Dunleavy.

ROSEMARY DUNLEAVY: I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Tess (ph). (Unintelligible), right?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Yeah.

DUNLEAVY: Just stay downstage a little bit so that you can get in front of her - OK, all right.

LUNDEN: "Jewels" is a three-act ballet each named for a gem⁵ and each with a different choreographic style representing different periods in George Balanchine's life. It's been a signature piece for The New York City Ballet since it premiered in 1967. And Megan Fairchild has been dancing one of the leading roles for a decade.

MEGAN FAIRCHILD: You know, I don't think Balanchine will ever feel dated to me and especially something as jazzy as "Rubies" - that you're off-balance. Your hips⁶ are out. You're, you know, throwing yourself around in extreme positions. It couldn't get any more modern to me for something like this. And then at the same time, it's still really pure ballet.

(SOUNDBITE OF PERFORMANCE OF STRAVINSKY'S "CAPRICCIO FOR PIANO AND ORCHESTRA")

LUNDEN: Pure ballet is the key here. There are no swans or princes or sugar plum fairies, says Lincoln Center Festival's Nigel Redden, who brought the Paris Opera Ballet and the Bolshoi Ballet to join the New Yorkers.

NIGEL REDDEN: It is a plotless ballet, the first full-length plotless ballet choreographed⁷ by arguably the most important choreographer⁸ of the 20th century, certainly one of the great geniuses to be at Lincoln Center.

(SOUNDBITE OF PERFORMANCE OF FAURE'S "PELLEAS ET MELISANDE")

LUNDEN: And Redden says there's a reason he brought in dancers from these two countries. The first movement, "Emeralds," features the music of French composer Gabriel Faure and will be performed by the Paris Opera Ballet. Balanchine came of age as a choreographer in 1920s Paris. And Aurelie Dupont, the ballet's director of dance, says you can practically smell the perfume.

AURELIE DUPONT: I think "Emerald" has something very French about the technique, which is the feet. Like the French school, we work a lot about the position and something very precise about the feet and the music. And Balanchine, for "Emerald," put the dancers with long tutus, so we really see the leg. It's of course very romantic.

(SOUNDBITE OF PERFORMANCE OF FAURE'S "PELLEAS ET MELISANDE")

LUNDEN: Even though "Rubies," the second movement, has music by Igor Stravinsky, ballerina Megan Fairchild says it feels very American, very Broadway, which is where the Russian-born Balanchine did much of his work when he first came to America in the 1930s.

(SOUNDBITE OF PERFORMANCE OF STRAVINSKY'S "CAPRICCIO FOR PIANO AND ORCHESTRA")

FAIRCHILD: There's no classical mold to fit into. We're not wearing tutus. I have this little skirt of jewels on, just teeny, teeny, little miniskirt of jewels hanging down. And they kind of clink together as I'm dancing. Like, I don't even know if the audience can hear, but it's got, like, a fun kind of party air to it.

(SOUNDBITE OF PERFORMANCE OF STRAVINSKY'S "CAPRICCIO FOR PIANO AND ORCHESTRA")

LUNDEN: The final movement harkens back to where Balanchine grew up, says Lincoln Center's Nigel Redden.

REDDEN: "Diamonds" is a dance to Tchaikovsky, who always conjures⁹ up a sense of Russia and a sense of the grandeur¹⁰ of the Imperial Court.

(SOUNDBITE OF PERFORMANCE OF TCHAIKOVSKY'S "SYMPHONY NO. 3 IN D MAJOR")

REDDEN: And that particular dance has the most dancers in it, has the largest corps¹¹ and has a kind of grandeur to it, which I think is very splendid.

LUNDEN: The Bolshoi and New York City ballets will alternate performing "Diamonds" and "Rubies." Peter Martins runs the city ballet and danced in "Jewels" for Balanchine. He told an audience at a recent symposium¹² that Balanchine didn't think much of, quote, unquote, "interpretation¹³."

PETER MARTINS: He would say, don't act. Just dance. It's all in the choreography. You don't have to add artistry. I provide.

LUNDEN: Still, Makhar Vaziev, the Bolshoi's ballet director, says he's very excited to see how all three companies actually do interpret the choreography.

MAKHAR VAZIEV: The most important for me is Mr. B - Balanchine. He was genius, and that's why we're here.

LUNDEN: And audiences in New York can experience that genius when "Jewels" is performed by all three dance companies at Lincoln Center through the weekend.

(SOUNDBITE OF PERFORMANCE OF TCHAIKOVSKY'S "SYMPHONY NO. 3 IN D MAJOR")

LUNDEN: For NPR News, I'm Jeff Lunden in New York.

(SOUNDBITE OF COLUMBIA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PERFORMANCE OF STRAVINSKY'S "CAPRICCIO FOR PIANO AND ORCHESTRA")

1 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 rubies   

红宝石( ruby的名词复数 )； 红宝石色，深红色

参考例句：

• a necklace of rubies intertwined with pearls 缠着珍珠的红宝石项链
• The crown was set with precious jewels—diamonds, rubies and emeralds. 王冠上镶嵌着稀世珍宝—有钻石、红宝石、绿宝石。

4 watchful   

adj.注意的，警惕的

参考例句：

• The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。
• It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。

5 gem   

n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel

参考例句：

• The gem is beyond my pocket.这颗宝石我可买不起。
• The little gem is worth two thousand dollars.这块小宝石价值两千美元。

6 hips   

abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的

参考例句：

• She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
• They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 choreographed   

v.设计舞蹈动作( choreograph的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• There was some carefully choreographed flag-waving as the President drove by. 总统的车经过时，人们按精心编排的动作挥舞着旗帜。
• Achim had choreographed the dance in Act II himself. 阿希姆自己设计了第2幕的舞蹈动作。 来自辞典例句

8 choreographer   

n.编舞者

参考例句：

• She is a leading professional belly dancer, choreographer, and teacher. 她既是杰出的专业肚皮舞演员，也是舞蹈设计者和老师。 来自辞典例句
• It'stands aside, my choreographer of grace, and blesses each finger and toe. 它站在一旁，我优雅的舞蹈指导，并祝福每个指尖与脚尖。 来自互联网

9 conjures   

用魔术变出( conjure的第三人称单数 )； 祈求，恳求； 变戏法； （变魔术般地） 使…出现

参考例句：

• The word 'birthday' conjures up images of presents and parties. “生日”这个词使人想起礼物和聚会的情景。
• The name Sahara conjures up images of a desert of aridity. "撒哈拉"这个名字使人想起干旱的沙漠情景。

10 grandeur   

n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华

参考例句：

• The grandeur of the Great Wall is unmatched.长城的壮观是独一无二的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place.这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

11 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

12 symposium   

n.讨论会，专题报告会；专题论文集

参考例句：

• What have you learned from the symposium?你参加了这次科学讨论会有什么体会？
• The specialists and scholars present at the symposium come from all corners of the country.出席研讨会的专家学者们来自全国各地。

13 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。