NYCB Vol. 19 No. 2 - Jewels, Rubies
“If there was any single part of Jewels that turned it into a smash hit, it was the pas de deux in Rubies. You simply don't know what extraordinary thing is going to happen next in this encounter between the frolicsome lass and her virile partner. One second, she's plunging forward with all her weight, so that her face touches the floor. Next second, she's in a backbend. One second, she stands upright on pointe. The next, she's practically sitting on the floor, with one leg thrust in front of her, then the other. There are moments of respite from the precariousness, when the couple slinks forward and back (another variation on the leisurely balancé that opens Diamonds) or tries out a bit of social dancing. Then they're back at their cantilevered tricks again, defying the central axis on which mortals usually move.
“Stravinsky's thumping piano adds exclamatory force, and sometimes a bit of lowdown and dirty humor, which Balanchine picks up in the passage where the man rocks his lady side to side, a little forward and back, while she's in a deep plié in second position, straddling his leg. It's one of the simpler moves in the duet, yet utterly arresting for its combination of sexiness and humor. That wide second position of hers makes you smile because there's something ungainly about it, but a good Rubies dancer carries it off with aplomb.
“I remember well the first years of Rubies, when one watched the duet with bated breath and open mouth. It seemed the apotheosis of acrobatic bravura with a tinge of elegance coming from McBride's delicately held fingers and queenly trots around the stage, like a Lipizzaner. Villella's mix of virility and charm was his unique gift. But I think the due's general loss of heat has to do with technique. McBride and Villella gave every movement and the split-second transitions between them complete articulation. They danced their hearts out. There was no holding back. McBride once said that shed jump off a bridge for Balanchine. In Rubies she did, and bounced right back.”
—Balanchine Variations by Nancy Goldner
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