“Emeralds” really came alive, however, with the buoyant pas de trois performed by Larissa Kiyoto-Ward, Katherine Sonnekus, and Drew Hedditch. The three sprung about the stage with equal parts vigor and grace, etching the ballet’s old-world glamour in plain view. Kiyoto-Ward and Sonnekus in particular made me gasp; the bravery of their balances pared with the delicacy of their port de bras struck a strong chord. Above all, the women’s exits stood out. Each time they disappeared into the wings, they took with them a bit of the past which “Emeralds” permits us to experience once more. It was painful to watch them go. 

“Rubies”, unfortunately, fared less well. The ballet begins with the dancers standing in a V formation (like a jewel) and balancing en pointe. Meant to be an exhilarating opening followed by even more thrilling dancing, it proved the apex of the act. Once the tableau sprung into motion, the dancers looked oddly stiff and, at times, downright awkward. Many of “Rubies” signature moves- thrusting pelvises, kicks which could impale you- were so subdued as to be almost absent. In the previous intermission, I had run into the effervescent New York City Ballet soloist Emma Von Enck; I couldn’t help but wish she would jump onstage and liven things up.

The third act, “Diamonds”, is both the grandest and the most widely performed as a stand-alone ballet. At its center is a pas de deux originated by Suzanne Farrell and Jacques D’Amboise, two iconic Balanchine dancers who will forever inspire comparisons in the roles. Farrell in particular is impossible not to miss. Even for those of us too young to have caught her performances, her mark is everywhere — as is Balanchine’s well-documented romantic obsession with her. The pas de deux reflects the ultimate unrequitedness of this love: the ballerina continually evades her partner’s grasp, running from him and putting large swathes of distance between them.