Kirov ‘Jewels’ reviews all ‘Jewels’ reviews Lopatkina in reviews Tsiskaridze in reviews all Kirov reviews

In "Emeralds" Veronika Part, who was a gorgeous Lilac Fairy earlier on in the week, was heart-meltingly beautiful as the second ballerina. She illuminated Balanchine's choreography with her luscious arms and epaulement. At the end of her pas de deux she seemed to be drifting on the clouds in that long series of walk on pointe. The two cavaliers were less impressive, but Anton Korsakov shone in the pas de trois with his clean airy jumps.

"Rubies" was danced with an abundance of energy by a superlative cast. Diana Vishneva repeated her electrifying performance last year with a new partner this time - the Bolshoi star Nikolai Tsiskaridze. Vishneva danced as if this ballerina role had been created by Balanchine for her, executing with flair all the witty off-centred and turned-in steps, with her glowing legs and very loose hip-joints. It was a truly stellar performance. And what a bonus it was to see Tsiskaridze who had to miss the Stars of the Bolshoi's Drury Lane season last month due to injury. Tsiskaridze had a dazzling virtuosity and a charimsa.

"Diamonds" was no less sumptuous. Uliana Lopatkina was divine and her dancing sang with true feelings. What a wealth of emotions she led us through in the pas de deux. It was a transcendant performance. Igor Zelensky danced gloriously as her cavalier.

The whole company danced "Jewels" with such relish that I hope that more Balanchine masterpieces will be acquired by the Kirov in future. All credit to the Kirov's Balanchine repetiteur Yuri Fateev for keeping the Balanchine repertory so alive and fresh. I wish though that the finale of "Diamonds" could have been taken at a faster tempo.

I saw further performances over the weekend with some rewarding cast changes. Irina Golub was a joyous "Rubies" ballerina, while Daria Pavlenko had the right mysterious allure as the second soloist. In "Emeralds" the handsome Andrian Fadeyev was a most elegant first cavalier partnering Zhanna Ayupova and Maya Dumchenko in different casts. And Veronika Part showed promise as the "Diamonds" ballerina.

I have no doubt that Balanchine himself would have been pleased by these performances, if he had seen them from heaven!

There were two more performances of "Jewels" in the third week of the season. Svetlana Zakharova was truly splendid as the "Diamonds" ballerina, strongly partnered by Danila Korsuntsev. Her dancing was richly nuanced. Anton Korsakov was brilliant as the "Rubies" soloist, and also danced delightfully in the pas de trois in "Emeralds" with his light and airy jumps. Irina Golub was a vibrant "Rubies" ballerina.