“In a large practice studio inside Lincoln Center’s Koch Theater, Suzanne Farrell watches quietly as New York City Ballet principals Sara Mearns and Russell Janzen work through a series of supported poses. As Janzen kneels to face her, Mearns brushes through to croisé arabesque, extending her leg high behind her. ‘I wouldn’t penché there,’ says Farrell, gently. ‘You can, but I wouldn’t.’
‘I get so excited here,’ says Mearns with a laugh. The three are slowly working through the pas de deux of Diamonds, the ballet George Balanchine created on Farrell and Jacques D’Amboise in 1967 that makes up the third act of his full-length Jewels.