“Russell Janzen and Sara Mearns danced with impeccable, understated grandeur in the “Diamonds” pas de deux… After they walked toward each other, meeting at the center of the stage with slow and steady steps, their bodies continued in a pattern of sweeping together and apart. They shaped movement — difficult balances and changes of direction with tricky partnering — with patience and ease, even as decorum slipped into sudden and surprising bursts of feeling. When Janzen finally dropped to a knee beside her and kissed her hand, she looked down at him in surprise — as if the action really was a surprise. Nothing felt premeditated, not even their tearful mid-show bow. “Jewels” may be referred to as a story-less ballet, but that has never seemed entirely true. Mearns and Janzen’s performance felt like proof that it’s not. There are unspoken stories in each ballet — streams of them — in which the dancers are not characters but heightened versions of themselves, using a language embroidered with steps, musicality and Balanchine’s way of highlighting precisely etched, unaffected dancing.” – The New York Times