Rubies

When George Balanchine created his abstract ballet Jewels, he imbued each of the acts—“Emeralds,” “Rubies,” and “Diamonds”—with a specific style. Carolina Ballet is kicking off its twenty-first season with the sassiest of those acts, opening the curtain on 2019-20 with “Rubies,” a thrilling mix of striking, sensual lines, crisp angles, and lightning-fast footwork set to Igor Stravinsky’s “Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra.” The only work by the oft-nicknamed “Father of American Ballet” on the company’s docket this year, it’s the perfect bite-size Balanchine. Key hallmarks of the choreographer include quick, jazzy steps and syncopated rhythms, and the piece showcases both with white-hot energy. Plus, a trio of other works will also be performed, including a new creation by Robert Weiss and Zalman Raffael set to music by Shinji Eshima; Weiss’s “Meditation from Thais” pas de deux; and Weiss’s Classical Ballet, which is set to a lively Prokofiev piece.