Dance gem set to sparkle

In the second section, Rubies, the choreographer chose Russian-American composer Igor Stravinsky's jazz-inflected Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra as the music. In Diamonds, the final section, Balanchine looks back on his Russian roots through Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 3 in D major, Op.29.

Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Balanchine (1904-1983) studied ballet and music in Russia before moving to the United States, where he co-founded the School of American Ballet in 1934. In 1946, he co-founded the New York City Ballet, where he served as artistic director.

"In the full-length ballet, each section stands on its own. The choreographer brings out the best quality of the dancers with Jewels. In this work, dancers never have to hold back and they are encouraged to be themselves," say Diana White, former soloist with the New York City Ballet, who is in Beijing to work with Chinese dancers as the repetiteur on the last section of the work, Diamonds.