The Ballet’s Feb. 1 performance was not perfect, but Helgi Tomasson’s last season opener unveiled a triple bill that began tentatively and ended full steam.
Rachel Howard March 31, 2021Updated: March 31, 2021, 7:24 pm
The San Francisco Ballet performs Balanchine’s “Emeralds.” Photo: Erik Tomasson
Stagers are the dance world’s unsung keepers of beauty, credited only in the program’s small print, but responsible for the nuances of gesture, style and manner that constitute a ballet’s soul. Elyse Borne last staged George Balanchine’s “Emeralds” for the San Francisco Ballet in December 2019 and died later that month. One long pandemic year later, the Ballet has recorded a fresh performance of “Emeralds,” following all COVID-19 safety protocols, and dedicated it to Borne’s memory.
Released online Thursday, April 1, the video is a tribute that would have made Borne and even Balanchine proud, and it’s a feast for Ballet fans hungry to see dancer debuts. Despite its baubles and glitter, “Emeralds” the opening ballet of Balanchine’s three-part “Jewels” has a complex inner depth that is fully