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
Rachel Howard February 11, 2021Updated: February 12, 2021, 7:13 am
The San Francisco Ballet in the world premiere of Myles Thatcher’s “Colorforms.” Photo: Ezra Hurwitz, San Francisco Ballet
Are audiences attracted by frenzied glamour and urgent escapism in these pandemic-beleaguered early days of 2021? That’s what San Francisco Ballet’s advertising has mostly served up, with tense music and all-caps headlines touting “world class ballet” brought to your living room.
Fortunately for those of us needing relief from such intensity, the mood is quite different in Myles Thatcher’s new ballet, “Colorforms,” which premieres as part of the Ballet’s digital Program 2 on Thursday, Feb. 11, and shoots off the screen like a ray of sheer, unforced pleasure.
San Francisco Ballet s online opening night could have been cause for concern. Dance does not record well; how diminished a thing is this going to be?
Would they be ready? Would the dancers be out of shape? Would their technique have gone ragged? Had they have lost stage presence? Show signs of strain? Would long-time favorites dancers still be here? Would they be wearing masks of forced gaiety? And also, will they answer the questions of diversity and inclusion?
Yes they were ready. Yes, we have a Black ballerina, Nikisha Fogo, who danced ravishingly. Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson left Ms. Fogo s dancing to prove itself as the climax of the evening; but he set out to answer the readiness question immediately.