NYCB Vol. 19 No. 1 - Jewels, Emeralds
“Drifting past us on air currents, rather than meter, Emeralds seems to happen partly out of view, as though a shifting cloud cover separates the dancers from the audience. The atmosphere is one of restraint. The two principal women hold their arabesques low, while the ensemble raises their legs not once. Lifts end in deep pliés, like sighs. The women swoon. They hold dialogues with themselves. All is quiet, sometimes hushed. Sometimes one dare not breathe, lest one violate the thick silence on stage. I am thinking especially of the most extraordinary part of Emeralds, the pas de deux for the Mimi Paul character and her cavalier, played in the first years by Francisco Moncion. All it is is a walk. The woman steps onto pointe slowly, reflectively, and self-absorbed. Although the couple walks arm in arm, she is unaware of him. We don't know what she is thinking, nor can we know. She moves in a cocoon. Several times the couple raises their arms and the woman her leg in upward notches, as though marking the passing of time or, perhaps, the inner, hidden pulse of Fauré's music. These relatively sharp moments interrupt the dream, but not for long. The couple resumes their walk, and at the conclusion of the dance they walk off the stage as they came on, spellbound.”
—Balanchine Variations by Nancy Goldner
WNET Dance in America 1978
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