* Except if you saw it in 1967.
Violette Verdy’s uncannily efficient assistant Robin sent at my request a DVD of silent footage of Verdy’s performance in Emeralds. I’d heard about it and wanted to research the original cast. Verdy is dreamy and bacchic at the same time. A superb amalgam. In the finale, you can also see a few seconds of Mimi Paul. Stunning.
I’m not sure all this is at the Library for the Performing Art’s Dance Division although I have in the past seen some silent footage of Verdy’s performance there. Just in case, I’ve got permission from Robin to pass it on to the Dance Division.
Fast forward 47 years after the premiere: This week, Paul and Verdy are in Seattle, coaching Emeralds at the Pacific Northwest Ballet. PNB revives the complete Jewels later this month.
Also later this month, Paul goes to Indiana University, where Verdy is on the faculty, and together they will again work on Emeralds for a performance by the dance department.