I went to the ballet last night. Yes! I am cultured! I have wanted to go to the ballet ever since I came to Melbourne, but the ballet only … dances? for about a week and a half before disappearing into the mist. Gracefully. And that timeframe is WAY too short for my indecisive self:
Day 2 of Ballet Season: Find out about the ballet. Oooh! The ballet. I’d like to go.
Day 5: Remember the ballet. Ask Mr. T if he’d like to go. His response? “HELL no.”
Day 8: Remember the ballet again. Email a friend to ask if she’d like to go. She would, but has no money.
Day 9: Remember the ballet again. Text-message another friend to ask if she’d like to go. She would, but will be interstate.
Day 13: Remember the ballet again. The season is over.
Is it any wonder I am uncultured? Surrounded! By heathens! So this time, when I found out The Sleeping Beauty was … being danced?, I managed to rouse myself and perform all the above steps in about 40 minutes. Hell. Nobody would go to the ballet with me. Damn them all. So I bloody well went on my own.
As my first ballet, I thought it was pretty good. The costumes were wonderful, the set design was lovely and there were a lot more male dancers than I thought there would be. However, and this is going to sound odd … there was a lot more dancing than I expected. As in, the storyline would call for a royal ball. The cast would dance. Then the princess would appear, and dance a solo. Then the prince would appear, and dance a solo. Then the princess would dance another solo. Then the prince. Then the princess. Then the prince. Then the princess. Then the entire cast, including the prince and princess. Then the princess would dance another solo. Then the prince. Then … you get the picture. To my uncultured self, it was like a dance-off. I will display a dazzling array of pirouettes and leaps! Then I will stand to the side, while you leap around the stage yourself! In lederhosen! Then you will return to your corner, and I will dance again! I guess this means I am more used to plays and (cough) musicals, where the storyline is given greater importance. I will know next time that when you go to the ballet, there will be dancing. A great deal of dancing. But I still don’t know who won the dance-offs.
Ohh another cultured individual!
I would’ve gone to the ballet with you… sadly We both live on different continents and hemispheres!
What I want to see is a Opera, I am thinking either Magic Flute or an Andrew Lloyed Webber production.
But for now I would stick to Plays and the occational music that I can afford to go to.
Music concerts are a big plus as well.