#67 Ballet

With work and school and all the other little things I’ve been squeezing into my free time, I haven’t been working on my 101 in 1001 list much, however attending a ballet other than the nutcracker was one of my items and I’m excited to say that it’s been accomplished!  This is not to say that we won’t be going to another one again soon but at least I can feel like I’m making progress on that list!

Friday night Mr. C took me to the ballet.  Well, I asked him to take me but nevertheless, he took me!  Last year we went to our first ballet together and I loved it.  He fought falling asleep due to the lullaby type music and the fact that the lights were off, but told me he enjoyed the parts he was lucid for.  I do have to admit that I dozed a little during the Nutcracker last year due to the extreme sleep deprivation that always occurs around Christmas time but I caught 90% of it!  Even with the falling asleep, I was very excited that we made it.  Mr. C is pretty willing to go anywhere that’s really important to me and for that I am greatly appreciative.  With our crazy schedules lately it was great to have date night be something out of the ordinary.

We had planned a nice dinner but by the time I got home from work it ended up being a little later than planned and we didn’t have time for our first choice.  We ended up eating a quick dinner at Pei Wei which was still pretty delicious.  Every time we go downtown I’m reminded of why realistically living in the city would not be for me.  I had a period of time that I was convinced I should move to Chicago.  I looked at lofts online and dreamed about living in the heart of the city.  I told Mr. C that we should move and he told me he was cool with that.  I think he knew that it was just another one of my ideas that would fall through soon (which it basically did).  While I still think this would be amazing in some ways, I also know how frustrated I would be with traffic, not having much space, and the noise.  I still love being in the city atmosphere though and even though Phoenix isn’t like many other cities, I do enjoy going downtown from time to time. 

After shelling out $12 for parking we went to will-call to get the tickets.  Of course our name was spelled wrong so we made our way through a couple of lines before actually finding our tickets.  We had to wait awhile before taking our seats so we enjoyed some people watching.  Mr. C is pretty quiet in his people watching but I tend to narrate my every thought.  There was this couple we spotted in the parking lot and they were just plain WEIRD.  The guy was super tall, well built, and had on a suit.  He was pretty good looking but something about him was just strange.  The girl was crazy short, round, and had on a shirt that looked like she had robbed several sequin stores to make.  They walked arm in arm and at first I thought the guy was gay and the girl was just very attached to her gay friend, however I soon learned that was not the case when she placed her hand in a certain spot.  Mr. C enjoyed a delightful ten minutes or so of my narration about this strange couple.  There was actually another couple a few feet away from us also trying to get the scoop on them.  Here’s an excerpt for you of my delightful narration skills.  

Me: OMG that’s that couple again.

Me: So what do you think their story is?

Me: They’re together right? Like together-together?

Mr. C: Yes, I think so

Me: Are you sure because it’s just plain weird.  What’s up with the arm thingie?
Mr. C: I don’t know (mumbled).

Me: Are you sure they’re together?  OMG she just grabbed his butt.  I think that’s affirmative.

Me: Do you think they’re married?

Me: Can you see a ring?
Me: Look for a ring!

Me: Ooooo, he has a ring.

Me: Oh my gosh, she has a ring.  Wow, they’re totally married. 

Me: Do you see it, do you see the ring?  WOW!

Me: Isn’t this crazy?

Mr. C: Uh-huh.

Me: Ok he’s drinking a tiny cup of espresso.  That’s totally weird, right?

This was about the time where we could take our seats.

We had fairly good seats which was great because we barely bought the tickets on Thursday.   The guy in front of me was super tall which worried me for awhile because I couldn’t see a thing.  Luckily the seats next to us were empty so I ended up being able to see perfectly.  The ballet was A Midsummer’s Night Dream.  I read the synopsis before the ballet began but it seemed like everyone was in love with someone else and it got a little confusing at times.  Even though I was confused at times it was still wonderful.  It amazes me to watch the dancers glide on the stage.  The ease with which they jump makes it look like at times they are on a trampoline.  Every movement was perfectly timed.  I can barely remember the actions to dumb dances like the Macarena so it always impresses me when I think about all the practice that went into each movement in order to make everything look so effortless and put together.  There were a bunch of little girls, maybe 8 years old or so that appeared throughout and I was amazed at how good they were for such a young age.  My niece is a dancer and a pretty good one at that so I thought of her during the performance as I saw all those dancers twirling around.

The night was great and I’m so glad we made it to a different performance.  Next month is the Nutcracker which I’m very excited about!  We found out about half-price tickets an hour before the show so we’re planning to make it to the February ballet now as well.  I'm making progress on the list!