Week Three: I See an Innovative Ballet

Okay, so three weeks into this blog and I’ve already done three pretty interesting things. The last, on Saturday, was a trip to the Mirriam Theater in Philly to see the Pennsylvania Ballet perform Classic Innovations. This was contemporary ballet, and I haven’t been to any ballet, no less a contemporary one, in quite a few years.  So this definitely fit my “Do Something Different Criteria.”  But to begin with, I worried. I thought I might not like it. I thought I might be bored. I was concerned that my attention span would almost certainly be challenged.  As usual, I worried unnecessarily. (Worry is mostly unnecessary, if you think about it.)

The performance consisted of three dances with breaks of about 10-minutes in between, and thus,  it proved a perfect fit for my attention span. I can happily report that I wasn’t bored even one time. I was, in fact, transfixed through most of it–the choreography was intriguing, the costuming was different and I loved the music. What’s more, it was such an interesting mix of classic ballet skill combined with more contemporary themes and movements that I found myself concentrating the entire time.  It turned out to be the perfect performance for someone who doesn’t know that much about dance. Here’s an interesting quote I read about it afterward:

“People who don’t know much about ballet, think they may not like it, this the program for you — a great entre into the art form to kind of get a sense of what dance is all about.”

That’s from Marissa Montenegro, public relations manager for the Pennsylvania Ballet who also said: “It’s a little more relaxed and comfortable, and you really get to appreciate the athleticism of our dancers and the amazing physical feats that they can accomplish. This is a sport as well as a beautiful art form.”

I was surprised to learn afterward that the dances were not newly minted, but were created between 10 and 23 years ago. It left me wishing that I could see it a second time, I’m sure I’d get even more out if it if I did. Won’t happen. For one thing, it’s no longer showing. For another, well, what are the chances I even got there once?

I actually went at the suggestion of my very good friend, Beth, who I haven’t seen since last spring, and who, in the spirit of doing something different, I contacted by email to say “Let’s get together.” And, amazingly, that very weekend, she had free time and so did I. So, the best thing about my experiences was: I got to see a great friend, eat a delicious lunch at Garces Trading Post (I didn’t bring reading glasses so I’m not sure what kinds of vegetables were in my sandwich,  but it was good), and it was dreary and raining and very February outside and I had a terrific day.