Monday, November 8, 2010

Heartbreaking, breathtaking....

On Friday night my little sister and I got dressed up and I tottered in the high-heeled shoes I wore to my senior Formal to the Boston Opera House for the second night performance of Boston Ballet's La Bayadère.  Those who know me know that I love ballet, and this was honestly the best performance I have ever seen.
The ballet tells the story of Nikiya, the temple dancer, and her doomed love for a soldier.  Chaos ensues, including a poisonous snake hidden in a basket of flowers, cat fights (including an attempt to stab the princess with what looked like a letter opener), and the most thrilling fourth act of all time.  Seriously, all the women in the Company had to be on stage then, doing the exact same thing, slowly climbing into their arabesques.  Absolutely beautiful.
Ursula and I had seats in the fourth row (!), which was absolutely incredible.  We both cried when (spoiler alert) Nikiya died, and watched in wonder when one woman spent about five minutes entirely en pointe.  Also, when the shirtless men came out.  That was most definitely a high point in the ballet, and not just because they were wearing practically nothing.  Because they were leaping higher than I previously believed possible for a human being.  Also because they were really hot.
We celebrated my father's birthday on Sunday with cassoulet and bread pudding... an excellent end to the weekend.
How was your weekend?  Did you do anything spectacular?  If you live around Boston, do you plan on going to the ballet?  You should!

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