At the ballet

Today was the first performance of the new season of Pacific Northwest Ballet. I went with Endless Weekend, as we have done for years, and it was an almost perfect day.  One ballet was a Balanchine classic with bright white tutus that surely delighted these two little girls.  The other two were made by French choreographer Benjamin Millepied, and they were wonderful.  Totally different from each other and yet sharing a unique sensibility, they are the first of his dances we have seen and we loved them.

I was about 8 years old when I saw my first live ballet.  My mother, my older sister and I went with my aunt and cousins.  We were seated at the very top of the Family Circle in the old Metropolitan Opera House, which banked at about a 60 degree angle and was terrifying to climb.  Our seats were so far to the left that I could see the dancers in the wings getting ready to go on, which I found thrilling.  It was Giselle danced by Dame Alicia Markova - glorious. Seven years passed before I had the opportunity to go again.  After that I went whenever I could scare up the money and I took Endless Weekend with me as soon as she was old enough.  We've shared many wonderful ballet memories.

The extra is a shot of the gift shop at the Opera House.