Epiphany

The San Francisco Ballet 'Nutcracker'
A magical scene and triumph of theatrical effects, a snowstorm which transformed the dancers into translucent and delicate flakes.


I have had a minor epiphany over the last few days of the holiday. I trawled through the TV listings for something good to watch, something other than 'reality' TV, which I loathe with a passion.

It was difficult to find anything that I really wanted to see, and which caught my imagination, until I came upon numerous ballet productions. Two versions of The Nutcracker, one from the San Francisco Ballet, and another from the Birmingham Royal Ballet, and a performance of David Bintley's new Romeo and Juliet, music by Prokoviev.

I watched the first Nutcracker and was immediately transported into the fantastic world of perfection and make-believe. I had forgotten how much I adore classical ballet, it's perfect fluency, it's all encompassing use of body discipline combined with effortless beauty. When I lived and worked in London I went to the ballet almost more than to the opera ! I found it so pleasingly relaxing, and the symmetry always gave me such a sense of completeness.

My shock, as a young woman in my early 20's when I took a school party to the ballet at Covent Garden, as the first dancers appeared and the distinctive thwack of the ballerina's block shoes resonated throughout the theatre, was very real ! For a full 20 minutes all I could hear was that tap tapping, even over the orchestra. As performances went on in my life I quickly got used to the sound and simply forgot about it in the thrill of the moment !

My small epiphany was when I realised that had I been given the choice about which of the fine arts I would have chosen to follow (had I been able of course!) it would, without a moments' hesitation, have been the ballet. My statuesque physicality, and love of good food would have never allowed this choice for real, but my heart is a slim, supple, light as a feather torso with tendencies towards starvation!

Wow ! Had my genes been more co operative, my blog may have been called 'Ballet Teaching in Paradise' !

Come on ladies - anyone for an Arabesque...........................