"i was happy..."

"...at the ballet." so goes the line from a melancholy show tune. i don't know why, i guess i just feel clever when i use a quote or lyric for my post title. even if it's too obscure for most people to get. (anyway, despite the childhood hardships, the three women agree that "everything was beautiful, at the ballet," in the musical, "a chorus line").

as for the post... we went to a ballet. all four of us! it's not very often you get to take your kids, especially almost 6 and almost 3 year olds, to a ballet. well, we got to, and it was quite enjoyable.

the doorbell rang friday afternoon, and our next-door-neighbor explained that they had something come up, and they couldn't use the tickets they had, and wondered if we could use them, or knew someone who could. we're so grateful they thought of us! we were excited. i mean, my lovely wife and i both did a lot of theatre in school. in fact, that is how we met. obviously, we look forward for opportunities to share our passion for performing arts with our boys. unfortunately their ages, and my paycheck typically hinder such experiences.

this, however was ideal. it is fairly new ballet company that specializes in teaching. the average age of the dancers in this performance was 12! this was the second season of their original ballet of "the secret garden." it was to be a family event, and the tickets were for a matinee performance and everything. we figured we could dress up, go to the show, and then have dinner. you know, make a family date of it. only one problem...

our soon-to-be six-year-old, big h, had an invitation to a birthday party at the same time. no, our firstborn doesn't wear the pants in our house. but we wanted him to choose this, so he wouldn't resist, making a miserable time for all. it was a long conversation covering everything about the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one, how fun the ballet would be, how the birthday boy at the party isn't very nice to him at school, and finally, this is a one-time offer. he was convinced. he went. he had a great time. he said he was happy with his choice!

anyway, all dolled up in "sunday clothes," we headed for ogden. another plus for the whole event, was that the performance was at the beautifully restored peery's egyptian theater. as expected, big h got a kick out of the facade, and the details in the lobby. plus, the egyptian boasts one of only two known "atmospheric" ceilings in the country. that is, as show time approaches, the blue "sky" turns orange, and progresses through the purple and red of sunset, and has stars that appear as it gets dark. it's all designed as though the seats of the auditorium are in a courtyard in egypt. very fun!

well, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. the costumes were wonderful and colorful and fun. the sets were simple but beautiful and effective, (designed by my old scenic design professor!). the dancing was remarkable for the age of the dancers. it was all very well done. the boys both made it through. (with a good amount of play-by-play from us). it was quite different for them. a story, with no words!? just music, movement, costumes, and imagination!

so despite my worries about taking our young boys, "i was happy, at the ballet!"