March 5th and it's still winter. Serious winter. March is in like a lion. A freezing lion with big chattering teeth. It was -16 degrees Celsius today, -26 with the wind chill. When it's that cold, your face starts hurting after a couple of minutes outside. And when it's that cold, you die after a few hours outside. Last night it was snowing when I went to bed, but I was relieved to see that the driveway didn't need shoveling this morning.
Bill and I went to see the Joffrey Ballet on Saturday night. The performance was lovely. One piece, in particular, "After the Rain", was breathtaking. There was an audible gasp from the audience as it ended, so taken were we with its beauty. The last piece, "Age of Innocence", was inspired by life as described in the works of Jane Austen. I just about laughed out loud when the dancers appeared, though. The women wore flowing white dresses, with empire waists. The men, however, seemed to have forgotten their pants. They were outfitted in sleeveless, panelled white vests and what looked like sheer white Calvin Klein briefs. Shorty shorts, if you will. You're probably thinking that I am very lacking in culture and a proper appreciation for the arts, and that I should just grow up: it's a ballet costume, after all. So, please remember me saying that the performance was lovely. ...but the costumes did distract me, briefly. No pun intended. They were hot pants, really, and hot pants did not exist at the time of Jane Austen, as far as I know, though I'm no Austen scholar. Now, I have no problem with skimpy dance costumes (except on me), but the combination was a bit jarring, esthetically. The women's costumes were a deft, subtle nod to Austen attire, but the men's made it seem as though a group of 21st century Calvin Klein models had appeared on the set of Pride and Prejudice. Disconcerting. Later in the piece the ballerinas later wore shorter skirts, so my esthetic anguish was eased somewhat. Everything was short and skimpy.
Anyway, judge for yourself. Or, be a better person than I and just drink in the beauty and be astonished by the talent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uItGO9PHd0c&noredirect=1
After the ballet, I got to thinking how unfair it is that inflexible people are so excluded from the world of ballet, and dance, in general. We should be allowed to grace the stage and express ourselves through dance, too...for money and glory! I shall start my own company of inflexible dancers. I'll call it "Ballet de l'inflexible" People will marvel at how immobile our joints are!
