Romeo, oh Romeo make way for the swans!

Xperience 86

How do you get 4 woman to dress up in high heels on a wintry night in the middle of the week, have them pay for their own tickets and drinks with not one word of bitching? Two words; Swan Lake.

Some people might roll their eyes, wander over to the fridge to get some beer while making jokes about men in tights and what not. Or my personal favourite from my dad, calling it Die Vrekkende Swaan (the Dying Swan) and naming a list of better cultural things to do, thank goodness my mom shares my interest in this one.

After my previous attempt to book ballet tickets and ending up at a strange version of Romeo & Juliette with some dancers in it, I made double sure this is the real deal. With men in tights – dancing – lots of women in white dresses – dancing – and the real music score by Pyotr Tchaikovsky – not dancing (well maybe in his grave).

Artscape was packed, we sipped our Zonnebloem and discussed every outfit walking past, also wondered what some of the men were promised by the women in their lives to see the ballet without complaining. But all of that was forgotten when the lights dimmed. The overture, played by the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, set the scene I breathed in and only let out during the interval.

I’m always blown away when I see a live music act or original art in a gallery. But nothing really prepares you when faced with a group of artists who spend their whole life on perfecting an arabesque, pas de deux, pirouette and a whole glossary of movements that’ll break any normal body. The fact that you can hear their toes (because that’s pretty much the only part of their bodies ever touching Mother Earth, or Mother Stage if you want) above the music, on the beat of the score amplifies the physical torture they’re putting their bodies through. But, as in things torturous, it was absolutely beautiful, worth every second of their training.

 

Romeo, oh Romeo, where for art thou ballet dancers??

Sometimes I don’t read a whole paragraph, only lightly drift through it to get the idea. Good when you are trying to save time or want to know when a fine is due. Not such a good idea when you are choosing a show to see.

I haven’t been to any theatre in a while and felt like going. While “shopping” on Artscape’s website I realise I haven’t seen a ballet since school.
It is completely impossible for me to keep quiet and I had to mention this to my friend and colleague sitting next to me. Kim’s never been to a ballet and right there we decide she needs to.
Back to the website and I insist I was on the ballet page. Romeo and Juliet… Described as a highly visual and entertaining piece with twelve dancers and a good choreographer.
See how I came to the conclusion?
We bought our tickets in a flash and diarised it.

Two days before I got the tickets and we discussed what we’re wearing (don’t you dare roll your eyes, this is important stuff).
Ballet day! After work we quickly change, complain about the rain when wearing open shoes and meet another friend for a quick drink and some snacks at Rick’s Cafe.
We could hardly wait to get there and was quite amazed how quiet the theatre was when we did. I checked the tickets again, we’re on time on the right night (phew), we order another glass of wine.
We find our seats, just as a group of teenagers take theirs about four rows behind us.
On the stage we can see some dancers waiting to start and we are soooo excited.
The intro plays, the dancers move and then…. talking!
Not rapping either, I mean serious Shakespeare talk. I look at Kim, she just as flabbergasted as me, all we could do was giggle away.
It was a wonderful night anyway, thanks to Leonardo and Claire we knew the story by heart. And even though Juliette’s father had a startling Jozi accent, it was not too bad.

But now I read the description slowly and with attention, who knows where we’ll end up next due to my hastiness…