And Today My Thoughts on Russians

Tonight I saw the Bolshoi Ballet from Russia perform Le Corsaire at the Kennedy Center.

I never cease to be amazed at the Kennedy Center. The performance was not what I expected--though it never is at the KC. I was even surprised to be sitting in the Orchestra section. (I got lucky this time with the Attend discount) However, what really surprised me was how entertaining the show was. Of course a show should be entertaining, but this show was different. It was an "aha" moment when you find something that you've loved that's been missing.

Tonight's show was so fun! And so different from the other ballets that I've seen. I wondered why this was true. I'll accept the argument that maybe this show has a less depressing story. But I think there was more to it. I think my Russian ballet friends found a niche that the audience enjoyed: the show wasn't perfect. Who would have thought that imperfection could be so pleasing? Real people were enjoying their time on stage and presenting an exciting show for their audience. Each cast member connected with the audience so well. I could see their love of dancing.

But there were many other surprises during the show.

The men were completely clothed. Every time that I've seen a male solo from this ballet, the pirate men are depicted in loose pants and bare chested--sometimes with a feather or turban. These dancers could have come straight from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean. They wore long pants, manly skirts (not shown in the movie) and long shirts with vests. They also wore long haired wigs. It was so unique from other ballet productions where everyone wears minimal clothing.

Some of the choreography looked like folk dancing. I recognized the Russian styling from my folk dancing days at BYU. The program says the choreography was from Petipa, but that is so vague and any choreography as old as Petipa's is easily changed or adapted.

There was a fantastic shipwreck in the third act. The ship broke in half ON STAGE! It was incredible! I sat through the whole show wondering how they would stage that scene. I was surprised that they had presented a ship on stage and even more surprised when it actually split in half.

I saw American Ballet Theater a couple months ago and was truly impressed, but when I saw this performance, I felt inspired to get on my feet and dance again. Again, I must stress that tonight's show was not perfect. It was nonetheless inspiring.

beck

P.S. I'll be welcoming a group of all female international visitors from Russia in a couple weeks. I can't wait to tell them about my experience at the ballet.