Cultural Experience

I took the girls to the ballet tonight.  Actually it was more than the ballet.  It was like a one-stop-culture shop.

The kids' babysitter is a student at our city's dance conservatory.  Tonight she was part of a performance.  Besides the time and place, that's all the info I had.  So the girls and I darted out once Callie got home from school.  The performance was on the other side, but we made it just in time.

It turns out that it was an evening of performances from several (almost all university) different conservatories.  So it started out with the symphony.  It was absolutely beautiful!   It was the most fun to watch the girls scoot to the edge of their seats as the music intensified and then relax once it softened.

There was also a jazz portion, two very different types of traditional music ensembles, a huge choir, two opera performances, and finally it ended with our sweet babysitter's ballet.

See what I mean?!  Get all your culture in one night!

The girls LOVED it.  I was shocked they were able to stay awake for the entire thing!  They were starting to yawn and fade a bit toward the end of the symphony performance.  Lucy said to me, "this music makes me want to sleep!"  But I bought them cookies at intermission and that bolstered them right on through to the end!

I'll be the first to admit that I don't love the city.  But as I sat there with my girls, I couldn't help but think that it does have its benefits.  Fantastic, free cultural events being one of the main ones!