Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Date night

On Monday Don and I did something we haven't done in three years: we went on a date. As he put it, we'll go on a date once every three years whether we need it or not.

The occasion for this date was the Moscow Ballet coming to Spokane to perform The Nutcracker. Don knows how much I adore ballet (I used to be a serious dancer, many years and many pounds ago), and although the art form doesn't ring his chimes, he loves me enough to accompany me to an occasional performance. This is why I'm crazy about the man.

We started our evening at a Japanese restaurant. We've been to this restaurant on a few other occasions (in fact, on our previous dates) and enjoy it very much. It's a small hole-in-the-wall place which, we learned, is the oldest authentic Japanese restaurant in the region. It's been open since 1946.


It's not fancy -- linoleum floors and Formica tables -- but the food is superb and the staff is charming.


They have lovely little tea rooms apart from the restaurant portion. At 5 pm on a Monday night, the place was deserted.



After dinner, we made our way to the Bing Crosby Theater several blocks away.


The Moscow Ballet is a touring company and is on the road constantly. This bus is their moving dormitory. The semi truck barely visible in front presumably transports their costumes and props.


The performance was held at the Bing Crosby Theater, a beautifully-refurbished movie theater from the old glory days. I'd never been in this theater before and it's lovely. Just about the first thing you see is a ramp leading up to the balcony level.


Beguiled by the beauty of the building (and because we arrived at the theater early), we wandered upstairs. From the second floor, the stairs became pierced metal spiral stairs that led to a lounge on the third level.


We wandered up to the fourth story and peered down the stairwell.


But the refurbishment stopped at this floor. We saw another stairwell in battered condition...


...with peeling paint on the ceiling. If this is what they had to start with, then the refurbishers are to be commended for their brilliant work.


The inside of the theater.




Since it was a movie theater, the stage was very tiny for a full-scale ballet, and the dancers were challenged to work within very confined spaces. Frankly I don't know how they did it, but they did.

First act with the party scene. Naturally I didn't use a flash, so forgive the blurriness.


We agreed the man who played Herr Drosselmeyer bore a striking resemblance to the actor Bill Murray.


The doll. Amazing dress.



Dance of the Snowflakes. This is normally a very grand dance, and the corps did an excellent job considering their limited space.



During the intermission, a long-suffering ballerina was available to take pictures (at $20 each). She was the soul of patience.


The second act opened with a pas de deux called the Dove of Peace. Each dancer wore one wing and it was lovely.



The pairs from the Land of the Sweets.


Spanish variation.


French variation. Because there were more "poses" during this dance, I was able to get some fairly clear shots.




Arabian variation. These dancers were amazing and athletic. In these shots, the male dancer is lying on the stage and supporting the female dancer as she, flat as a board, descended almost to the ground.


The sheer muscular strength required of both dancers was astounding. The audience burst into applause when they did this.



Russian variation. Unfortunately this couple was moving too fast to get any clear shots.



The Waltz of the Flowers. I've never seen this dance with men -- usually it's a corps of all women -- but I think the troupe didn't have room for the full contingent. Either way it was excellent.



The grande pas de deux. Normally this is danced by the Sugarplum Fairy, but in this variation it was danced by Clara (called Masha in the Russian version) and the Nutcracker.




Finale.


Bows.


Altogether it was a wonderful performance. Because they were performing on such a small stage as well as being a touring ballet, they didn't have the large number of performing children traditionally associated with The Nutcracker. But they made up for it with beautiful choreography, superb dancing, and breathtaking costumes. Wonderful time!

10 comments:

  1. I agree if that was what they had to work with the refurbishment was superbly done. I never really liked either opera or dance years ago. I guess my horizons have opened up as I got older. Once I could just treat the voice as another instrument rather than words that had meaning it opened up my horizons!

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  2. AH! Almost like being there!! Thanks for sharing your wonderful date with us!!

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  3. Sigh... envious, that looks lovely! I love a refurbished theater, there is something so grand about all the corbels and velvet curtains, it just adds to the experience! What fun, thanks for sharing with us!

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  4. How great you had a date, whether you needed to go on one or not, to paraphrase Don! And to the ballet to see the Nutcracker! I took my daughter on a "date" to see the Moscow Ballet perform The Nutcracker, in wild west windy city of Gillette WY. It seems so long ago!
    sidetracksusie

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  5. Oh my, what a lovely evening you had! Love the dolls dress! I really appreciate costuming for dance or theater. Making it lovely is one thing...but add in the needed functionality and it gets much harder!
    Thank you for the *after action* report, lol!

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  6. Thank you for sharing. Date nights are so important to a happy marriage we have been enjoying date nights in our 44 years of marriage. When the children left home our faithfulness in dating kept us close so we did not have a hard time with empty nest. I enjoyed the ballet through your eyes.

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  7. Wow!! Way to go Don, you devil you. There's nothing like
    Japanese food, a good ballet and a major babe.

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  8. Outstanding stuff, Patrice. Thank you. Beautiful colors and outstanding athleticism.

    That there redundant feller....he's a keeper, ain't he?? ;)

    A. McSp

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  9. Are you going to continue your Survival Mom podcasts elsewhere? You are/were my most favorite podcast host on her site and now that she's shutting it down, I'm hoping you'll continue to do podcasts elsewhere. PLEASE! :) Your blog is great, but you have some serious podcast talent! Plus I love a good podcast while I'm doing other things, whereas a blog I have to drop everything to read. ;)

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  10. A night out at "Suki Yuki" and The Bing. Perfect date. Recently spent our 33rd wedding anniversary date at The Bing. Attended the Banff Film Festival world tour. Then a late night snack at Neato Burrito.

    -Dave

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