Getting Our Culture On

Somehow, I convinced my husband to see a ballet with me today. I was surprised that he said yes...especially since it was the ballet of Romeo and Juliet. The dancing was pretty amazing. Someone like me who often trips on her own shoes walking down a straight sidewalk will always be amazed at the coordination of the performers. And their grace. And they way they flip and lift each other in the air.

I never really had a thing for ballet dancing. It usually seemed boring to me. Well....there was that one time in first grade when I was convinced I wanted to be a ballerina. My mom enthusiastically signed me up for lessons. On the first day, I saw all the little girls in tutus lined up in a row by the ballet bar (no idea what it's called). Suddenly out of a seemingly innocent plastic bag, my mom pulled out a tutu, a pair of tights and slippers. She handed them to me. I glanced at the bubblegum pink, ruffly tutu and the lacey heart tights in shock and horror as if my mom was handing me the head of dead racoon. From that moment on, my dreams of becoming a ballerina were crushed...and shortly replaced with dreams of being a ninja turte.

Other than that one time, I never even thought of going to a ballet. But this weekend we both gave it a shot. In addition to the dancing, the music was amazing. So were the simple yet creative set designs. The entire time I was holding my breath- that my husband wouldn't hate me for taking him to this. With each romantic dance duet between Romeo and Juliet...they tended to drag on more than necessary, I stole glances at my husband hoping he wasn't asleep.

But at the end, my husband said he enjoyed it, and he sounded sincere. He even told me he wanted to buy the music because he liked it so much. I was pretty shocked. In fact, I almost get the sense that he enjoyed it more than I did (I miss plays with dialogues and song lyrics). Then again, I might have enjoyed it a little more if I wasn't worried about him hating it.