Yesterday started with another ballet class, different teacher and this time the intermediate/advanced class. It was much more intermediate than it was advanced, but a nice challenging and small class. The teachers here all are very aware if you are a new student. When I told him I was from LA, he immediately asked about LA Ballet. Before heading back, I stopped at Taste Coffee House for lunch and had a pretty good crepe. As I was getting bundled for the walk back, who comes walking down the street but The Flash! Grown man with full head-to-toe red outfit with the wings on the head and the fake muscles. Walking with a normally dressed man. Going to get something at the coffee shop. Very interesting.
In the afternoon, I took the subway into downtown to meet Julie for dinner and the ballet. We chose a place called Teatro the night before, based on menu (Italian) and mosaic ceiling. It's located right off the Common and very close to the theatre. We had a very nice dinner (prosciutto and fig appetizer, linguine with crab meat, tiramisu) and I had a wonderful chance to catch up with Julie one-on-one, which is a rare treat! The ballet was performing a repertory of Paquita, 2 new pieces and Jorma Elo's version of Carmen. Paquita is a ballet I've always wanted to see because the variations come up a lot but it's rarely performed. It's really a combination of groups of dances, duets, trios, eights, just strung together for entertainment. The story is fairly unimportant (something about a gypsy girl discovering she's noble). The dancing is very nice. The two premiers are beautiful, very different. The first is much more balletic, very romantic and sensual, completely captivating. The second is much more modern but also engrossing, beautifully done. I enjoyed the Carmen, although they did not provide a complete synopsis and so I kept getting confused as to who was who. The men's costumes looked like pajamas to me, and did not differentiate the 2 main characters very well. The music helped (it's a modern version based on and using themes from the original). The principal ballerina, Lorna Feijoo, was amazing. Some parts of the ballet are so beautifully choreographed and the company really did a great job with it. All in all, a great way to end my Boston visit.
Today, D and I took a walk with Boo through the local woods in the morning and then headed downtown. We planned to have lunch in Chinatown before he dropped me off at the train station. We found a new dim sum place to try (Winsor) and had a great lunch (they do a nice xiao long bao, soup dumplings).
When I got to NY, I walked out onto the street and immediately was struck by the energy in this place. Wilson and Ming live a few blocks from Penn station. Walking down 7th Ave to their loft I'm struck by the variety of people and activity happening in such a small area. There really is no city like this. Ming wasn't feeling well, so I had a nice dinner with Wilson and a chance to catch up. We headed out afterwards to the Shake Shack where I got a frozen custard for dessert. I've got a jam packed weekend here. The past week in Boston was a really great, quiet and relaxing time. I'm ready to jolt myself back to explore NY this weekend.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment