That promise was delivered Nov. 1 with a flawlessly executed event that ushered the record-setting crowd out of reality and into a decadent fantasy land.
Saturday, November 08, 2014
Pittsburgh Ballet's beautiful Pointe in Time Ball wows guests
That promise was delivered Nov. 1 with a flawlessly executed event that ushered the record-setting crowd out of reality and into a decadent fantasy land.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
It's always good to see such focus, time, and energy being put towards dance patronage. I think Pittsburgh Ballet's intimate, yet refined and well executed approach to this ball was excellent. I think the proximity (whether intended or not) between the dancers and patrons really introduced a real, visceral, human element that ballet is so often cited as lacking. The warm fairytale atmosphere also invited appreciation and interaction with the teasers and the performing dancers; far too often events like these portray the dancers as cold, aloof idols.
I wish there was more pictures of the performance but I suppose the socialite's photos are more profitable. I recognized Richard Rauh towards the end! In the first image, the warm amber curtain in the background looks like it is projected on, creating a nice dimensional backdrop for the cool colors of the lighting and costumes. It could just be the light from a window behind the curtain but I don't think it is. The costumes are very beautiful, especially the Beast's the attention to texture and pattern is exquisite. Of course the Pittsburgh Ballet is a very upstanding organization, so I would expect such a well-done preview at an event like this. However, I do believe at less-professional organizations previews like this may not have the same level of finish which is a disservice to the organization and the donors.
The closest I think I can come to say I’ve seen ballet was when I was able to see Riverdance, but that’s tap, or Billy Elliot. I think it’s the gracefulness of it, or the elegance with which it is done in all of its perfection makes it soothing and puts me to sleep. It’s either that, the orchestra, or the rare case of lack of sleep. Still haven’t seen the Nutcracker in all of its entirety. Being for the most part deaf in one ear, makes me more attentive to seeing what is going on in my surroundings. This ballet séance I’m sure would have been a great performance to go to, and I’m sure one day I might go see a ballet being performed, but it’s not today. This particular event looked more like a private booking, and probably wouldn’t be too open to having a good looking guy like me there, except for the right price of course. Sometimes you’ve just got to be in the right mood, and just go for it.
The nature of ballet is very interesting to me. It is very much about formality and grand gestures, in a similar way to the opera world. However, coming from a traditional theatre background, this can be a starkly different experience. There is a lot of time and effort spent on the grandeur of the shows and events. This ball, for example, is probably one of their biggest events of the year. Attendees really care and pay attention to how extravagant it is. Watching people who have been immersed in dance culture for a long time, it becomes evident that this is standard. Theatres have fundraisers, and they host events, but not as much money is put into them as you see with dance - particularly ballet. I would be interested to see how the financial statements for events such as these, both in money spent and money earned, compared in a standard size company from both worlds.
Post a Comment