I have just received the renewal form in the mail for a
ballet subscription to the Kennedy Center 2015-2016 season. I also just saw the last ballet in the 2014-2015
season for which I had subscription tickets.
So now the question is should I renew?
I purchased the 2014-2015 subscription as a reward to myself
for completing my MBA program last summer.
I have always loved to dance and to watch others dance. I have seen many ballets performed by many
companies over the years. I have seen
several ballets at the Kennedy Center over the last decade. It seemed the perfect reward for all the hard
work that I had done over the prior two years.
So I purchased two tickets to each performance with the intent of using
the second to lure friends and family to come visit me in Virginia.
I actually really enjoy the Kennedy Center as a venue for
the ballet. It is easy to get to via
metro and a short walk or a short shuttle bus ride, so I do not have to worry
about driving and parking in the city.
There are a number of restaurants in the area, including two actually at
the Kennedy Center, to enjoy before or after the performance. There are almost always matinee performances
so I do not have to make it a late night.
The Opera House, which is where ballets are normally performed, is
spacious with decently comfortable seats, enough leg room, and good visibility
of the stage (at least compared to some theaters I have visited).
The 2014-2015 season of ballets was very enjoyable. Here is a very brief review of the ballets in
the season and my experience of each.
- The Suzanne Farrell Ballet – Mixed Repertoire
Program – I saw this one with my husband because I could not find anyone else
available that weekend. I enjoyed the
one act performance of Swan Lake, and I loved The Concert which is a very funny
performance. I did not enjoy the couple
of short pieces done to Stravinsky because I do not care much for the discordant
dances forced by his music.
- Ballet West – The Nutcracker – I saw this one
with my husband also. This was his
original choice when I offered him up his pick of performances. Ballet West’s version was a bit more humorous
than others, but overall not my favorite rendition of the holiday classic.
- Mariinsky Ballet – Mixed Repertoire Program – My
best friend from college came down to see this one with me. This was definitely one of my favorite
performances. The highlights of the
program were Le Spectre de la Rose which is dreamy and romantic, and Paquita
Grand Pas which is an amazing display of ballet technique. Mariinsky is one of the most talented
companies I have ever seen perform. Their
performances here were breathtaking, especially during the Paquita Grand Pas.
- American Ballet Theatre (ABT) – Cinderella – I took
my sister to this one. It is a humorous
variation of the fairy tale we all know and love. I very much enjoyed it. I have always had a soft spot for ABT due to
their spotlight in Center Stage (a teen movie I adored in my college years) although
I think most of the movie cast who were actual ABT members are no longer with
the company.
- New York City Ballet – Mixed Repertoire Program –
I was accompanied to this one by my cousin, a fellow ballet lover and subscription
holder for The Pennsylvania Ballet Company.
We saw the 20th Century Classics program which included Serenade,
Agon, and Symphony in C. Serenade was my
favorite because the dancing was very emotional, and the costumes were designed
to carry the movement of the piece. Agon
was my least favorite because it is again set to a Stravinsky piece.
- Scottish Ballet – A Streetcar Named Desire – I went
to this one on my own because I could not find anyone to go with me. Of all the ballets on the program, I was the
most excited to see this one. It did not
disappoint. It was based on the play by
Tennessee Williams. They did an
incredible job of telling the story and showing the emotions experienced by the
characters throughout. However, I was
familiar with the story beforehand, and I think this probably was helpful in
following the sequence of events.
- The Royal Ballet – Don Quixote – I also went to
the final ballet of the season alone because no one would accompany me. This was probably my favorite piece of the
season. I prefer full-length
ballets over the mixed repertoire programs.
Don Quixote is a fun one to see because of the humor in the story that
does not require familiarity with the book to follow. The Royal Ballet Company was fantastic in
their performance. The male lead for
Basilio during the Saturday matinee performance was a phenomenal dancer. The company also nailed the comedic aspect of
the ballet, with the performance of Gamache the highlight of the show.
I obviously had a great time seeing the ballets this past
season. So why would I not renew my
subscription? The flyer for the 2015-2016
season has been sitting on my table for several weeks now, tempting me with the
promise of wonderful performances that I would really like to see. There are three main reasons why I am
considering passing on the renewal of the subscription. The first is that it was very difficult to
find someone to go with me to each of the performances. I had three that I could not find anyone
willing and available to go, and my husband would only fill one of those (apparently
I have a two ballet per year limit with him).
Second, it limits my ability to see other performances during the
year. It was not cheap to buy a
subscription package, and I really felt unable to consider very many other
types of entertainment for the year.
Finally, I really felt the impact of all the time required to see every
ballet in the season. I had a ballet
almost every month during the season, some of which required several additional
days of entertaining my various guests during the scheduled weekend. With all the other commitments in my life, I felt
like it added to a busyness that wore me down by the end of the season.
So am I going to renew my subscription to the ballet? No.
Instead, I am going to pick the pieces that intrigue me the most from the new schedule (The
National Ballet of Canada – The Winter’s Tale, Mariinsky Ballet – Raymonda, and
Royal Swedish Ballet – Juliet and Romeo), offer them out to the friends that I
think are actually interested in going to a performance, and only purchasing
the tickets needed for a given performance.
I love the ballet. I
look forward to going to the 2015-2016 season, albeit on a smaller scale. See you next week!
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