little swan

We were lucky to receive tickets to the Oregon Ballet Theater's Swan Lake, which is their last ballet of the season.  A coworker of Oberon's had three tickets for her and her daughters that she was unable to use.  I am immensely grateful that she offered them to us.

I had been hoping to take my Pixie to Swan Lake for a while. Swan Lake practically defines ballet for me.  Tchaikovsky's music for the swans is romantic and haunting but it's the end that always brings me to tears as the chords finally release their darker undertones and convey hope and perfection.  The music alone is worth going for but when you add these delicate, light ballerinas (that look like they're made of merengue from far away) creating perfect forms with their bodies, it's transcendent.  Oberon hates misuse of that word but there's no other way to describe it.  It transports you a higher plane of understanding, feeling, and beauty; it's transcendent.

The swan corps pas de quatre, or dance of four, was perfection to a point.  

I had my Pixie with me and we brought one of her friends from school who also does ballet.  These two six year old girls were riveted (zero exaggeration) on the ballet (except the third act which also had me doing long blinks.)  The enthusiasm on their faces as they stood up to clap with the audience intermittently was worth the effort of taking them!

And besides the fact that I wanted to share what was a really great experience, I wanted to give hope out there to anyone who has felt a little denied that her child's ADHD has stood in the way of them enjoying certain quality experiences together.  I know I have felt like that every time that my daughter couldn't be still while I was trying to share something I enjoy with her.  Unless, of course, it was something that could go in her mouth.  I honestly was wondering if we would ever be able to enjoy quiet experiences like art, ballet, symphonies or opera together in her adolescent years.

I won't deny that there was a great deal of parenting occuring during the ballet or that I had to resort to threatening her to never bring her to a ballet again, but overall it was an experience where we opened our hearts together and that is priceless.  We even had someone behind us comment on how great the girls were doing.  I can't tell you how much that means to me!  It might seem impossible when you're raising a child with ADHD but things do get better.  They will grow from cygnet to swan, as all things do.

Even though she spent most of the ballet on her feet instead of in her seat and we were whispering to each other for nearly a third of it, we really had a great time together!  And when we came home and she excitedly showed me her improved ballet stretches and forms, I caught a glimpse of the transformation of childhood awkwardness into maturity and grace.  It leaves me speechless.

Download 2-03 Tchaikovsky_ Swan Lake Suite - The Enchanted Lake

Comments

[melva]

I AM SO GLAD THAT THE PIXIE LIKE THE BALLET. I WISH I VOULD HAVE GONE MYSELF TO SEE IT