Another ballet: Don Quixote

Happy Star Wars Day! We saw a guy with a lightsaber in the city today. And he was hollering something; not sure what.

Today, James and I went to see the ballet Don Quixote at the State Theatre with my old friend Dom and his friend Ivy. We had a great time and enjoyed the show.

Don Quixote by New Jersey Ballet
Don Quixote by New Jersey Ballet

The one thing that bothered me was the lighting – I have only ever been to the State Theatre one other time to see Boy & Bear, and the lighting bothered me then as well. The audience is very in the dark, making the stage lighting really very bright. It kind of strained my eyes and made them water, and sort of had a really hypnotic effect. Just having the lights on the ceiling dim, rather than completely off, would have been a lot easier on the eyes.

But like I said, I did enjoy the performance. I didn’t know too much about the ballet’s background but I had seen a handful of promotions for it on television and on signage around the city.

It was very different to the previous ballet I saw (Swan Lake), as it was more fun and humourous. A lot of the music was more upbeat and vibrant.

I loved the costumes most; they were very extravagant and some of them had great detail. I was also, of course, impressed by the dancing itself. I marvelled at the agility of some of the dancers. One of them did about thirty pirouettes in a row and landed perfectly, and some of the dancers’ footwork was noticeably precise.

I particularly liked that it was a matinée performance, so it wasn’t incredibly late when we walked out, and it was generally nice to see a ballet in the afternoon. There was a bit of an annoyance when it came to scanning our tickets, which were just printed. But they didn’t ask James or myself for proof of concession. Also, I am not technically a concession student anymore, since 1) I am not a student and 2) I am working, and there’s no way I could be considered concession. So I kinda snuck myself a cheaper priced ticket…

Afterwards we went for an early dinner at Harbourside. James unfortunately got a really rank chicken schnitzel. It was just a warmed-up-from-freezer kinda deal. I chose Barramundi fish, knowing pretty well that it would most likely be served fresh. It was pretty filling!

Afterwards we grabbed coffee at Starbucks (well, I got a ginormous green tea latte) and headed home. James ate some noodles at my house, which were undoubtedly better than the chicken he refused to eat. :D

I’ve included a couple of beautiful photographs I found of some performances of Don Quixote. I think it is a ballet that is very technically impressive. Admittedly I didn’t fancy the storyline, but I adored the dancing, and the costumes.

Svetlana Zakharova by Damir Yusupov
Svetlana Zakharova by Damir Yusupov

I’ve had a good lot of the week off work because I got a very bad sore throat and didn’t want to make anyone else sick. Not to mention, it developed into a really nasty cold. I’m on antibiotics, and I think they worked. Initially, my doctor suspected viral pharyngitis, and I’ve had pharyngitis before (it sucks).

I have to admit, having a sore throat is one of the worst common illnesses to have. It’s incredibly uncomfortable, feels nasty, hurts a lot, seems to get worse no matter what you do, and is overall just painful to have and wait out. I’m glad I’ve survived that, and that my cold is slowly going away.

I hope I’m sound for work tomorrow, because I also have my graduation ceremony in the evening for my Masters degree. :)

Comments on this post

I see that this show has made its way over to California. Not sure if I want to watch it or not. I will admit that I really don’t know the story behind of Don Quixote. But, I did see an advertisement, that it will be here where I live. I thought about it, but realized that Tristan, will probably be bored and so will I.

I remember going to see a play on ice. I can’t recall the name of it but it was the one about Christmas and stuff (how vague can I be?). I think I talked about this with you once before through email? Anyway, I was young and didn’t much care for the ice skaters. If it was just people acting it out instead of on ice skates — I probably would have enjoyed it more. But, I do recall also, that my Grandmother had taken me to go see the same play at the movies and I was bored yet again. I think it’s just that play that bores me.

You took lovely pictures of the ballet. I have never seen a stage performance of any kind of Don Quixote, but have read the novelization and thoroughly enjoyed it.

In fact the only ballet I have seen is the local civic ballet perform The Nutcracker around Christmas time every year. I usually enjoy that. I’ve also been to see the Dallas Symphony Orchestra play quite a few times. I enjoy classical music much more than most vocalized mainstream music. It’s calming, and helps my mood on days where I have a little black raincloud following me around.

I’ve just recently gotten over a pretty nasty case of Strep Throat and my daughter had a bad cold last week. I’m really hoping that we are done with being sick for a while. That being said, my allergies are HORRIBLE lately.

I didn’t take the photos, that’s why I credited them. ;) I wish I could have, but I know it would be quite difficult to take such good photos simply as an audience member.

I’ve never seen The Nutcracker but I did once perform a part of it at one of my dance school’s concerts when I was younger. There are quite a few ballets I want to see, like The Nutcracker, and Giselle, and several people are surprised that despite being a ballerina I have not seen many performances.

I am not really a fan of mainstream music, and I tend to like more underground and unpopular music. I listen to most genres, and I remember listening to a lot of classical music a few years ago.

Hope you feel better soon!

Ah, the memories. I used to go to plays/ballets all the time. I can’t count the times I saw The Nutcracker. It’s my fave because of that. Beautiful photos!

I just love the story in The Nutcracker the most, but this ballet looks so beautiful. I’m glad you enjoyed it.

I actually have a remedy that does good for sore/itchy/annoying throats. Gargle some warm honey lemon water and then your throat should feel better. Do this a few more times for safe measure. It has helped my throat a few times and believe me, home remedies are amazing!