I've been very busy with other things, so I haven't gotten to class in quite some time. I'd been toying with attending MYB's Spring Concert, and about an hour before curtain I decided to go. It was too late to get a ticket online but I figured there would be at least one seat available and the venue was only 20 minutes from home.
When I walked in I went to the person sitting behind the "Purchase Tickets" sign. She seemed unsure how to do that and motioned me over to the woman next to her. She is one of the front desk clerks and she greeted me with a cheery, "Hi Reece! What can I get you?" There is very little that makes a person feel more welcome than being recognized and greeted by name.
Having acquired a ticket about 30 minutes before curtain I got a good seat. By the time the curtain went up most of the seats were filled. First on the bill was a locally-choreographed version of "Rumplestiltskin" which was quite entertaining and offered parts for all the kids. Then "Summer", a contemporary piece for two men and one woman, choreographed by one of MYB's instructors which won awards in 2002. This approached a professional level performance. The afternoon wrapped up with excerpts from "Don Quixote".
All in all it was a nice way to spend a cold, rainy Sunday afternoon.
If I had to be critical of anything, it's that the quality of the men (boys?) is uneven. This isn't the fault of the dancers; it's simply that there are so few boys in the program that they get pushed into roles they're not ready for yet. But what can you do? It's not like the Soviet system where kids were plucked from elementary school and ordered to go to a dance school.
