The National Ballet of Canada: Now I get the "pointe."

We're currently in downtown Toronto for a corporate gig we'll be doing tonight, as well as some choreography rehearsals for our Christmas show with our choreographer Brian Hansen this afternoon.

It's my first time here in Toronto, so I'm not only thrilled to be in the "New York of Canada," but also to be staying in the heart of downtown, just a few minute walk from all the big performing arts centers.

After doing a TV interview with Rogers (a large cable network in Canada) yesterday in the morning, our manager John dropped me off at the hotel. There was another TV interview scheduled for last night, but seeing as some of the other band members were doing that interview, the rest of us had the night off. That being the case, I instantly started planning for my free Friday night in Toronto, looking first at the obvious options: Toronto Symphony, Canadian Opera Company, The National Ballet of Canada, and the Royal Conservatory.

To make a long story short, Kiana and I decided to attend "The Sleeping Beauty," performed by the National Ballet of Canada. Later in the afternoon we called to get tickets:

Taylor: Hi, I was just calling to see if there are any seats left for tonight's production of "Sleeping Beauty."
Operator: I think so, let me check. [Operator disappears and comes back.] Yes, we have a small number of tickets left.
Taylor: Great! Do you have 2 seats together anywhere?
Operator: We only have 2 seats, and they're together. They're box seats.
Taylor: Those are the only seats left? You don't have any others?
Operator: No.
Taylor: Oh...okay...how much are they?
Operator: $XXX.
Taylor (aside to Kiana, with defeatism): The seats are $XXX...do you still want to go?
Silence.
Kiana: Yes. Let's do it.
Taylor (to Operator): We'll take 'em!
Operator: ...really?!
Taylor: Yes.

And thus I secured the seats to my first non-Nutcracker ballet...in a box...at the National Ballet of Canada.

So now arises the next issue: what to wear. In my suitcase, the nicest things I have are jeans and a very casual button-down shirt. And we pretty much figured we couldn't wear jeans to box seats at the ballet...

So Kiana and I went to the mall and I bought a whole new outfit (pants, shirt, belt & scarf). Why not, right? As the saying goes, "Go big or go home."

Finding the mall.

Before the ballet.

The Four Seasons Centre.

Kiana emulates the poster.

After buying tickets, this was about the only place we could afford to eat dinner...

Each box had a private coat room with a mirror for primping.
Here, Kiana fixes her hair before we go out to the second intermission to "be seen" by the upper crust of Toronto. Indeed, a small peek into the lives of those wealthy enough to afford box seats on a regular basis.

Second intermission. (There were three acts.)

I'm incredibly pleased to say that the performance was, literally, worth it (and rarely does that expression have more significance than when you spontaneously drop triple-digits on tickets and clothes for one night).


I don't really know how to describe the impact the night had on me. Now that I'm older and more mature, I could truly appreciate the beauty of the performance. It's hard to "get" ballet when you're younger, because so much of it is so slow. I realize now, however, that that is simply a result of ballet exploiting dancers' abilities to control their bodies; it's mind-blowing to think about how in shape they are, and how much work it took to train their bodies to do such crazy things. Watching the lead females hold ridiculous positions for extended periods of time while en pointe and watching the males dance physically exhausting solos is truly incredible. The dancing was breathtaking, and the orchestra was absolutely phenomenal. WOW. I'm still reeling from last night's performance today.

I don't know if I ever thought I would say this, but ballet is so freaking cool.