Hopper to the Ballet

Wow- I finally got to see the Joffrey Ballet- the program at the moment is an Antony Tudor Centennial Celebration. The program opened with Lilac Garden (1939), a soap-opera-like short romantic story set in Victorian England which has been called Tudor’s masterpiece. Dark Elegies was the second ballet it is set to the songs by Gustav Mahler (sung by Stephen Salters), the dance is meant to express the grief of villagers who have lost their children for some unknown reason, Dark Elegies was choreographed in 1937 and Peggy Van Praagh premiered the ballets in London with Antony Tudor. Her work was acknowledged in the program. I kept thinking that I had seen the ballet in the Australian Ballet repertoire and checked and yep they have it as part of their seasons.
Offenbach in the Underworld (1956) was the final ballet on the program. It was described as having hummable music, silly stage business and slightly naughty can-can dancers, and sent everyone home in a light mood. That pretty much summed it up.
The theatre was gorgeous although the most poorly lit auditorium I have ever been in- much squinting by all to try and read the program- I was wishing I had one of those pocket torches. I was seated in the first row of the balcony, centre- far enough away to not be disturbed by the clunking of the to shoes but with a clear enough view to enjoy the spectacle. The theatre has wonderfully ornate ceiling decoration and murals- it is a truly grad venue.
Prior to the ballet Sue and I lined up for tickets to see the Edward Hopper and Winslow Homer Exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago. What a treat that was. Homer’s work is as a watercolorist and it has such vibrancy and depth like nothing I have seen before. His body of work was huge and he painted people and the country life of the US in particular North East, as did Edward Hopper. His work I love- I really love the way he gives a peek into people’s lives and seems to capture the emotion in the stillness of figures and the direction of their gaze. The curator of the exhibition wrote “The geometric forms and the patterns of sunlight and shadow that seemed to imbue them with emotional intensity”- far be it from me to try and express it any better really.
So yet another great day in Chicago even if it was enforced!