I didn’t understand the whole story, but different aspects of the performance really gave me a feeling of what was going on. Firstly, I loved the music. It fit each moment in the dance, and was never too overbearing. Each note made me feel the dancer’s sadness, fear, and love. In addition to the music, the dancers’ expressions were so real. I especially liked the main male lead who looked so pained and sad. Even if you didn’t know what the story was beforehand, you would get it from the loss in his eyes; even from the mezzanine.

I liked the different costumes: gold encrusted dresses and gowns. The Chinese style is extremely fine and beautiful. This performance was classical ballet. I am astounded at what these dancers can do. From the jumping and spinning down to the basic standing on point- it was all done so effortlessly, yet with so much passion. Honestly, I didn’t really understand the explosion of peonies above an empty chair, but I did get it was dramatic and beautiful, but not happy. The empty chair symbolized a loss.

After all the peonies finally settled, all that was left was an empty chair