I had a much more enjoyable experience at Thursday night’s ballet than I thought I would. I have never been a big fan of dance, particularly ballet, which was why I was very much surprised that there were certain parts and aspects that I enjoyed.

The third part, The Green Table, was my favorite. I liked this part so much because it focused on a story. The other parts seemed to focus around the music and coordination with other ballet dancers to perform difficult techniques. After watching the ballet and doing a little research I came to understand The Green Table revolved around the idea that Death inevitably becomes everyone’s partner, and convinces them to dance on the same terms by which they lived their lives. Story in dance for me is very important because it creates a sense of purpose and understanding. For example, for me, it was difficult to identify a story line in the first part, The Brahms-Haydn Variations. The lack of a clear story made it challenging for me to understand what was going on.

I also enjoyed the second part, Monotones I and II, because I feel that it best connected with the music. Each individual step and dance move would coordinate to some sound or beat of the music. I found this synchronization between the ballet dancers and orchestra fascinating.

The first part, The Brahms-Haydn Variations, of the performance, however, was my least favorite. I found that the huge number of ballet dancers performing on stage, all at the same time made it tough to keep track of what was going on. Furthermore, it was virtually impossible to use the binoculars during this part without missing something that was going on the other parts of the stage. Nevertheless, I did appreciate the complexity of the dances moves and cooperation of the dancers throughout this part.