The Lady of Culture
Jeanette lined us up in the backyard before we set out on our daddy/daughter excursion to the Music Center for a day of culture.
Blue light reflected from the stage and bounced onto her snowy skin. The corners of her mouth lifted slightly as the pas de deux began. Clara and the Nutcracker locked their arms and glided gracefully across the stage. Jordan sighed and leaned her head against my shoulder. She grabbed my hand and interlocked our fingers. Act two was nearing the end and the music swelled with cymbal-adorned crescendos. The Nutcracker spun Clara, lifted her high to the sky, and embraced her while snow fairies waltzed upstage. I turned to Jordan, whose face was alight with inspiration, and I asked her, “wasn’t that lovely?”
Her eyes widened. “That was awesome.”
When the couple returned to the stage to take their bows, Jordan sprung to her feet shouting “Brava!” She also shouted “Bravo!” I told her it was customary to just shout for the prima ballerina. She told me she liked to compliment them both, and so she shouted again, “Brava-Bravo” as if it were a compound phrase meant to leap from the tongue in tandem. It was a beautiful thing. We had an afternoon we both will remember for many years to come. (more…)
