A Bit Too Much Culture

I went to my first ballet a couple of weeks ago. I decided to stick with something classical and wanted to see The Nutcracker as that is my favourite but it was sold out so I went with Swan Lake.
It started very slowly with quite a bit of dancing from the corps, a little from Prince Siegfried and almost none from Odette. After the first intermission it got more exciting but as the swans started to come out, a strange image popped into my head - I started to think about the hippos dancing from Fantasia. Then, as things went on, I started to think about the Trocadero ballet troupe - the company of classically trained male dancers who formed because there are so few roles available to men in ballet. So, in the middle of a serious performance, I started to get the giggles (nothing unusual about that!). It finished on a high and I was quite happy with my first foray into the ballet. One thing I did find distracting was the noise of their shoes against the wooden stage. When the music is quiet, the 'clock-clock' of the shoes is very noticeable.
Last weekend, David asked us to go to a performance by the London Philharmonic. It was sold out when we got there with a big queue waiting for returns so we headed towards Leicester Square to see if there were tickets available for a show. On the way, we passed St-Martin-in-the-Fields, where there was an ad for Mozart's Requiem on that night. We went in to have a look and there were tickets for £22 (restricted view), £18 (restricted view) and £6 (no view). Well, as it was an orchestra and a choir, I figured there was precious little to see anyway so I made the decision on behalf of the boys to get the £6 tickets. St-Martin-in-the-Fields is a beautiful church and it has just been refurbished (the outside is still hidden behind scaffolding). Its acoustics are magnificent. I have not heard such tremendous acoustics before. As with Swan Lake, my pop culture showed through. In the middle, I started thinking about the film Amadeus. :-) As to the view, I was ok with only being able to see the people in the opposite balcony but the boys were very uncomfortable that they couldn't see the performers.
This weekend I went to another PLCOCA afternoon tea, this time in Norbury (south south west London). I missed a train, got lost, missed another train and 2 hours later finally made it there. The same ladies were in attendance as last time. It is very interesting to spend an afternoon with a bunch of women who are on average 2 1/2 times your age. They provide such insights into life.

Some clips to enjoy:

Fantasia clips
Hippos dance:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kujWSIFoe94
Mushroom dance (my favourites from the film - love their bottoms wiggling!):
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ddTBeNv9PwQ

Les Ballets du Trocadero clips:
Swan Lake Pas de Quatre - Small Swans:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=MfKdC6SYcnM
The Dying Swan - Saint Saens:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=YRp5nE0Hlsc