My Mother Explains the Ballet

[Jayne]

Wow, this is the ultimate stereotype of the nagging Jewish Mother, but the article also touches on somethings of interest to BA'ers:

*Late arrivals

*cell phones during the performance

*mis-identifying the composer (Wagner, but it's Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty)

*high ticket prices

*the Rose Adagio (mom thinks good port de bras = rose acceptance)

*port de bras

*audience assumptions that the dancers would/should be caucasian

*the definition of Pas de Chat and Mom thinks it's easy to do

*the dancer belt

*the "I coulda dun that bettah" audience psychology (much more pronounced in baseball, BTW)

*getting kicked out for talking during the performance

*the importance of season tickets in order to see your adult children on a regular basis

[bart]

Thanks, Jayne, for posting this family-fantasy-from-hell. My favorite bit:

Why can’t you stand like that guy on stage? Look at his posture. Forget that he’s black for a second, and just look at his body. His shoulders are back. He has confidence. You look like you’re apologizing even before you open your mouth. You walk in a room, no one notices. He walks on stage, we’re all looking. Look at him, he’s like a walking picture. I never dated a black man. Your father was so attractive in college. It stifled me, in a way. I used to be very progressive.