Firebird

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, or if you know me in real life, you know I love taking advantage of opportunities to learn about different cultures, to explore the arts, and to visit new places. I’m lucky that I find out about a lot of different community events through my job, so there’s no shortage of opportunities for me and the family!

When I read about Family Arts Night at a community center a couple of miles from my house — a special, kid-friendly 30-minute performance of “The Firebird” by the San Diego Ballet — I was in. The three of us went to dinner tonight and then Michaela and I broke off to go to the show. We were able to get seats in the second row of the theater for unobstructed viewing. Neither Michaela nor I had been to the ballet before (note: my first ballet was at age 37; Michaela’s was at age 6), so it was fun for both of us.

The Firebird is a ballet based on a Russian folktale set to the music of Igor Stravinsky. The real ballet has much more to it, but the abridged version we saw, a prince is out hunting and encounters the Firebird. He spares her life and she gives him a magic feather to summon her if he needs help. Later, he meets a beautiful princess, as well as an evil enchanter who eventually tries to kill him. The prince calls the Firebird, who gives him a sword he uses to slay the enchanter, and they all live happily ever after.

It was fun to watch Michaela watch the ballet. When the first ballerina came out and moved swiftly across the stage on her toes, Michaela’s jaw dropped. She bopped around, mimicking some of the moves. She hummed along to the music. She also was restless at parts, and a couple of minutes in, turned to me and loudly whispered, “why is there no talking?!?” (A perfectly fair question!)

At the end of the performance, each kid got a copy of Misty Copeland’s Firebird and got to meet the dancers. Michaela even posed with the Firebird herself (who was very short, which I wasn’t expecting; as you can see, Michaela is almost as tall as she is!)

To summarize: free ballet, free book, and a fun mother-daughter experience. Not bad for a Thursday!