We used to live close enough to walk to the Kennedy Center and we took full advantage of this. There is a free performance every afternoon in one of their very grand lobbies. We went to see Polka Bands, hip hop poets, chamber groups, one act plays, visiting artists, excerpts from current shows, etc. There are a lot of things I was happy to leave behind in Washington, but free and frequent access to cultural events is not one of them.
I like Southern California, but I'm sensing a stubborn anti-intellectualism in these parts. I dunno, maybe I just need to make more of an effort. Anyway, when a friend organized a trip to a children's concert series at the California Center for Arts, we decided to tag along. A concert that isn't a bunch of potheads sitting cross-legged on the beach forgetting to hit their own bongos? (They don't seem to have any trouble remembering to hit the bong) Sign us up!
It turned out to be one of those "introduce the kids to the orchestra" kind of things. The orchestra would play short snippets of music to illustrate various moods or themes. To me, these sorts of things always seem a bit, well, stubbornly anti-intellectual. Are the kids going to fall out of their chairs if the orchestra plays for more than 2 consecutive minutes?
For the second half of the show, members of the city ballet were to join the orchestra on stage. After 2 solo performances by female dancer, a young man in a tank top and little bike shorts strode onto the stage. A wave of hysterical laughter fluttered across the audience, followed by a wave of stern hushes. I half expected to hear Nelson Muntz's trademark laugh* ring out. Behind me, I heard a girl whisper, "I didn't know there were boy ballerinas!"
We were treated to not one, but three boy ballerinas yesterday morning. By the third, the snickers were suppressed enough not to be accompanied by hushing.
* Remember the episode (Homer vs. Patty and Selma - Season 6) of The Simpsons where Bart is late to sign up for gym class? He gets stuck with ballet. After some initial complaining he realizes that not only does he enjoy dancing, but he's got a gift for it. He's still unsure about revealing his new passion, so at a school assembly he performs in a mask. The audience loves the performance, so Bart throws off his mask, "Behold the masked dancer is me, Bart!"
And now the audience gasps and jeers - "Bart does ballet!", "He dances like girls!" and, of course, a "Ha ha!", courtesy of Nelson Muntz. "He's a sissy! Let's rush him!"
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