Through Yonder Window Breaks - American Ballet Theater: Romeo and Juliet

It seems as new types of artistry are being created, some forms have become less popular than they once were. While the power of dance is as strong as ever, certain fields such as ballet I felt aren't as widespread anymore.. I'll readily admit I know next to nothing about ballet itself and before this performance, I hadn't even seen a full ballet show. But I was truly amazed by the dancing and I'm glad I was finally able to see a performance. It was also great to see so many people at these shows and it definitely disproved my notion of ballet being unpopular. The American Ballet Theater is one of the principle ballet companies in the United States. Formed in New York City during 1937, the ballet quickly gained funding and support across the country  Since the beginning, the theater has tried to recruit the best ballet talent in the world and hundreds of dancers have performed under the ABT name. Since 1977, they have taken residence in the Metropolitan Opera House (the Met) and also continue to tour around the world. As i said before, they are considered one of the premier ballet companies in the US and it was a real privilege to see them!

In total, there were three shows of Romeo and Juliet at the Trap and while each one was fantastic, it was the second night that got all the hype. The main reason for that was Misty Copeland, the first African American ballerina to be a named a principle dancer in the ABT's 79 year history! As such, there were well over 6000 people who came that night, an extremely high number for a dance show. While Copeland was indeed amazing, I personally thought all the dancers were fantastic. Their fluidity, nuance, and precision was unreal and perfectly encapsulated the dramatic scenes of the play. While I didn't know the play well enough to know what was happening in every scene, it was good enough just watching the dancers move off each other. I also thought that the music was really top notch! I love pit orchestras and I thought they did a good job of filling in the different moods of the scenes along with the dancing. I could've listened to the music by itself! All in all, the shows were pretty easy to manage and most people put down their cameras to enjoy the show. The weather varied but overall wasn't too bad and the heat dissipated quickly as the night progressed.

My favorite part of the shows was the last scene. Everyone knows how Romeo and Juliet ends, but I thought the death scene was brought to life in a way only ballet dancing could produce. I really felt the sadness and pain of both Romeo and Juliet and it was one of the most emotional moments this season.

As always, looking forward to more shows in the future!

DC

Misty Copeland