I just had the coolest experience with a customer.

I was pulling up a wine stack, as I am wont to do around here, and a customer asked me where she could pick up her cheese platters.  She said she was working for Diablo Ballet, and that the Walnut Creek Food Hole had donated two cheese platters for a fund raising dinner for the ballet company.

I took her over to where the platters were, and then said, "You know, the Wife and I are going to see SF Ballet's Giselle tomorrow."

"Oh, how lovely," she said.  "I went to the Gala Opening last week!"

"You lucky duck," I said.

"Our company director got me the tickets.  It was marvelous.  It was my first gala."

"What fun."

Then she asked, "Who are you seeing tomorrow?"

I knew that she meant who would be playing Giselle tomorrow, and I said, "I think it is Sarah Van Patten."

"Oh, she was wonderful last week at the Gala!"

Sarah Van Patten

"I was kind of hoping to see Maria Kochetkova," I said, "But I think she is dancing tonight."

"Oh, well she is wonderful, too!"

She loaded the platters in to her basket, and we said our goodbyes, and I told her that I hoped she had a great time at her fundraiser.

Maria Kochetkova

I just loved that two strangers could have a conversation about the ballet and two ballerinas as if we were speaking about the Oakland A's players and chances this season.  It was a delightful treat.

The wife and I are v excited to see the ballet tomorrow.  It will be a splendid date for us.

And, here is a link to Diablo Ballet.

















Everybody have a wonderful and safe Super Bowl weekend.  I love you all,
Michael

I absolutely love my new NYT weekender subscription.

It took me about a half dozen hours just to get through the oodles of fantastic writing on Sunday. I loved the magazine, the Arts section -- more on this in a minute -- the Week in review, the Travel section (our cat Molly loved the Travel section, literally to pieces), the front page, even the Sports section was updated w/ most of Saturday's baseball results, and had a lengthy article on the Swingin' Oakland A's (and their crappy ballpark.)

But, my new NYT crush (along with Manohla Dargis and Paul Krugman) has got to be Alistair Macaulay, the NYT's dance critic.  His lengthy and fascinating article on the state of  American-born ballerinas today was the best thing I have read about dance in ages, and even name checked two ballerinas I just saw in The Nutcracker, Sarah Van Patten and Vanessa Zahorian, last December.

Yeh, yeh, yeh, I am going through a whole other new balletomane thing again right now.  (Get over it!) And, I have a feeling Mr Macaulay is just the man able to guide me through this world "neutered by nylon", as Spy Magazine said way back in the day.

Here is the linky to Macaulay's great article.

Sarah Van Patten, SF Ballet

Vanessa Zahorian, SF Ballet

Kisses on both cheeks!
Ardent




P.S.  An aside to my Mum, Macaulay reviewed a Ballet Austin performance this week, as well, at Ballet Across America.