Of Music & Dancing Evenings to Remember!

Swan Lake

I have to say one thing about being in the US of A, it gives us time and opportunities to explore exciting things.
I, in my life, never thought that I will go and see a live ballet performance. That too the famous “Swan Lake” by the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The St. Louis Ballet Company.

Now to appreciate ballet, there are few pre-requisites, something that we realized after the 3 hr performance.

•  A passing knowledge of the dance form itself. While it looks mesmerizing and you know dancing on your toes is extremely painful, you really wish you know what that jump or the twirl or the folding of the hands meant. Because I am sure like any other form of dance-drama these movements have meanings that add to the storytelling.
•  An appreciation of instrumental music. I am not a big music person. I can never ‘just’ listen to music. Understanding instrumental music – whether Indian or international as always been a challenge for me. To understand ballet, you need to understand the music – the music determines the mood of each performance. The story is narrated thru the music.

So, I have to admit, a lot of the art of the ballet was lost on me. Because I can appreciate dancing, in general, I was able to enjoy ballet’s grace, elegance and discipline. The costumes and sets were perfect. There was an ethereal quality to the performance. However, before I attend any other ballet performance, I would probably need some education.

Mark Knopfler in Concert

When we heard that Mark Knopfler would be in town to promote his new album “Get Lucky,” we booked our tickets – 3 months in advance. Its kind of surreal to have enjoyed Dire Straits through one’s younger years and then see the band perform in front of your eyes. Of course, it’s not Dire Straits anymore, but 3 of the original band members were there…so there. The concert was at the grand Fox Theater in St. Louis – one of the more magnificent of the Fox properties.

The crowds went crazy when MK and the band walked on to the stage. He started the performance by belting out the first song of the Get Lucky album – Border Reiver. A lot of music in this album seems to have Scottish and Irish influences. I personally feel that Get Lucky is an impressive album with Sailing to Philadelphia as the winning song in the playlist. .
Obviously, no Dire Straits concert is complete without Sultans Of The Swing. The band was generous enough to sing quite a few songs from that album, including the title track. The crowds were enthusiastic, and almost every song got a standing ovation. The thing about watching a legend like MK perform in front of you is that it makes you realize that the genius is real. We all have our favourites, but I was especially emotional when he ended the concert with “Piper to the End”.
Every time I hear a Mark Knopfler song, the magic of that evening comes back to me.

More of our cultural dabbling’s here.