For a very long time, I have been wanting to see a live symphony or ballet performance. Although I have studied only a minute fraction of the history of classical music and art, I have a great appreciation for the technical skill and discipline of classical musicians and ballet dancers. There is nothing like hearing and seeing a live performance that takes you back over a century in time to the gifted minds and works of true artists.

This past weekend, my fantastic husband surprised me with an early birthday present. Somehow he took in my various ramblings about theater, symphonies and ballets and planned a wonderful evening. All I knew was that we needed to get dressed up for something semi-formal. After the 30-minute drive across the Lake to the North Shore, we pulled into the full parking lot of their Harbor Center. Excitedly entering the hall, I was thrilled when the greeters handed me a program book for The Nutcracker, featuring the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and the Delta Festival Ballet! This was our first ballet experience, and we had amazing seats in the first row. Being so close to the orchestra and feeling the reverberations of Tchaikovsky’s brilliance was nothing short of amazing. The music that we have grown up hearing around Christmas time was being played right before my eyes, bringing to life the inanimate and abstract characters in the story. I especially loved the short but masterful pieces portraying various foods like chocolate, spiced up by way of a Spanish dance with flowing red and black costumes, and coffee, poetically performed as a sensual and mysterious Arabian dance. The highlight of the ballet was the breathtaking performances of the stars who played the Prince (Cervilio Miguel Amador) and the Sugar Plum Fairy (Janessa Touchet). Their graceful movements had me lost in this timeless fairy tale.

My husband did a great job choosing a birthday present that I will forever remember and cherish! We are hungry for many more encounters with the classics.