Mother’s Day at the Ballet Event

  The visit to the Nevada Ballet Theatre Company performance on Mother’s Day, May 14, 2006, was a wonderful opportunity to share an enjoyable holiday afternoon with CCNY alumni, their families and friends. A special pre-performance talk, given by the ballet company’s artistic director, Bruce Steivel, was especially enlightening. Interesting facts about the history and future plans and events of the ballet company were discussed, as well as an overview of the wide scope of classes and activities that they offer. The talk was followed by a performance of “The Class,” a choreographed reenactment of the techniques and dances rehearsed each day by members of the ballet company in their classes.   

 The main performance of the day, “Scheherazade,” depicted the centuries old tale of the clever new wife of a jealous and murderous Sultan. She tells a thousand tales over a thousand nights in order to keep her husband in suspense long enough to spare her life. This rendition of the classic story was beautifully choreographed and presented, and artfully executed.  The numerous costumes were lavish, colorful, and beautifully crafted.   The audience became spell-bound as the dancers brought to life the stories being told by the young wife to her husband.  Members of the CCNY group enjoyed seating very close to the stage which greatly enhanced our understanding of the nuances of the story and its presentation. The level of artistic achievement displayed by each of the dancers was quite impressive and garnered the company several standing ovations at the end of the performance.

  Although we were not allowed to take pictures during the performance, here are some of our happy guests before the performance.

Our group at the Nevada Ballet Theater performance.