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| - I attended their free Ballet Under the Stars performance last Saturday night. For the most part, I do appreciate the free entertainment and enjoyed most of it. However, their choice of the large Steele Indian School Park / dog park in pitch black where it was so dark to walk from the parking lot all the way to where the stage was at was jarring. It was that dark and they had no directions or signs up where to find the stage. Good thing there were some people around to lead us to the site.
I enjoyed the 3 ballet acts except for those kid dancers that the company interjected that we didn't know would be there- preferred ALL ballet. The kids were dancing as if they were making fun of ballroom dancers. We didn't understand what was going on or why they were even there(!) I couldn't wait for them to get off and was relieved that the 3rd ballet act came on. The actual ballet dancers did a good job and looked like they practiced and enjoyed their dance routines. I managed to take good photos of them dancing under the actual moon ;) and also video'ed the 1st act. Thanks for the peaceful & relaxing event 'under the stars'.
While it was a nice (yet, too warm) night, a strange staff member (or volunteer?) bounced out from behind the stage and approached me and lightly touched my hands as if to empathically say, "oh, you didn't have to do that." Huh, I didn't understand a word he said nor could I see his lips (the music was loud) so I ignored him. Several minutes later, he bounced back to give me the similar message and I brushed him off as if to signal he was blocking my view. Weird, and I was just sitting there! Not only that, several minutes later, another (unkempt) staff member / volunteer (the one mopping the stage during 'intermission'- what was that about also?) approached a woman near me and appeared to be stern as he spoke to her, as if she lit a cigarette and he was instructing her to put it out. I asked her what he said to her and she embarrassingly shrugged and appeared mortified. She was just sitting there. What the heck did they want?? It gave off a cryptic vibe. I think it's better I have no idea what they wanted then. I will notify Ballet AZ about them because their actions were uncalled for- this is a free-for-all public park and we could do what we wanted. Why didn't they tell those irritating little girls to go 'dance' in the back and not disrupt the front the stage instead of bothering grown women?? Scared much of a negative reaction from lazy parents; yet, not scared of what we grown single women were capable of reacting?
While I, again, enjoyed the ballet dancers, this will be my last attendance. They rely heavily on donations (and repeatedly request for them). Good luck. And, for the sake of the dancers and attendees, pick cooler dates for future outdoor performances!
UPDATE: Sample like review from Facebook, from Christa Chalene Stallings on Sept. 29 4:50 PM, on Ballet Arizona's official FB page:
I went to Ballet Under the Stars and I was having a great time with my family until a small bald man came on the stage. He pointed at the kids dancing in front of the stage and said "hey, hey you! You're loud!" Then proceeded to chastise them (3-6 year olds) for being a distraction and said the ballerinas told him so. None of my family was up there but I'm sure the other parents did not appreciate their kids being spoken to so harshly from the stage! I believe him when he said they were loud and a distraction but there were no signs or markings to indicate that the children could not be there. Also we were in a PARK. I'm unsure what was expected of small children but in their excitement they were twirling and jumping appropriately as they watched the beautiful dancers on stage. I have a bad view on BAZ's view of children. That behavior was not only unprofessional but also quite rude for a grown man who was representing a "family friendly" organization. Why come to a park if the kids are going to bother you?
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