A night at the ballet is a treat in every way. One gets to put on heels and a fancy dress and loiter in between other I-never-normally-dress-like-this-but-am-trying-to-pretend-I-do types while gasping in awe as lithe dancers float about on stage. (Sounds like a bit of a weird treat, but it really is fun.) I realised last night, sitting in the David H. Koch Theater in Lincoln Center, watching the New York City Ballet’s final performance of Romeo & Juliet  that, if people could fly, it would look something like what was taking place on stage, such was the effortless beauty of the ballet.

It’s a tried and tested formula – you simply can’t fail to captivate audiences with the greatest love story ever told. In my opinion, Shakespeare is much more enjoyable when none of the words are involved and everything is danced – life should be one big ballet! So for one or two dancers to rise above the story is a great feat, which is what Sterling Hyltin as Juliet and Daniel Ulbricht as Mercutio do. Not to say that the other dancers were drab and dreary, by any means, but these two ballerinas stole the stage, and enraptured the audiences with every leap and triple pirouette.

Unfortunately, the New York City Ballet is sadly underfunded, making the stage sets and some of the costumes an eyesore that detracts from the dancers’ fine performances. It’s not hard to pick up the feeling that the company is being held back by this from great heights – not only the ones that their dancers reach with every jump, but the heights they could achieve with theater magic.

So if you ever get the chance to see this performance, or any performance by the New York City Ballet, jump at it! The tickets are not over-priced and the experience is truly a mesmerizing one. (Just make sure you have the strength to resist the urge you’ll have afterwards to go and take up ballet classes yourself…)

Image via Wikipedia