Ballet at the Shanghai Grand Theater

The Shanghai Grand Theater is located in the northern part of People's Square, the main drag of downtown Shanghai. The school got me two tickets to see the ballet Giselle (a famous Chinese ballet), as JP would be arriving the same day of the ballet. Unfortunately he was way too jet lagged to go, so I ventured out on my own.

I knew exactly which building to go in as the theater was wonderfully lit, as it is every evening (pictured above). I sat down waiting for the show to start and as I was waiting, one of the teachers from the school, Cecilia, sat down next to me. We chatted a few minutes and the show began.

I wasn't really sure what I should expect, as I didn't know the story line of the ballet, but I figured that dance was a universal language and I'd be able to follow along. And this was most definitely the case. The first act was about this love triangle and it got ugly and the girl ended up going insane and dying. At the intermission I sat talking with several Chinese people around me about what we just saw. They too were perplexed as to why the girl, Giselle, went insane and then died. We hoped we'd get answers to our questions in the second act. Unfortunately this was not the case. The second act took place in a graveyard and was about ghosts torturing the lovers left alive. It was strange, but in a good way.

Comments

Quarantine Day 24: Technology, Fixing Old Things, Long Walks, Family Game Night

Charles River by our old house! Sunday. This morning the kids got up before us and headed downstairs to watch some Batman cartoon episodes from the 90s that JP got for them. Naomi (& Juliet sort of) has been reading the three Batman comics that we got from Park Street Books that have Spanish on the sides and in some of the frames. One of the great things about technology, or at least the technology in our house, is that we can cast stuff from our phone to the TV in the family room and our bedroom. So while JP and I were just getting up and dressed, he cast the Sunday school stream from the temple. This of course interrupted the Batman cartoon. I peaked my head out the bedroom door and heard..."but we were watching Batman!" The Sunday school songs and chat from the Rabbi's today was about Passover as it is this coming Wednesday evening. After the morning service 45 minutes later there was a zoom session with the Rabbi's to have more of a conversation and so...

Quarantine Day 69: meetings, biking, digging for fossils

Today was a typical quarantine day. We got up. Walked Pip. Made breakfast. And then JP and I got to working while the kids played outside. It was a gorgeous day. The kids went on a fossil expedition digging up rocks in my front flower bed. They apparently promised to leave the flowerbeds as they found them. But that’s not what happened. Then they played in the hose as it was hot out! The rest of the afternoon was spent playing with the kids in the neighborhood. In the evening we walked Pip and went over to the neighbors that was hatching Chickens. He’s going to let us foster a few of them for the next few weeks. Hopefully this will move us forward with us getting our own chickens! So after the chick visit we went out and got a few things to raise them. A heat lamp, a water bottle, sawdust flakes and chick food. Tomorrow we pick up the chicks. Then dinner, books and bed for the kids. And school Committee Meeting for mom.

Quarantine Day 31: More landscaping and Easter Sunday

Signs of spring Easter Sunday. This morning the kids got up at the same time, around 7:30 and they went down and watched some TV and played some video games. I got up and made some breakfast for the gang and then we headed outside. It was almost 60 degrees today. The girls helped me move some of the plants around in our front flower beds. We moved 2 daisy plants, 2 echinacea plants, and 3 day lilies. The side of the house had nothing in the beds there, so we moved 5 plants there. Hopefully the plants make it!!! Then we did a general clean up of the beds. Juliet got a bit bored and went and helped JP dig out weeds for a bit. Then they went and practiced riding bikes. Juliet is a bit timid on her bike with training wheels but she took the bike for a spin around the neighborhood for a bit. Naomi seeing her decided she wanted to ride for a bit too, so she went off and rode her bike around the neighborhood chasing Jules. She's' still learning how to use the gears on her new bike...

Briggs Chronicles

Search This Blog