My middle girl gets lost in the shuffle. As a middle girl myself I am probably more aware of that phenomenon than some. Some days I stop and ask myself when the last time Lexi was the sole focus of my or Doug's world. It's never an easy answer.
So, a couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to take Lexi to the ballet. Just the two of us! A touring company was performing Snow White and it was being advertised as a "bring your princess" event. Perfect!
That night, of course we were running late with 75 different things going on, but Lexi and I cleaned up and made it to the auditorium for the production in time to get a decent seat, but we missed out on the cookie and punch preshow. Oh well! We decided that we would go out to eat afterwards, just the two of us!!
Here we are waiting for the show to start!
Take note of the program. The graphic on the front of the cover was the same one on the posters and all advertisements. Please note the color of snow white's dress.
Yes, it's blue. She doesn't look like SNOW WHITE! I realized that, but I figured it would be okay.
In the audience that night there were probably 200 little girls wearing their princess dresses. Their DISNEY inspired princess dresses.
And here is what I learned. The ballet was a beautiful complex modern dance, GERMAN inspired performance of the "classic" tale. NOT DISNEY.
Therefore, my girl was not impressed. In fact, she was scared of the witch. The witch/evil queen lady was SCARY!! It was incredibly dark and weird. Not little girl friendly at all.
We sat through most of it while Lexi asked me questions about all the parts that were "wrong." Finally, right before the big showdown between the witch and Snow White we left. Lexi was scared of what was going to happen and I didn't feel like making my kid stay and then dealing with nightmares.
On our way out, it was interesting that a couple of grown women that are "movers and shakers" and big donors of our local art scene were also leaving. I heard their commentary. They weren't leaving because they had another engagement... maybe I wasn't the only one that wasn't cultured enough!
Since the show was a bust, I gave Lexi the option of eating ANYWHERE for dinner. I ran down the list of the "nice" restaurants... oh shock, she chose McDonalds. great. But hey, it was her night.
So, what did I learn from this outing? I learned that we are completely and totally disney-ified. We expect the "classic" fairy tales be told and represented in the Disney way. We wanted the yellow and blue dress and red bow on Snow White. (I can give you an accurate description because I am currently sporting a princess sticker on my hand!) It's a hard place for performing companies to be. I know, I've been a part of "classic" non-disney fairy tale productions. Companies want to be edgy and different. They can't afford the royalties and rights for the "big" show.. but in the end, at least in my world, they lost a potential return patron, because instead of inspiring my middle girl, they scared her.
What's next on the mommy and daughter agenda? I don't know...suggestions anyone?? :)
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