First ballet then punk rock for music education

"The Nutcracker" Dec. 18, 2009 at The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts. iPhone photo by Susan Main.

A night of ballet followed by an afternoon of power pop punk… Good cutural balance, don’t you think?

Last night my son and I saw a beautiful ballet performance of “The Nutcracker” at The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts. The sets were lavish and the tiny dancers were adorable. We sat in row D and enjoyed an amazing view of nearly 200 dancers in beautiful, colourful costumes.

The Georgia Strait calls this version of the Nutracker “a gift.” For the first time in Vancouver, this Christmas classic is by a local ballet company: Vancouver’s Goh Ballet. And the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra played the Tchaikovsky flawlessly from their pit in front of the stage. It was a treasure my son and I will always remember.

The Evaporators @ The Rio Theatre, Vancouver, Dec. 19, 2009, iPhone photo by Susan Main

Then today we went to the Rio Theatre in East Vancouver for an all ages punk rock show at 2 p.m. The Evaporators were full of crazy antics and lyrics – like: “I’ve got a disease: I’m addicted to cheese… pieces of cheddar make me feel better.”

We also enjoyed a great performance by big, local, pop-punk stars The Pointed Sticks. The crowd was dancing and a group of kids was cheering for their teacher playing guitar and little toddlers wearing ear muffs ran in the aisles getting chased by their tired mamas. Good times.