Know Your Ballet Music!

Mama and Katy attended a special Hong Kong Sinfonietta production to introduce ballet music to kids.  Katy was a little young as you were supposed to be six, but I wasn't the only one to make an exception it seemed.  At first, Katy was super excited.  She really wanted to see the conductor - and this is her impression of what the conductor does.

This is her impression of how ballerinas dance...

As the concert hall filled, she Katy got more and more excited...

...and we enjoyed checking out all the instruments in the orchestra as they warmed up.

However, once the show started, Katy got really nervous and agitated.  She really is worried that shows are going to be scary, especially as the Conductor started talking about Cinderella and The Nutcracker.  Katy absolutely does not like watching evil witches and wars between mean rats and the Nutcracker.  So Katy insisted on wearing Mama's earphones to block out anything scary.

However, as the show went on and she realised there was a lot of comedy involved, and it was mostly music and not graphic scenes of fighting or mean behavious, Katy relaxed and really enjoyed the show.  She even abandoned the earphones!

The music was beautiful, and we really enjoyed hearing more about the harp.  Katy loved the cymbals and the percussion instruments, especially the keyboard that sounded like a bell. 

By the end, she was a little fidgety as the show was quite long, but I could also see the 8, 9 and 10 year olds get a little fidgety too.  After the show, our special treat was a meet and greet with the Conductor, Director and dancers.  Katy asked the Conductor and Ballerina for an autograph, and she shook the Conductor's hand.