Scottish Ballet: Geometry + Grace

On Thursday evening I had my very first taste of going to the ballet.

I have always wanted to go to see a ballet performance so this was very exciting for me especially as I had been invited along courtesy of Scottish Ballet for their press evening.

Ashamedly, I turned up late as I got myself a bit lost, this meant that I missed the first performance and had to sneak in after the first interval.

When we did eventually get to our seats ('we' as in the hub and I) ... which were pretty much the best seats in the house ... there was a great buzz in the audience so judging by the atmosphere I knew that we were in for something good.

Geometry + Grace is made up of a trio of performances influenced by the grace of geometry, contemporary classical music and the chic styles of the 1940s. The first piece Scènes de Ballet choreographed by Frederick Ashton was the one I sadly missed and was the most traditional of the 3. I was disappointed to miss this, dancing aside, the costumes looked amazing!
We made it in after interval in time for the second piece Still Life by Val Caniparoli. This is when it became apparant to me just how contemporary these 3 pieces were. You see, there is no narrative within Geometry + Grace like most traditional ballet and in many ways this made it easier to watch and become lost in the shapes and intertwining of bodies before our eyes. Still Life was a sensual performance that captured your attention not only through dance but intrigued the audience with it's choice of stage prop and background set and interesting use of lighting.

Before the third piece there was another interval to be enjoyed. Scottish Ballet had put on a lovely drinks reception with delicious macarons to be devoured (mainly by my husband! Can't take him anywhere). At the interval we had the chance to mingle and realised that I was in fact sitting beside a lovely blogger from Edinburgh, Rani from Cupcake couture. It was lovely to meet Rani and her friend Virginia as well as catching up with the adorable Ann from Girlinthecityg.

The final piece was titled Fearful Symmetries which is an award winning piece by Ashley Page. This was my husbands favourite piece mainly down to the music, I actually caught him bopping about in his chair to it! By this point it was almost exhausting to watch as the power and stamina of the dancers is just breathtaking.

So, that's my rundown of my first ever ballet experience. It's certainly wetted my appetite and I plan on going to see more wonderful performances. So far, all the reviews for Geomety + Grace have had a 5 star rating which it definitely deserves.

Geometry + Grace will be touring Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness throughout the month of September and October, you can find out more about ticket purchase here.

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