Girl asks Boy to the Dance.

If you knew me in the first grade, you might overhear some racy lyrics escaping from my mouth.  And if you listened closely, you would hear a child's rendition of A Chorus Line.  I watched the movie well over a hundred times by the age of ten.  My sister and I knew every line by heart.  Luckily for me (and you), the adult-themed (self-worth, wet dreams, abandonment, homosexuality, tits and ass, etc., etc.) tunes I sang, went right over my head.  One of my favorite pieces goes a lil something like this:
Dance: ten; Looks: three .  And I'm still on unemployment, dancing for my own enjoyment.  That ain't it kid.  That ain't it kid!  Tits and ass .  Bought myself a fancy pair.  Tightened up the derriere.  Tits and ass!  Had the bingo-bongos done and suddenly, I'm getting national tours!  Tits and ass can change your life.  They sure changed mine...lalala.
Risque or not for a young'en, A Chorus Line sparked my interest in dance.  I was trained in ballet and tap from the young age of two for about 12 years, always with the seventeen Broadway hopefuls from the movie in the back of mind.  Through my college years, my dad would follow the blaring music down the hall and catch me dancing in the mirror.  Solo, yes, and always embarrassing.  A favorite pastime worth re-sparking, I decided to follow a recommendation of the Metro newspaper and get tickets to the next show at the Joyce Theater.  
The show happened to be performed by the Richard Alston Dance Company , a British modern-dance group with a world-renowned choreographer known for his conservative, yet whimsical, style and according to a review by NY Times writer, Alastair Macaulay, "it pours[sic] its action in exuberant floods across the stage often making[sic] me insanely happy."  Who doesn't want to be made "insanely happy"?!  So, I figured, luring Nick to see the show with me would be a breeze.  He loves to be humored by playful acts.  America's Funniest Videos can flip this kid's mood upside down, around and around, to utter bliss ; )
It's about 7:30pm on Saturday night, and our cab pulls up to the theater.  Looking more like "The Max" from Saved by the Bell, than a place to "see the ballet" (according to Nick), we're greeted with its welcoming neon lights and nineteen-eighties font.  Half-expecting to enter and see the kids of Bayside High, we're quickly reminded this is New York and its dance community.  Tall, graceful, and stylish young ladies stand around in the lounge with their mothers sipping on glasses of wine.  You know they are dancers when you follow their long legs down to their feet and notice yes, indeed, they are in the third position and their posture, perfect.  We join in and get a glass of wine to pass the 30 minutes prior to the show's start.  Looking around at the rest of the crowd, I couldn't help but notice, the men aren't checking me out, but are more interested in my terribly handsome date.  Oh, yeah, we're in Chelsea! ; )
The first act, "Shuffle it Right ", begins with about five couples blithely dancing to the music of a Hoagy Carmichael.  He's new to me too.  Carmichael will set you right back to a jazzy 1940s in...let's say, New Orleans, on a big old country porch.  The girls, dressed in old-school versions of flowery DVF-style wrap-dresses, and the boys in khakis and white, are all over the stage with big bright-white smiles, having a gay ol' time.  This act did make us happy!  Nick was enjoying the sounds of the barefeet on the wood floor whenever they would land from their "hops" (something Alston's known for) and I was amused trying to keep my eye on one dancer in efforts to pick up a few new moves (my mom's hopes for me for the evening).  You have permission to laugh if I actually do pull these out on the dance floor.  ; )
Each act more impressive than the prior, the second was accompanied by the amazing pianist Jason Ridgway playing Igor Stavinsky's compositions from the ballet, Petrushka.  The gentlemen behind us came specifically to hear this piano performance.  Understandable!  Beautiful and evocative.  Ridgway's fingers danced across the whites of the shiny black grand gracing center stage as the dancers filled the room with drama and emotion.  The last act was my fave.  This could be attributed to the Philip Glass beats, as I have quite the soft spot for his compositions, and the seemingly sudden display of extreme technical dance talent.  I don't have the proper lingo for a proper critique, but this last act was truly impressive and fully captivated me...I didn't want to blink!      
What better way to end this graceful evening than to head uptown to Blondie's for our friend's birthday and chow down on some deep-fried hot wings and watch football.  Only in New York can these two events be juxtaposed with such ease. 


Thank you Nick for experiencing Joyce with me!  You had me covering up giggles throughout the entire show, but especially when you pirouetted up the stairs of the theater and then again into Blondies. ; ) 


Thanks New York ; )


Want to have a similar experience?  Tickets range from $10 to $59.  Visit their site or call, 212.242.0800, for details.  Our $45 tickets placed us in the fifth row where we could hear the dancers breathing and see the sweat on their brows!  Quite intimate.