Cinderella

It all happened when Sophie's classmate in ballet told her she was attending the school annual ballet performance. I didn't keep it from her deliberately, I just thought she wouldn't be able to sit through 1.5 hr of dancing (I can't). But, she insisted. And since it wasn't something undesirable or expensive ($30 per pax), I obliged. The seats aren't fantastic but I guess it's alright for us since we just want to watch the dance and we don't know any dancer in particular.

I had to rescheduled Sophie's art class so that we could attend the 2.30 pm performance at the Republic Cultural Centre, Republic Polytechnic. I left Papa and Alfee at home and took a cab there with Sophie. It was a pretty short ride fortunately.

I must first say, I'm not a 'ballet educated' so I cannot comment much about the quality of the choreography or dancers. However, Sophie (more educated than I am) exclaimed at the beginning of the performance, "This isn't Cinderella! I know the story, this isn't Cinderella!". Normally, I would 'shush' her and tell her to watch on quietly. But, I kinda agree with her on this. There were excessive add-ons to accommodate all the dancers from all the branches of the school. There were four seasons and a scene on the pumpkin patch. At one point, there was a short segment of a totally irrelevant 'sexy' hip hop dance routine. Although many cheered, I felt that it wasn't appropriate to sexualise the young girls. Anyway, the whole performance was really just an opportunity for the dancers to perform and the school to showcase their programmes. 

Sometimes, I feel that Sophie is really maturing. She was obvious as bored if not more restless than I was, but all she did was to stand up and move a little in front of her seat. She watched the entire performance without whining. I remember she used to whine and complain whenever we watch plays. Now, she seemed better. Maybe she can finally manage her emotions a little better.