Ballet’s better than Strictly says Blur’s Alex James: The only times I cry are at weddings and the ballet

If you are even remotely interested in Strictly Come Dancing, ballet is guaranteed to blow your mind.

My first visit was reluctant. I thought the orchestra wouldn’t be loud enough and well, there’d be men wearing tights — but I was in tears by the end of the first act…

… Music from the big ballets has only endured because it is brilliant pop music. Amazing tunes — my three-year old daughter gets them. And she loves the dancing. Orchestras are huge engines capable of wringing intense emotions from an audience but ballet adds a visual dimension to the music.

Of course, the dancers are the stars of the show. They are like Premier League footballers, the best of the best of the best…

… At the ballet you get to leave life behind and step into something magical for the evening — and it’s cheaper than watching Bon Jovi hacking through Livin’ On A Prayer at the O2.

The only times I cry are at weddings and the ballet.

via The Sun

Gramilano( Editor )

Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano’) about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.

His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia’ column for Dancing Times magazine.