The Little Mermaid

A few other teachers and I went to see the Queensland Ballet perform The Little Mermaid last night.  It was wonderful!  I can honestly say it was the best ballet I've ever seen - meaning that it's the one I've enjoyed the most.  The scenery and costumes were beautiful and believable and gave the genuine feeling of being under water.  And the way the mermaids danced across the stage - with their feet close together and the flared material waving and swishing back and forth around their feet - it looked as if their 'tails' were propelling them through the water. Another interesting technique they used to help create the impression of swimming was having dancers dressed in black from head to toe hold the mermaids horizontally in the air and carry them across the stage, while the mermaids made swimming and diving motions with their arms.  Since the men in black blended into the underwater world so well, it was incredibly effective.  A stunning performance, indeed!

Before the ballet, I re-read this famous story by Hans Christian Andersen (although, I'm not sure that I'd ever read it before) to remind myself of the plot.  Unfortunately, my knowledge of this classic tale had been Disney-ized.  The original story is quite different from Disney's version.  It's much better, if a bit more graphic - I didn't realize that the Little Mermaid had her tongue cut out by the Sea Witch. Still, it's a wonderful story. I've been reading more of Andersen's stories in the book, The Annotated Hans Christian Andersen, by Maria Tatar. It's a lovely book, one I can't wait to read aloud from with a little someone on my lap... Someday.