Do You Have The Wilis?
On Friday the family went downtown to the Auditorium Theater to see the Joffrey Ballet performing “Giselle“. If the only ballet you have ever seen is “The Nutcracker”, this one provides an excellent contrast to what ballet is all about. It also has a nice spooky Halloween feel to it with the entire second half being about the ghosts of jilted lovers sending unwary men to their graves. (What is it about the Rheinland and spooky women sending men to their graves anyway?) The initial Entrée of the Willis is particularly chilling. The orchestra was pretty good, but the dancing and setting was superb. They did an amazing job showing the dichotomy of the harvest festival and the graveyard with lighting on the same backdrop.
It is ballet, so it is pretty expensive, but no more than a popular concert, and this is definitely a fun one if you have limited experience with ballets.