On January 14 we went to the Tivoli to see Shen Yun. I had bought us all tickets for Christmas, and I thought we were going to be seeing Chinese acrobats. I was mistaken. This was an evening of Chinese classical dance. But to our surprise, it was not a total disappointment. The dancing was excellent, and the costumes and staging were amazing. They projected the scenery onto a big wall at the back of the stage. At different points in the performances, certain dancers would jump off the back of the stage and then would appear in animated form on the screen to fight a dragon or fly away or whatever. I had never seen anything like it and it was very impressive. My favorite part of the evening was the beginning of the second half of the show. During the intermission they had filled the stage with fog. When the curtains opened the screen showed sky and clouds as if we were above the clouds and out of the fog emerged beautiful women in pink portraying lotus flowers. They had large fans with filmy pink material waving from them. I can't do it justice to describe it, but it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen on stage. The dancers were so graceful that their feet hardly made a sound on the floor as they moved about. That made if a very peaceful and calming evening.
I promised my family I wouldn't do that to them again, that I would be more careful about what I buy them tickets to. But in the end, none of us were sorry we had seen it.
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We went to see several movies:
Saving Mr. Banks: This was such an entertaining movie. I've always loved Mary Poppins, and seeing this peek into the making of the movie was a treat. Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks are both excellent in their roles. Make plans to see this one if you haven't already.
Nebraska: This film is about a man who believes he has won a million dollars, and he is determined to go to Lincoln, Nebraska to collect his prize. His son ends up taking him, and most of the film is about their road trip. It is well done, although not all the characters are likeable. Will Forte does a great job playing the son; his patience with his father (who was not a good man) is very admirable. Lots of good lessons in this story.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty: Although the cinematography is beautiful in this film, the story is weak. Skip it.
We also rented...
Argo: Last year's Best Picture winner at the Oscars. Too much bad language for sure! But it was interesting to watch this film about a part of history I remember from when it was happening. And I was inspired once again by thoughts of the leadership it required to pull this off. Jimmy Carter took a lot of criticism for not getting the other hostages out, but I admire the restraint he showed in not getting us involved in a war with Iran.
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Finally we went last weekend to the Foundry at the Chattanoogan Hotel. We went to hear a group called Priscilla and Little Ricky. We were invited by John and Fawnda who follow this band. Their niece Ashley plays the violin with this group, and does an amazing job. It was an enjoyable evening, and an unusual way for us to spend a Friday night.
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