We were enchanted yesterday, the wee one and I, as "Swan Lake" opened to the scene of Prince Siegfried’s party.

I saw the sizes, ages, and bright eyes of the individuals on stage and tears streamed down my face unwittingly. Hours, weeks, months of effort were apparent; these weren’t individuals paid to do what they loved, possibly they were people paying to do it, or on grants.

That’s the beauty of community theater and dance; it’s all about the love of the activity.
With Dance Theatre Northwest’s "Swan Lake," we saw the love, and we felt it; we saw the hard work of the dancers, many of whom performed triple roles, even more, in the ambitious production.

Standouts were plentiful: in the corps were individuals who showed energy and vitality even two hours after beginning the ballet; the sweet quartet of swans had my heart in my throat and had my tears streaming again as the dance went on.

Ultimately, though the numerous (I stopped counting at 32) fouettes performed by Katie Neumann were impressive, they weren’t enough to propel her to “star” status, in my book.  Even my wee one, who was so excited to see Odette, and then so anxious to see Odile, (pronounced Oh-Dial by the narrator, which irked me) was left fidgeting through her performances as both personae.

It’s not that Neumann wasn’t great, it’s just that she wasn’t riveting.  She was impressively limber and swan-like, as Odette, but there was something hollow and possibly stiff about her as Odile.

Even still, the kid came home and immediately began dancing as a swan, and as corps dancers.  She felt the magic of the dance, and forgot the length, which said volumes as she was the kid whining, “mommy, how much longer,” despite her familiarity with the storyline.

It was exactly a perfect arts afternoon for the two of us, hanging out together.  She brought a stuffed dog with her to the ballet, and I asked her what the puppy thought of the evening.
Her response: “The music was great, and the dancing was pretty.” â€" Jessica Corey-Butler