Ballet Under the Stars

We took Ying Ying to watch Ballet Under the Stars by the Singapore Dance Theatre last Saturday. (We invited her Ah Ma and Gu Gu along but they weren't too keen on such arty-farty events.) It was a lovely evening and the turn-out was very good - mostly families but there were groups of friends and many couples too. Thank goodness it didn't rain even though the clouds looked dark and heavy.

The grounds were open for picnic from 5pm but we managed to get a reasonably good view even we arrived at 6.30pm. Ying Ying just woken up from her nap and she was so stunned by the unfamiliar surroundings (i.e. big stage, dancing performers, loud music, many people sitting on grass) that she froze in position for a long time (see pic below)! Later, I tried to feed her dinner but she was too distracted to eat anything.

Looking a bit dazed and overwhelmed...

Darkening sky... a view from where we were seated.

I wasn't sure if she liked the performance cos her eyes weren't glued to the stage for long. Instead, she preferred to observe other people sitting around us or play around our mat. (I think she really liked our big outing mat from Krabi.) However, she did dance a bit in her cute little way whenever she heard a tune to her liking. :)

There were some on-going fringe activities at the back and Ying Ying got a ballerina mouse painted on her right arm. ($3/design; proceeds to SDT) I got her a balloon dog and a blue glowstick (@ $1 each) which she kept tossing around playfully.

The ballet dancers at the end of their performance.

The show finally ended around 9.45pm. I thought it was marvellous that Ying Ying could sit on the mat throughout the 3-hour event with mini breaks in between. She did get a bit restless and fidgety at times. Thinking back, she must have had the urge to go toilet cos her diaper was super heavy when we reached home. I felt guilty for not remembering to take her to go toilet to empty her bladder halfway through the event. (Maybe subconsciously, I didn't want to go cos the toilet was quite a distance away and was pretty crowded too. :p) I have been trying to teach her to vocalise her needs but our stubborn friend simply refused to say. So it is up to me to gauge when to bring her go toilet most of the time. :/

Anyway, it was a pleasant family outing and we would definitely go again in future. But next time, we will try to have some yummy home-cooked food and cold juice instead of just ta-bao stuff (boring and expensive) and water.

(Oh! We must also try to go earlier so that we can sit closer to the centre. Not just for a better view but to sit further away from those irritating smokers who hang out at the side!! It was quite a nuisance to be able to sniff their smoke in such a green environment. I wouldn't care less if they wish to smoke their way to their graves. We have the right to fresh air, OK?)