A Night To Remember

I thought I had experienced lots of things in my lifetime, and not much more would be able to excite me...Man, was I wrong!  Let me start from the beginning (I will try not to be long-winded with all that I would love to share). 

A friend of mine has always talked about this elite dance group located in New York since I met him three years ago.  I never seemed interested enough to Google the name or even think about researching the company.  My friend kept track of this dance theater's events and noticed that the group would be performing in our town.  He somehow ended up persuading me to act interested enough to attend... I told him that I would only be attending for the sake of my daughter since she likes to dance. 

I only had 2 hours to get from work, get myself & daughter dressed, get dinner, and head back to the other side of town to catch the performance.  On top of all this, it was a school night, and my daughter can be very cranky when she doesn't get enough sleep.  I thought about the time that it would take to get ready and started thinking about whether or not it was worth the trouble. An hour before the performance, my friend called to make sure I was getting ready for the event, which helped me to change my mind yet again. Somehow, I ended up getting everything done and got out the house in enough time to meet my schedule.  However, I had to turn around, because I had forgotten my ID and money!  I still decided to go even though I was now 20 minutes behind schedule.  On the way, I got lost and had to be redirected setting us even more behind schedule. Upon arriving at the venue, we were informed that the show was sold out and we would have to wait until the first intermission to be admitted to any available seats. By this time, I was getting upset because I felt I had wasted my time and gas to get there when I could have been doing something else.  I spoke with a nice man who let me know that he had extra tickets! Things started to look up for us at that time.  We were seated and saving seats hoping that my friends were able to find tickets to enter.  Thankfully, they found us after the first intermission.  My daughter's eyes stayed glued to the stage for the entire 2 hours! She was mesmerized by the dancing, lights, and music.

After the show, I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to get pictures with the dancers.  Obviously many other people were thinking the same thing, because they waited around after the performance.  After waiting for about 20 minutes, people started leaving due to impatience.  Needless to say, we stayed.  We waited until we saw the dancers exit the building and head to another building for their private reception... Do I even have to say what I did next??? I told my friends, "Let's go", and we followed them into the reception.  Thankfully, we were not asked to leave.  Everyone was very friendly.  From there, the ultimate experience began. We were able to take pictures, talk to the dancers, understand them as individuals rather than performers, and my daughter was able to dance for them! Awwww! I was so excited for her!  No matter how many dance classes she has taken, this was her first real experience as a dancer.

The name of this awesome company is the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.  We were able to enjoy a show from the Ailey II group.  These individuals gave a stunning performance that I will never forget (and I am sure my daughter won't either)! I will be sure to keep track of their performances to see when they will be near the area again, because this is a group that I would not mind watching multiple times.  Now, to make a long story short...This was an amazing experience that I am so glad I took the time and energy to attend this event. Most importantly, I am glad that my daughter was able to enjoy it.  The moral of the story is that even when things do not seem worth it, it is okay to venture out to figure out the worth on your own.  You may just come out wealthy.  In this case, we did not come out financially richer, but we were able to gain an experience that will last for a lifetime.  Don't be quick to dismiss ideas.  They may be better than you think.  It is okay to take a chance on something that you would not usually do every once in a while.