Ballet in Niterói

Tonight was our night out at the ballet. Or so we had intended. There is a special place in Luiz’s heart for ballet, given that he himself was a ballet dancer in his youth. In fact, he was a professional dancer with the Rio de Janeiro ballet company, including some touring.



In Niterói the ballet company performs at the historic Theatro Municipal. This beautifully restored small theater in the heart of downtown Niterói was the first theater in Brazil with a resident theater company.



When I saw that the ballet company was performing this weekend I suggested to Luiz we go see them. To my utter amazement the tickets were priced at R$10 (US$5.40), plus – if we could demonstrate we are residents of Niterói we could get a 50% discount. So we bought tickets for just R$5.00 each (US$2.70). Fifth row! Incredible!



So we got all dressed up, got on the bus and went downtown. Unfortunately, once we got to the theater it was dark. Taped to the main doors were notices that the theater would be dark for the entire month of August due to the Swine Flu epidemic. The health department has requested that crowded, confined spaces such as theaters close until further notice. (I must admit I had been a bit nervous about going to the ballet for just this reason.)

Ultimately our R$5 ballet was in fact too good to be realized. We turned around and went home.