I know that ballet, theatre, and culture is quite a niche topic, but I love being able to share it with you. And yes, this absolutely has been a bizarre and weird year for culture. Being that most of us aren’t allowed within two metres of another person from outside of our household, live performances aren’t really possible in the normal manner. Ballet companies, theatres, and opera companies have all adapted to the new digital way of performing. However, I’ve done my best to help you keep up with culture in the meantime. These are my top cultural posts of 2020!
MFIT’s Ballerina: Fashion’s Modern Muse
This post was one of my top 2020 posts, across all categories, and amazingly written before the world turned upside down. The Museum at FIT has been ahead of the game for years, and regularly stages online exhibitions to accompany the physical ones. Ballerina looks at the relationship between ballet and fashion, and the roles that dancers have played for designers. I reviewed the online exhibition, and shared my favourite highlights! (And if you are interested, I reviewed the exhibition book that accompanied it, as well.) Keep checking the MFIT website- they do add new online exhibitions, so you can “visit” no matter where you are.
The Top 5 Historical Musicals
It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that I love historical musicals. Set around a specific event/ person, or in a general historical period, I love them. (Not to say I don’t love contemporary musicals.) Although there are many musicals to pick from, I’ve gathered my top 5 historical musicals and why I love them! I’m a little surprised that the post was as popular as it was, given that we couldn’t see live theatre. However, I’m hoping that means people are planning on tickets to buy when we can. Head to the post to see my favourites, I’ve got some unexpected picks here!
History of Ballet: British Ballet
I continued on and finished up my history of ballet series, which I absolutely adored writing. My British ballet instalment was quite popular with readers, unsurprisingly! (I did an instagram live chat on British ballet history, which brought many people to the post- hello if you found me from that!) I trained in the English school of ballet, and the Royal Ballet is one of my favourite companies, so I admit I’m biased. However, when you look at Margot Fonteyn, and the Royal Ballet, you can’t deny their roles in ballet history. (And given that the Royal Ballet was streaming free ballets on Youtube all summer, I think they only raised their profile further…)
Enjoying Your Nutcracker Tradition
I, like many of you, have an annual tradition of going to see The Nutcracker at the holidays. However, sadly, very few of us were able to see The Nutcracker in person this year. So, I put together my best suggestions on how to adapt your Nutcracker tradition and make the best of it! I’ve also included ways on how to watch the full Nutcracker, in case you want to sit down and enjoy it (albeit in a slightly different way).
Update: The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, my local company, adapted their production of The Nutcracker to The Nutcracker Suite! We were able to buy household tickets to digitally stream it, and although it was different, I still loved it.
Marquee TV: Online Culture
And it is no shock to me that this post was quite popular, either. I am not an affiliate or any way linked to Marquee TV, but I have quickly come to love this cultural streaming service. Marquee offers different ballet, opera, contemporary dance, symphony, and theatre productions from notable companies and theatres around the world. When we cannot see anything in person, Marquee certainly helps fill that cultural void. There are a few paid ticket events, but there have only been a handful since I signed up in September- nearly everything is included with your subscription. They often have different offers going; I got my subscription for half-price. Given that most of us won’t have the vaccine until well into the second half of 2021, Marquee will serve you well in the next year!
Have you caught up with my top cultural posts of 2020?
Cheers,
The Historian
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