Tonight we are in Chicago. it is really cold outside but we didn’t let that stop us from having a fabulous day. We tried XIAO LONG BAO at Imperial Lamian. The shanghai regular were the ones recommended and they were right. In addition we tries the szechuan ( seen in red) and the duck ( in green)… Stick with the regular.

We had worked up an appetite after wandering the Art Institute this morning. We had hoped to see the Rembrandt exhibit but it doesn’t open until Monday and we head out Saturday.

All this is a preamble to why we came. To see this

. It was gloomy and dark and in a way beautiful. The story was there, the music was amazing, and the dance, well, it wasn’t traditional ballet, it was a bit too much on the floor but some of it was breathtaking.

There were two things theat the choreographer came back to a few times. One was the couples dance where the swung together. And then there was a circular crowding that undulated and swept around. Remembering this I am also remembering a few other things… The leaping like animals across the stage, the lines filling the stage, and at one point , on point, the ballerinas dancing with sticks.

Int he second half, when they were on point, they were loose and relaxed, it really was beautiful.. yes, on the whole, i would say it was terrific.