<p><a href="http://www.balletaz.org/index.taf?mnid=community&amp;smid=1124368127" target="_blank"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-734" title="Mozart-Twelve Variations on Ah, vous dirai-je Maman K265" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Please-support-your-local-ballet-300x242.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="242" /></a></p>
<p>Remember the movie <em>The Secret</em>?  Think about something and it miraculously manifests in your life?  An unfortunate example highlighted in the film is a seedy looking guy who dreams about a mansion and poof!  The next thing you know he's living large. </p>
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<p>I don't conjure up mansions in my life.  Maybe because I don't think about them.  I'm a cozy cottage kind of girl.  But I apparently do have magic powers when it comes to Ballet Under the Stars because...</p>
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<p>Last Monday I was driving home from work and passed a beautiful park close to home.  I daydreamed about a Ballet Under the Stars event that was performed there a few years ago.  I wondered if and when it would return and then...</p>
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<p>I'm flipping though a local Fall Arts Preview magazine during my lunchtime pedi the other day and voila!  Ballet Under the Stars performance scheduled for this weekend!  </p>
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<p>Holy Secret Powers, Batman! </p>
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<p>Figuring out which friends will accompany you to the ballet is always a bit tricky.  I decided to invite my friend Sarah who was a Dance minor in college.  We also used to teach together, and as a fellow lover of ballet, she truly understood why I would tear up for the 1000th time while watching <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb4Ps7vqgU0&amp;feature=related" target="_blank"><strong>Baryshnikov &amp; Kirkland's Pas de Deux in <em>The Nutcracker</em></strong></a><strong>.</strong>   I used to show the entire ballet to my students every December.  No <em>Barbie Nutcracker</em> in my classroom.  It was the real deal.  And guess what?  The children LOVED it!  Hurrah to keeping it real and not dumbing it down for kids!  But I digress...</p>
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<p>Ballet Under the Stars performs at several different venues each fall.  The one that Sarah and I attended was on the great lawn at Tempe Center for the Arts, a fantastic performing and visual arts venue.  As I pulled up, I could hardly believe it.  You would have thought that John Mayer was staging a free concert by the amount of TRAFFIC.  For the ballet!!!!  Hurrah again!  It's impossible to get cranky in a traffic jam when you see this many people coming out to support the arts. </p>
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<p>The great lawn swarmed with people.  Of course, this was a free event, but hey -- if a fraction of these people take their families to the ballet this season, Ballet Arizona's mission is accomplished. </p>
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<p>The evening was perfect - from a Harvest Moon rising over the stage; to the brilliant dancing; to the company of a dear, sweet friend and her precious 4 year-old goddaughter pirouetting around; to an adorable shih tzu waltzing up to our blanket and hiking his leg over Sarah's oversized purse. </p>
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<p>So indicative of life, isn't it?  Everything is absolutely lovely until someone pees on your parade.  Luckily, Sarah is one of my most easygoing friends and doesn't sweat the small, shih tzu-type stuff. </p>
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<p>Cities are now publishing their Fall Arts Previews.  Many events are FREE.  Get out there for a memorable evening while supporting your local arts community!   </p>
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