The evening of Coppelia at the Heymann Performing Arts Center was an enchanting evening very well spent. The scenery and props were superb, the colorful costumes were beautiful, appropriate and well-executed and all of the dancers, young and younger were charming. The very accomplished pricipals from the Houston Ballet adeptly put the finishing and dramatic touches on a clever and amusing story and all came together quite nicely to make an evening of classical ballet a magical and inspiring experience.
Acadiana is so fortunate to have a pretty darn good ballet company in residence and to actually have the opportunity to see full length classical ballets other than "The Nutcracker". Even communities as large as nearby New Orleans don't seem to have the wherewithal to stage much more than ballet recitals chock full of modern jazz., with the exception of multiple annual stagings of "The Nutcracker". One of the wonderfult things about the Lafayette Ballet Theater is the exposure of the art to young ones and the experience and discipline the ballet provides. Who knows? Some day some young lady or gentleman, who initially trained with LBT will become a principal with the American Ballet Theater or an equally renowned ballet company. Keep up the excellent work LBT!
Sad to say, the Heymann auditorium was not packed to capacity, but that in no way marred the enthusiasm of the many patrons in attendance. In fact one or two patrons may have been a bit too enthusiastic and applauded and yelled "bravo" more than necessary. The biggest "bravo" of all should go to the Lafayette Ballet Theater!