As part of my birthday present, Tom got me a ticket to see The Little Dancer, a ballet performance at the St. Louis Art Museum. The work was based on the sculpture by Degas. Pieces from the museum's collection were projected on a screen, and the young ballerina interacted with dancers who represented art from different periods. I loved the way she engaged in a "dialogue" with other subjects and times. Showing the same figure surrounded by changing artwork at first made me think about museums and how they arrange their various pieces, but then it was simply a delight to see the juxtaposition of a Degas dancer with a stained glass window by John La Farge or a pair of Chinese scrolls.

The plethora of dressed-up little girls around me seemed to enjoy the performance too. One more thing I liked about it: the price tag. At $6 for non-members, it cost less than a movie--and made a lovely performance accessible to many people. The color-filled finale was a perfect complement to the "Art in Bloom" exhibit going on upstairs, and as I left through the main hall, the daffodils and tulips and hyacinths seems an extension of the performance.