Ballet Hawaii's Peter Pan

Thank you to Ballet Hawaii for our complimentary tickets.

My daughter and I attended our first ballet together, Ballet Hawaii's Peter Pan, at the Blaisdell Concert Hall this past weekend.  Our dinner ran late and we sat down in our seats just in time to get a quick lesson in the usage of Bravo! (for a male performer), Brava! (for a female performer) and Bravi! (for more than one performer) from Septime Webre, the ballet's choreographer.

The curtains opened to reveal a gorgeous set of the Darling nursery where the children, Wendy, John and Michael are playing with their dog, Nana.  The scenery and props were fantastic, taking up the entire stage.  The focal point was the large window that opens when Tinkerbell and Peter Pan arrive.  I hadn't realized what a large scale production this was until Peter Pan took flight (with the help of cable wires).  How the dancers dance so naturally and effortlessly in midair was phenomenal to watch.

I was a little worried that my 7 year old wouldn't be able to sit through the ballet, but she was captivated from the beginning.  We did have a funny moment when she asked about 10 minutes into the show when they were going to start speaking.  

All the dancers gave amazing performances.  Jonathan Jordan as Peter Pan and Maki Onuki as Wendy Darling (my daughter's favorite) were spectacular.  My favorite dancer was Sona Kharatian as Princess Tiger Lily.  I enjoyed the choreography of her graceful dancing with her Indian maidens.  

It was such a great experience to attend such a well made production and great exposure for my daughter to the performing arts.  She has developed a love for the ballet and has expressed interest in going again.  Kudos to Ballet Hawaii for also creating special events in conjunction with the performance such as the themed Tea at Mariposa.  It really got my daughter excited to attend the main event.  I definitely see more ballets in our future.       

We perused the selection of souvenirs during intermission.

A souvenir to remember her great time at Ballet Hawaii's Peter Pan.