ADF Week 3

We had dinner with Warner & Vivian again. This time we went to Metro 8, an Argentinian-style steakhouse. I think it would be more accurate to say though that the chefs are Argentines and so is their cooking style. We ate there 2 years ago after our first trip to Argentina and we enjoyed it. W&V had not been before but it was one of V's suggestions this week so we were happy to return. I ordered the only dessert, the dulce de leche crepes and had to share. It may have been everyone's favorite dish. Though Clay's empanadas and Warner's steak were well loved too.

It finally occurs to me that Blogger's spell check is broken and I realize now it wasn't working last week either. I hope these posts are going to embarrass me!

Last night we saw Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Clay claims he has seen the company before. I don't remember it, though I was familiar with the name from 1979-1980 or so when they were a tap/jazz company. Now, I would say they are primarily ballet dancers. The first 2 pieces of the evening had strong ballet influences. The second piece was a little more Broadway style. The 3rd pieces was firmly and extraordinarily Modern dance. The company was a joy to watch. They were strong and energetic and skilled. The vocabulary was strongly rooted in ballet with strong feet and fully extended limbs. It was a long night, but we really enjoyed it. They mostly danced in socks! I find myself amazed by this ongoing trend. The first time I remember seeing a modern company dance in socks was Shen Wei. Now that wasn't too surprising since their thing is painting the floor with their feet. You need socks to hold the paint. OK, I get that. But, we have been seeing more and more modern companies dancing in socks. This was not around in my time, you either wore specific shoes to the dancing, or you had bare feet. Now, you are just as likely to see socks. I mean are these special dance socks? Do they sell them with leotards and dance shoes? I don't know.

The really bad news of the evening was that we were surrounded by what smelled like a natural disaster like an earthquake or tornado in a department store's perfume area. It gave us both headaches. What is wrong with grown women? They must have an impaired sense of smell... and no wonder!
The night started with a 20- minute or so long Scripps Award presentation to choreographer William Forsythe. That was new. We've been coming for more than 20 years without ever opting to attend this presentation. I guess maybe when they got rid of the Thursday night performance that we inherited this. It made the night even longer since the performance got pushed back from an 8pm start. It was a touching presentation and we appreciated it, but it was not something we would have knowingly agreed to pay to sit through and we didn't. In years past, you could request tickets to this awards ceremony as a season subscriber, and we have always opted out. I guess we'll find out next year if this new format is here to stay. Obviously, it guarantees a large turnout that would otherwise not show up for an award presentation as well as saves the money from another night's facility fees. We'll see.

Can I just say, it is HOT here! I know, it's summer it should be hot. But this is crazy hot! It was 107 degrees F when we went into the DPAC and when we got back to the car at about 20 of 11pm, it was still 98 degrees F. Our new HVAC system is facing a serious and almost nonstop test! So far, so good!