Black Swan Girls Night

Tonight I'm going out with some girlfriends, and we are going to see Black Swan with Natalie Portman.  I'm so excited for girls night for a lot of reasons.  One, it's always nice to get out of the house and do something fun with just girls.  Not that I don't love being with my husband, because I do.  He is my best friend and my biggest fan.  It's just nice to be around other independent, successful women.  It gives me strength, and they encourage me to be a better person.  The second reason that I'm super excited for tonight is I love the ballet, Swan Lake.  Black Swan is a psychological thriller based on the ballet Swan Lake, in which the main character, Natalie Portman, becomes obsessed with playing both the white swan and the black swan.  The white swan representing the goodness inside of people, and the black swan representing the dark side of people.

When I was a little girl, my ballet studio performed Swan Lake.  I never really understood all the characters, partly because I was 5, and partly because as a performer, it's difficult to see the whole picture.  I was lucky to have a Dad who traveled and was a pretty cultured man- especially for Western Kansas and a town of 1200 people.  My Dad took me to see professional dancers perform Swan Lake when I was a little older and I could understand the whole story.  I still remember how I felt watching the performance.



Another great thing about going out tonight with the girls is we are going to an independent theater on Mass. Street in downtown Lawrence.  This theater only shows independent films.  I feel like I'm supporting independent artists and the local businesses of Lawrence.  Plus, this theater lets you bring in whatever you want to eat or drink.  Oh, and they serve booze!