VIRSKY

I got my wife tickets to Virsky as an anniversary present this year and the performance was last night.

I am amazed at the athleticism of the men who specialize in Ukrainian dancing.  They do things far beyond what any hockey player can.

I have seen a few shows involving high end Ukrainian dance groups and for me to rank them wouldn't be fair.  I'm not knowledgeable enough about the craft.  All I can say is that I was entertained last night and Jenn (my wife) said it was a great show.

Personally, I liked one particular sequence where the dancers dressed up as Ukrainian warriors and performed a dance with a prop that looked like a staff.  From there, they went into a sequence with swords.  Very impressive.

Closer to the end of the program, there was another dance where participants dressed up as sailors.  It was very good.  The final dance of the night showed off some of the best athletic moves the group has in its repertoire, I'm sure.

Costume changes must be a nightmare for the dancers.  I lost count after about 20 minutes.

It also didn't go unnoticed that the females were probably all the same height and weight.  Ditto for the males, who probably could double as horse jockeys in another life.

As far as the crowd is concerned, I was mildly entertained by the number of people who were present that, most likely, haven't been out of the house in years.  I saw more than a couple of people confused as to how to read the seat numbers off the tickets. A few more were unsure where the actual seats were and there.  Towards the end of the show, an older couple actually got up and left with about 5 minutes remaining (sound like hockey?) because I'm sure they wanted to escape the hustle and bustle of the parking lot.  Yorkton's a huge city, after all.  Don't laugh.  I remarked to my wife about how Yorkton people would rather be home a few minutes earlier than stay until the end of the show just because they don't want to wait 5 minutes for traffic in the parking lot and I heard a man behind me bemoan to his wife about having to wait in the parking lot now because everyone was leaving at the same time.  Wow.

I've complained lots in Yorkton This Week about how people behave in the Gallagher Centre parking lot, but it bears mentioning again.  We are lazy.  There is no structure or order to parking, so even as rows are formed, some people squeeze into what should be a driving aisle just so they can get 20 steps closer to the building.  And, when leaving after an event, it's every man (or woman) for himself.  The most efficient way to do it is to let 1 vehicle in and then keep going.  Not in Yorkton.  We'll rear-end someone before letting one vehicle get in front.  Here's a novel thought:  park a little further away from the building and you can leave through the other end (near A&W) without actually dealing with the traffic!