Houston Ballet — Attraction in Houston

I don't normally write long,, negative reviews but I think this should not happen again and maybe by telling my experience some people is given better training. The story is long. Please bare with me. My family have Ballet fans since ever. It is not surprising that we absolutely love the Houston Ballet. My brother, who lives in Belgium, came to Houston with his spouse and mother in law for the holidays. He had also prepared a nice surprise and gifted me and his mother in law with tickets to the Nutcracker. Not only he knew it would be something I love, but he wanted to show our visitors how wonderful is the ballet experience here. We all arrived earlier and even took pictures with the beautiful Christmas tree at Wortham Theater. Unfortunately, shortly after the start of the show, our great experience became a grwat disappointment. A mistake made by a very nice and busy usher who helped us initially find our box resulted in Michele (not her real name), my brother's mother in law and I seating at the left box instead of the right box of my brother's. We trusted her in our happiness and after about 15min the show started. What happened later, while we were in the middle of a beautiful Christmas party developing in front of us is, we were "chockingly awoken to reality" by this upset lady agressively demanding to see out tickets. I asked her to talk to my brother ( I understand it was not easy because the show was fully running and the Theater design is such that she had to go up and down a whole set of stairs in darkness (fortunately she had a little light to help herself). My brother had turned off his phone ( like must people do during the Ballet) so he was called out of his box by her with what he described as "awful manners" and they both waited until he finally understood what really had happened. Then, the bitter being came back to my place and ordered us out. So we finally moved to the right box. I was so upset with the rudeness shown by the usher I told her that...twice! For God 's sake, Michele is an elderly lady and she was making her hurry up but never made an effort to help her. Once seated it took a long time for me to be able to concentrate. I felt embarrassed. Michele said "These are better seats" (wich was the true being closer to the center) by then the mouse king has hurt the Nutcracker and the bitter lady had hurt our great Ballet experience. Is the behavior of this lady really necessary? Couldn't she have some paper that says " Sorry, an error may have happened and it seems you are in the wrong place . Could I please see your tickets". She could have shown that to mt or to everyone who needed to see. If she has horrible manners, what happened here is partially her fault. I think the Houston Ballet should really look into this cases as it really can ruin the great and hardwork of the numerous people involved in these productions. And, by the way, how about not letting people in if they are late? On my part I will absolutely make sure to check my chair and bring a little flash light just in case we need to move again. To the artists: I really loved the production!! It was beautiful as I...

I normally love all the ballets at this venue. But the ballet, "Cinderella", was not one of them because I had my grand daughter with me and we were expecting a traditional Cinderella story. This ballet was certainly not for kids. This heartwarming story was changed in such a way that it really confused kids and adults alike. In the opening scene, Cinderella was dressed in boy clothes, had the build of a boy with dark brown hair cut into a man's buzz haircut so we both thought it was really a boy and wondered where Cinderella was. Surprise... it was Cinderella. Cinderella's father was depicted as a blatant alcoholic who was very much alive through most of the show; he would stagger in and out of the scenes and we all wondered why. The mean step-mother seemed to hate her 2 daughters as well as Cinderella which can be seen by her slapping each one in the face. There were no mice or birds as Cinderella's friends; she had instead a large group of creepy looking creatures as well as a male chimney sweep who grabbed her inappropriately causing a gasp from the audience... very poor taste. The creatures looked like Halloween goblins, who moved like the "walking dead" which really scared my 6 yr old grand daughter. When Cinderella finally gets to the ball, Prince Charming is way too forward for her so she dumps him in favor of one of his staff members. The ending was as confusing as the whole show. Overall, the dancing , music and costumes were top notch, except for Cinderella's costumes which were way out of character from the rest of the cast's and story-line's theme. The last annoying feature occurred at intermission; there were too many long, long lines waiting for just 1 bartender to serve way too many people. .... There were no souvenirs for the kids nor any available kid food. After I purchased a room temperature apple juice for my grand daughter, we rushed to our seats only to be stopped by usher who said nothing but water was allowed inside. So everyone was left standing outside the entrance trying to quickly gulp down their beverage. This all could have been avoided with a simple sign at the bar stating only bottled water is allowed in the auditorium... but then no one would buy the more expensive beverages.... a good reason not to tell people in advance of the rules. Thumbs down...

Houston Ballet is undeniably one of the premier performing arts companies in Houston, and my recent experience attending one of their performances only solidified this belief. From start to finish, every aspect of their production exudes excellence.

The performance I attended, "Bespoke," was a testament to the company's dedication to top-notch production. Divided into three distinct chapters, each featuring a different style of contemporary dance, the show was a mesmerizing journey from beginning to end. The music, the choreography, and the overall production were simply breathtaking, evoking a range of emotions from soft and touching to exhilarating and exciting. The speed and precision of the ballerinas left me in awe, while the power and strength displayed in the final part of "Bistro" left me utterly captivated.

I must commend the ballet dancers for their incredible dedication and hard work. It's evident that they pour their hearts and souls into each performance, showcasing professionalism, attention to detail, and sheer talent. Bravo to them for delivering such a spectacular show.

I am already looking forward to attending every performance Houston Ballet has to offer this year, as I am confident that each one will bring me immense joy and happiness. And with ticket prices starting as low as $25, experiencing the magic of Houston Ballet is accessible to all, proving that greatness doesn't have to come with a hefty price tag. Highly recommended to anyone seeking an unforgettable...