Monday, July 20, 2009

Picnicking at Ballet Under the Stars

It’s amazing how beautiful yet how simple a picnic can be. Pack a mat, cheese and crackers, crusty bread with cold meats, and a bottle of chilled wine. Bring along a good book and your loved one and there you have a recipe for happiness. Simple luxury I call it.

A picnic is even better when it’s combined with Ballet Under the Stars (BUTS), the quarterly outdoor ballet performance put up by the Singapore Dance Theatre at the Fort Canning Green. Last Sunday’s picnic menu consisted of home-made mushroom soup (blended fresh shitake mushroom, shallots and ground hazelnuts); roast chicken breast (immersed for 3 hours in special herb and spice brine solution and roasted with streaky bacon); salad of baby romaine lettuce, yellow pepper, carrots and sugar snap peas with balsamic vinegar dressing; swiss cheese and hummus with crackers; white chocolate oat cranberry cookies; and an assortment of fresh fruit. All washed down with sparkling white grape juice and Bundaberg lemon lime bitters.

The entire experience was all too lovely for words. Lounging on the warm grass-lined hill staring at the sky, feeling the light breeze ruffling one's hair, sampling different delights from the spread of food, and of course, not forgetting the very wonderful performance by the SDT dancers. I absolutely loved the item ‘POP!’ which was a series of dance segments with classical moves, set to pop music from Annie Lennox, Tom Jones and so on – witty and engaging, and a total breath of fresh air. If only every Sunday could be as good as this….

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