A DANCER ABROAD: All the World's a Stage

“All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players.”

William Shakespeare wrote these timeless words for his comedy As You Like It. It’s a beautiful speech about the ages of Man and how each stage of life can be thought of as acts in a play: infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, old age, etc. These words and that show hold a special place in my heart as the Shakespeare production the Red Deer College Theatre Program’s class of 2004 – my class – performed.

However, I like to think of it in a slightly different, more literal, way.

I think of how theatre plays a part in all cultures around the world and the actual physical buildings that house this important cultural work. After over a year of living in Europe, I’ve been fortunate to see many great, grand, beautiful theatres and I’ve been even luckier to have been able to see some of the performances they harbour. Each theatre is unique and impressive in its own way, whether it be for its history, architecture or both, and they all have one big thing in common: they are all works of arts in and of themselves that present other works of art.

As my gift to you on this beautiful New Year’s Eve, here are some of my favorite photos of the some of the many different theatres I’ve seen and visited throughout Europe this year. I can't wait to go back to some of them to see more dance and theatre and to celebrate more stories of people around the world.

All the world truly is a stage.

Palais Garnier, Paris, France.