Surreal Showgirl Weekend

Kylie was everything we'd hoped for and more! She put on an amazing show for more than two hours with everything you'd expect from her. The costumes and the stage were magical, and the dancers were attractive and energetic. But for some strange reason the men seemed to be on stage twice as much as the women. Hmmm... wonder why that is. Bumped into a current colleague (there with his girlfriend; she was both cute, smart and charming - we spoke Japanese together!) and an old colleague from about five years ago who I'd not seen since (part of the majority gay contingent at the show!). The audience was mostly gay men and 20/30-something women. The few straight guys there appear to have been dragged their against their will. :-)



Our other major activity during the weekend (besides the breakfast buffet at the Westin and dim sum) was to go to the Dalí exposition as mentioned below. It was far different from what I'd expected. First of all, the space at the Boijmans van Beuningen (BvB) is gorgeous. Not completely unlike the large gallery at the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, though I'd venture to guess that the BvB is larger. What was unexpected about the exposition is that it wasn't just a collection of unrelated works. It was a study of Dalí's forets into the popular culture of his time through film, theater, fashion, commercials, photography, etc. Though mostly remembered for his surreal paintings of melting clocks and the like, he also collaborated with greats like Walt Disney, Luís Buñuel, and Federico García Lorca to create stunning surreal visual fantasies, whether on stage of on celluloid. Very much worth the €12 entrance fee. See http://www.alldali.org/ENG/ENG_index.php for more info.