We had the opportunity to see the Ballet National de Marseille perform their modern piece Silent Collisions.  This piece, inspired by Italo Calvino's novelInvisible Cities, combined the theatrical elements of dance, music, set, lighting, props, and costumes with mass media images of cities taken from the Internet.  Throughout the piece, the choreography was tightly connected to the setting, which continually shifted as the dance changed, and to the images projected, which depicted current events in cities of the world.  This relationship evoked ideas of the link between the people living in a city and the architecture and urbanism.  The violinist, George Van Dam, also played a prominent role in emphasizing the conflicts and harmony within a city, as his music came together with the soundtrack of noises of a city.  As an audience member, at times, I was soothed by this musical combination, and at other times, I felt tense as a result.  Frédéric Flamand, the artistic director of the Ballet National de Marseille, created this piece that I thought was both visibly and audibly entertaining as well as intellectually stimulating.  What a night at the ballet! (-Lauren)