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he Shanghai Ballet fills stage with talent, movement, and fun. The ballet "Coppélia" takes place in a Galician village, and it appeared entire little town had turned out for tonight's celebration. "Coppélia" is a rare ballet with a comic bent, a witty female lead, and, uh, less-than-heroic male characters. Like Nutcracker, it is based on a story by E.T.A. Hoffman, and you'll notice parallels in dreamy, childlike sense of make-believe it portrays.

Formed in 1979, Shanghai Ballet has become a world-renowned dance company whose members have won many awards at prestigious international ballet competitions. They are currently on a U.S. tour, showcasing grace and skill of their dancers.

Act I reveals that Franz and Swanilda are an uneasy couple. Franz is revealed to be a typical man, blowing a kiss to a pretty girl in an upstairs window right in front of Swanilda, his supposed fiancée. Still, you feel sorry for him when Swanilda begins teasing him cruelly in front of a growing crowd in village square for his unfaithfulness. This act contains as much pantomime as dancing. Acting out a story is always a work of rather abstract art, and it was an amusing challenge to interpret gestures and dance movements: "Ah, burgermeister is asking Swanilda if she and Franz will marry tomorrow as planned. She's being rather non-committal..." There is some very nice solo and ensemble dancing here, including some terrific one-footed twirling jumps by Swanilda. Remember, in hula you watch hands; in ballet you watch feet. And what of Las Vegas-style dancing, you ask? Never mind.

The pretty girl who started all this is none other than Coppélia, daughter of eccentric old toymaker Coppélius. In a rather Shakespearean way, Swanilda and her girlfriends become as intensely interested in this silent girl in upper window as Franz is - and nobody knows a thing about her! Act I ends with kids figuring out how to sneak into Coppélius' house to satisfy their overpowering curiosity.

Who Ever Knew That History Lessons Could Be Fun?

On a recent extraordinarily beautiful Southern California weekend Kim and I did something completely out of ordinary: we took a weekend Scottish history lesson. Luckily for me, this crash course was not in school. But, as a key verse in song, "Mesopotamia" by B-52's goes, "I am no student of ancient culture. But, before I talk, I should read a book." (Opening photo: The Clans appeared in Long Beach, California for annual Scottish Highlands Festival and Games, set on Clan Keith Tartan.) In both of our cases, being short on time, and in my case, short on functioning brain cells, we headed off to Long Beach, California to spend a glorious weekend enjoying 11th Annual Queen Mary Scottish Festival and Games being held at historic Queen Mary. Our intent was to soak up a wee bit of Scottish culture, food, music, and drink while having a good time. Who would have known that we'd even learn something while having fun?

Like ancient castles on rocky Scottish coast, we were besieged with things to see and do at this annual February festival. Whether you're of Scottish heritage or not, this event is easily something you can take whole clan to. Everyone can find something that interests them, from watching colorful parades and ear shattering historic reenactments, to checking out working dogs in their instinctual sheep herding demonstrations. Heavy athletics events, of which I'll explain later, are quite a sight to see.