There's a question I swear, please bear with me.

I love my wife, and she loves the ballet, therefore I'm the lucky (not really) owner of season tickets for the Milwaukee Ballet.

I've probably seen over 20 performances now, and let me tell you, you can only see the nutcracker so many times before you want to crack your own nuts just to escape the pain of sitting through yet another whimsical tale of children fighting the rat king and meeting the sugar plumb fairy.

The performance is usually held at the Marcus theater for preforming arts, and we have front row balcony seats, so I'd say it's a pretty good view. This time, however, it was held at the Baumgartner Center for Dance. It was an incredibly small venue, and let me tell you, I was so close to the dancers that I could literally reach out and touch them.

There were 3 separate pieces. The first one was meant to be more intimate, and there were several times that I found myself only feet away from a dancer looking me straight in the eyes. It was an unnerving experience, because I didn't know where to look. This happened with both male and female dancers, I felt like they spent a lot of time looking at the crowd specifically.

The second performance told a tale (without words) of a bachelor who had cold feet, and his friends who came over and threw him a bachelor party. There were drinks and games and eventually the groom came to terms with the impending nuptials. It ended with them over sleeping and running off stage, one of whom had no pants on and a 40oz bottle of beer duct taped to each of his hands. It was hilarious.

The third performance was insane. I can't describe the level of skill, but I really need to impress on you how close I was to the dancers. I could count individual ribs. I could see individual muscles. At one point I could hear the woman breathing, practically gasping for air, with a serene look plastered on her face. It was a remarkable display of athleticism and self control.

My opinion on the ballet changed completely. It was actually awe inspiring being that close and seeing the sheer effort that these athletes were putting forth for my entertainment.

So FINALLY the question. Have you ever had an experience that completely changed your opinion about something so drastically that you went from grudging acceptance, to genuinely looking forward to it?