I was 10 years old when my grandpa gave me the jewelry box painted with orchids and reeds. Inside, two opal swans slid across the mirrored top as I wound it and the music began to play. Sitting there in my lawn chair that summer afternoon, surrounded by family and friends visiting for my birthday, my eyes began to water, my cheeks flushed, everyone was looking and there wasn’t anything I could do. I cried. Not because I didn’t like it; not as my parents and grandpa worried as they told me they’d take it away. No. I cried and swatted their hands away. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

Twenty years later, the jewelry box and the grandpa who gave it to me may be gone, but starting tomorrow, American Ballet Theatre will bring the swans and music of my memory to life on Chicago’s Civic Opera House stage.

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American Ballet Theatre, or ABT as the world’s premiere ballet company is fondly known, returns for another rousing opening night repertoire on April 14 with principle dancers Julie Kent, Gillian Murphy, and Jose Manuel Carreño scheduled to perform; followed by seven performances of the stoically beautiful Swan Lake from April 15-18.

Different from Chicago’s own Joffrey ballet company, ABT is known for choreography that uses techniques from the classic French, Italian, and Russian schools of ballet. And, whereas the Joffrey typically performs contemporary and/or abstract ballets with unconventional choreography and has its foundation in original ballets by founding member Robert Joffrey, ABT regularly performs classics like Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, Don Quixote and Sleeping Beauty.

So, whether you’re a veteran of the ballet world who knows the difference between a demi- and a grand plié, or a novice who’s watched Center Stage once or twice (you’ll recognize a few faces on stage if you have!), be sure to take advantage of this opportunity to see the ballet world’s best and brightest. Come for the soaring leaps of the men, the glittered tulle tutus of the women, and the lifts of the pas de deux; and stay for the singular elegance of experiencing ABT perform in one of the city’s most lauded venues.

Moms, take your own future ballerinas to a matinee showing that they won’t soon forget. Single gals, get the girls together, coordinate your fancy dresses, and down champagne at intermission in the gilded lobby of our legendary opera house. And everyone else, ditch the significant other at home and treat yourself to a night of music and artistry.

As for me, I’ll be there when the house lights go down and the first notes of Tchaikovsky’s symphony begin to play. Sitting there seemingly subdued, I may look like a grown up, but the part of me that’s still a 10 year old girl with a jewelry box that plays Swan Lake will be tapping her toes and smiling.

Tickets still available on Ticketmaster.