Myth #2: Ballet dancers wear stupid, frilly tutus. Nope, not any more. Tutus are the costumes of the past. Today's dancers sport vibrant tights, flowing lace dresses, intricate jacket overlays and even wings.

Puck even wore a revealing chain of leaves for his costume. Sometimes the dancers don't even have buns in their hair. How's that for modernization?

Myth #3: Ballet has no words. How can it portray a story with no words? Ballet has not even a hint of a spoken word. But that's the coolness of it. Ballet doesn't need words. The dancers use action to elicit the story.

They use drama. They use hand gestures, facial expressions and even fake Hollywood-style punches.

Lysander flutters his hands in front of his heart to show his new-found love for Helena. Puck leaps and cartwheels around the stage to create his character, the free-spirited, effeminate sycophant of Oberon. Bottom's friends flee trepidly after they discover that he now has a donkey's head.

Now that I have dispelled some of the popular myths about ballet, I hope that all of you "ballet-illiterate" people out there will venture to the Wang Center to experience one. You might actually find that you like it.

Give it a test try. On the Edge is the next Boston Ballet production starting March 12. I, now being "semi-ballet-literate" might even be there to join you.