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Standing Room Price Increases... BOO!


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I don't want to derail or take anything away from Sarah Van Patten and the other dancers, but I am truly disgusted with the SF Ballet for jacking up their standing room prices yet again to $30 for the story ballets. Yes, I know they (and the opera house in general... I'm not sure who exactly instituted this price rise) probably aren't getting as much money in these tight economic times, but to charge $30 for many ballet fans who likely don't have a lot of money is terrible and it's squeezing the wrong people. Much as I love SFBallet's performances and have been attending since the 1970s, I'm not going to be going to much (if any) this year. How much money this is generating for the opera house and SFB can't be much, but it's the straw that broke my camel's back. Yes, I am aware they are offering some discounts during certain evenings up in the nosebleeds. Sorry, but it's not a decent tradeoff. I love the culture of standing room, where you have real fans, dancers and highly knowledgable people mixing together. It was magic and, thanks to some very short-sighted management, it's been ruined for me. BOO on SFB and BOO Opera House

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I don't want to derail or take anything away from Sarah Van Patten and the other dancers, but I am truly disgusted with the SF Ballet for jacking up their standing room prices yet again to $30 for the story ballets. Yes, I know they (and the opera house in general... I'm not sure who exactly instituted this price rise) probably aren't getting as much money in these tight economic times, but to charge $30 for many ballet fans who likely don't have a lot of money is terrible and it's squeezing the wrong people. Much as I love SFBallet's performances and have been attending since the 1970s, I'm not going to be going to much (if any) this year. How much money this is generating for the opera house and SFB can't be much, but it's the straw that broke my camel's back. Yes, I am aware they are offering some discounts during certain evenings up in the nosebleeds. Sorry, but it's not a decent tradeoff. I love the culture of standing room, where you have real fans, dancers and highly knowledgable people mixing together. It was magic and, thanks to some very short-sighted management, it's been ruined for me. BOO on SFB and BOO Opera House

Ha...! don't get me started about this topic. IN GENERAL-(here I'm not referring specifically to ballet)-, how many times have I observed half empty houses and hence ultra discouraging nights as the direct result of super high prices. My thought always being..."do they really prefer not to have any audience than to lower some ridiculously inflated prices that only a few handful of socialites-(who most of the times have no idea what 'the dancers with the Flintstones costumes' were dancing)- can afford...?" Oh please...

Yes, BOO and BOO...!!! :mad:

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I don't want to derail or take anything away from Sarah Van Patten and the other dancers, but I am truly disgusted with the SF Ballet for jacking up their standing room prices yet again to $30 for the story ballets. Yes, I know they (and the opera house in general... I'm not sure who exactly instituted this price rise) probably aren't getting as much money in these tight economic times, but to charge $30 for many ballet fans who likely don't have a lot of money is terrible and it's squeezing the wrong people. Much as I love SFBallet's performances and have been attending since the 1970s, I'm not going to be going to much (if any) this year. How much money this is generating for the opera house and SFB can't be much, but it's the straw that broke my camel's back. Yes, I am aware they are offering some discounts during certain evenings up in the nosebleeds. Sorry, but it's not a decent tradeoff. I love the culture of standing room, where you have real fans, dancers and highly knowledgable people mixing together. It was magic and, thanks to some very short-sighted management, it's been ruined for me. BOO on SFB and BOO Opera House

This is terrible news!!! It was distressing enough a few years ago when the price rose from $10 to $20 for standing - and now this!?!?!?! I already have seats for Wed & Fri Giselle (after seeing today) and wanted to see Maria & Yuan Yuan next week standing - but not at $30!!! You are so right about the standing room culture. A few years ago I ran into some other friends who were also standing. I told them I went to the gala and after Lorena performed the PDD from Giselle the woman next to me leaned over and whispered 'that was my daughter'. A woman nearby turned and said she heard my story and then told me she was Elana's mother!!! Last year during the last performance of The Little Mermaid there were two women - one of them was obviously not a ballet fan. She (the unpleasant, non-ballet fan) told the other 'don't expect much of a story - Disney invented The Little Mermaid'. Needless to say, I was flabbergasted by her lack of knowledge. However, I did not feel it was worth it to waste my breath to educate her.

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This is terrible news!!! It was distressing enough a few years ago when the price rose from $10 to $20 for standing - and now this!?!?!?! I already have seats for Wed & Fri Giselle (after seeing today) and wanted to see Maria & Yuan Yuan next week standing - but not at $30!!! You are so right about the standing room culture. A few years ago I ran into some other friends who were also standing. I told them I went to the gala and after Lorena performed the PDD from Giselle the woman next to me leaned over and whispered 'that was my daughter'. A woman nearby turned and said she heard my story and then told me she was Elana's mother!!! Last year during the last performance of The Little Mermaid there were two women - one of them was obviously not a ballet fan. She (the unpleasant, non-ballet fan) told the other 'don't expect much of a story - Disney invented The Little Mermaid'. Needless to say, I was flabbergasted by her lack of knowledge. However, I did not feel it was worth it to waste my breath to educate her.

Herminator, you're so right about the average 'ballet intelligence' of most people in the Orchestra sections. The higher priced the seats, it seems like the less real interest in ballet and dance.

So much of the cultural institutions in San Francisco have become geared towards those with a lot of money. Maybe they should just put a permanent big, white "event" tent on the stage of the Opera House and skip the dancing since so many patrons in the high priced seats seem to care so little about it. But an art cannot thrive or grow without real fans and even fanatics. That was so much a part of the culture which developed classical ballet in St. Petersburg. Arts organizations which cater only to the wealthy will eventually shrivel up and die. This is a terrible move. :(

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This is terrible news!!! It was distressing enough a few years ago when the price rose from $10 to $20 for standing - and now this!?!?!?! I already have seats for Wed & Fri Giselle (after seeing today) and wanted to see Maria & Yuan Yuan next week standing - but not at $30!!! You are so right about the standing room culture. A few years ago I ran into some other friends who were also standing. I told them I went to the gala and after Lorena performed the PDD from Giselle the woman next to me leaned over and whispered 'that was my daughter'. A woman nearby turned and said she heard my story and then told me she was Elana's mother!!! Last year during the last performance of The Little Mermaid there were two women - one of them was obviously not a ballet fan. She (the unpleasant, non-ballet fan) told the other 'don't expect much of a story - Disney invented The Little Mermaid'. Needless to say, I was flabbergasted by her lack of knowledge. However, I did not feel it was worth it to waste my breath to educate her.

Herminator, you're so right about the average 'ballet intelligence' of most people in the Orchestra sections. The higher priced the seats, it seems like the less real interest in ballet and dance.

So much of the cultural institutions in San Francisco have become geared towards those with a lot of money. Maybe they should just put a permanent big, white "event" tent on the stage of the Opera House and skip the dancing since so many patrons in the high priced seats seem to care so little about it. But an art cannot thrive or grow without real fans and even fanatics. That was so much a part of the culture which developed classical ballet in St. Petersburg. Arts organizations which cater only to the wealthy will eventually shrivel up and die. This is a terrible move. :(

Ha...! Come to Miami during any Opening Night Gala and see then...You will think you've been transported to the set of "Dinasty" in 1983. The night becomes a series of scary reproductions of "The Joans"...(that is Collins and Rivers). Oh, yes...and ballet...? Well, who cares...Let's keep pushing stuff up for the next pic for SocialMiami dot com :mad:

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Well my post hasn't been deleted in fact a dialogue with SFB on Facebook is taking place regarding this standing room ticket price. $20 for a regular performance is absurd and they are gouging the true fans of ballet.

The SF Opera is still at $10. :clapping:

I posted a link to this discussion on their Facebook page. Lets see how long it stays up. :innocent:

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