whetherwax Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 For the price of a live performance $92 in Australia I can buy 3 DVDs. Even more worrying is the fact that DVDs are usually made of crack companies with great stars. There is a great deal of money spent on design the stages are capacious, effects really good. As well, we get superb close ups of the dancers which can be impossible unless you have THE very beat seats in a live performance. Does anyone think that DVDs will have a lasting impact on attendance? Link to comment
Amy Reusch Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 For the price of a live performance $92 in Australia I can buy 3 DVDs. Even more worrying is the fact that DVDs are usually made of crack companies with great stars. There is a great deal of money spent on design the stages are capacious, effects really good. As well, we get superb close ups of the dancers which can be impossible unless you have THE very beat seats in a live performance. Does anyone think that DVDs will have a lasting impact on attendance? I think that like CDs, they will only encourage even more attendence... do people not go to live rock concerts because they happen to have a studio recording of the music? Link to comment
carbro Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 I agree with Amy. There are so many places that never get live, professional ballet. If someone's imagination is sparked by a DVD, they might seek out ballet if they visit a large city. The problem would be introducing then to the DVD in the first place, preferably with good preparation for what they're about to see and hear. Before my ballet date with my niece for Coppelia, I sent my sister a tape of the score so she could familiarize her daughter with the music. She never got around to it , but the afternoon was a success nonetheless! Link to comment
Amy Reusch Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Oddly enough, I think the immediacy of broadcast television served ballet better than videos do... there's something about the "catch it now before it's gone" that keeps them watching in a way that "when I have time to sit back and watch the video" doesn't.... Link to comment
Jack Reed Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 Always ready to quibble, I'll disagree with Amy... sometimes. It's when the camera work is so awfully complicated that being able to watch the exact same thing several times more may enable me to squeeze a little more of the performance out of it than I got the first time through. But, yeah, Amy, you're right, if you know "this is the only time", it can help to keep you maximally attentive... provided tricky editing doesn't get in your way! Or maybe I'm just too easily distracted by thoughts of "it doesn't have to be like that!" Link to comment
Marcmomus Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 As a relative newcomer to the appreciation of ballet, I strongly endorse the suggestion that DVDs encourage attendance at a live performance. I recently went quite far out my way on a business trip to Germany to see Dresden's Ballet perform the Taming of the Shrew. I am aware this may not be a first-line house but they carried it off remarkably well to my untutored eye, and the audience loved it. Link to comment
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