The graying audience

[dirac]

An article in The Los Angeles Times by Diane Haithman on that perennial subject, the aging of the classical arts audience, with a slightly different take:

Is it true? Is the audience for live performance really aging, dying and disappearing, never to be replaced? And who is that audience, exactly?

As with the statistic about single women and terrorists, it would be nice to be able to say that the aging of the performing arts audience is a false assumption. The numbers, however, say it's not.

But most performing arts professionals say there's a lot of gray area -- no pun intended -- in this conversation. And most can offer compelling reasons why texting an obituary for live performing arts may be highly premature.

Thoughts?

[SanderO]

I'm not getting any younger and have been going more and enjoying more. There seems to be a disproportionate number of seniors and a dip in the middle age brackets. Who knows. We need more audience of all ages.

[vicarious]

There needs to be new ballets that appeal to all ages, especially children.

[cubanmiamiboy]

If it wasn't for the massive amount of busses coming from Assisted Living Facilities loaded with their respective-(and respected)-massive amount of elderly population waving their group discount tickets, some Companies here in Miami, like Florida Grand Opera, would be playing for empty houses. I expect the mere mentioning of this fact doesn't offend anyone...hopefully...

[carbro]

Florida is in the vanguard of graying populations compared to the rest of the US.

The eldest babyboom echoers are now young adults. If they're not buying tickets now, it's not likely they will.

[cubanmiamiboy]

There needs to be new ballets that appeal to all ages, especially children.

What about making an effort to make "Giselle" appealing to just everyone...? (That's not a difficult task, i would say...) Definitely. I would go for Miami/Giselle, Miami/Beauty, Miami/Bayadere...and so on. For some reason, i would envision a positive outcome with the youngest generation. Balanchine is definitely a hot ticket, but there should be more variety.

[Figurante]

There is usually a diverse age group in Philly

[Mashinka]

One area where a grey audience doesn't proliferate is modern dance, at least here in London. Last night at Sadlers Wells I started to wish it was otherwise, as in the first half of the programme I almost become a victim of chemical warfare from the noxious scent the young girl sitting next to me was wearing, the fact that she chatted to her companions on and off throughout the ballet didn't endear me to her either.

A friend I met up with in the interval suggested I sat next to him for the second half as there were a number of empty seats near him, however two young people a couple of rows in front were engaging in what I can best describe as inappropriate amorous activity. Ho hum..... on such occasions I would have preferred some of those aging Americans around me as in my experience the worst the elderly do is fall asleep...and snore.

[sidwich]

I think the "graying of the audience" issue is somewhat deceptive. The U.S. population as a whole is aging and aging significantly as the big lump in the middle of the census chart known as the "baby boomers" hit retirement age and life expectancy continues to grow.

[bart]

.... on such occasions I would have preferred some of those aging Americans around me as in my experience the worst the elderly do is fall asleep...and snore.

Fall asleep, perhaps. But snore? Most of us bring companions precisely so that they can provide a swift elbow job as soon as the first soft "gnnn" begins. In our part of the country, it's usually the wife that performs this service.

My own fascination with the classical arts was fertilized in childhood by a number of things: a ballet mother, a school music program firmly based in classical music, regular (though not really frequent) classical performances on radio and tv, a youth culture that paid lip service at least to learning about the achievements of the past, and a wonderful proximity to Manhattan. I was lucky.

For a long time, the young people I meet -- even those from educated and well-off families -- often seem to lack these advantages. They live in a culture which tells them that such things are superfluous and not generally worth time, energy or money.

Figurante, your comment at the age diversity in the Philadelphia ballet audience is one of the most wonderful bits of news I've had in a long time. I know that you are also familiar with the Miami City Ballet audience(s), which do tend to be elderly at least when they travel to West Palm Beach. You have danced rather similar repertoire in both places. It would be wonderful to hear how the audience's response varies in each part of the country -- especially how they respond to the classical, neoclassical and more artistically ambitious contemporary work both MCB and Pennsylvania Ballet perform. Do they llike the same works? the same PORTIONS of certain works? Do you detect differences in the way a Balanchine work is received by the older and the less-old audience? Can these differences be felt by those performing on stage?

[cubanmiamiboy]

From my own experience, it is a plus in Havana to be part-(and hence be "seen")-of the young balletomanes circle, which is increasingly bigger, and has its own levels and hierarchy. It's very usual to run into friends later on at clubs after a ballet performance, where it's a MOST to start talking about ballet, take sides of one of the current star ballerinas, and heavily criticize her "rival". Again, this is all formed by the younger population.

[bart]

Cristian, why do you think the ballet culture you describe exists among the young(er) fans in Cuba? Is this true throughout the country, or only in Havana? Are there other classical performing arts -- theater, music -- which have a similarly passionate and organized fan base? Did the regime permit this to grow, in your opinion, because gathering to argue about ballerinas is less of a danger to the power structure than gatherings devoted to possibly subversive literature, theater, or cinema?

[cubanmiamiboy]

Cristian, why do you think the ballet culture you describe exists among the young(er) fans in Cuba? Is this true throughout the country, or only in Havana? Are there other classical performing arts -- theater, music -- which have a similarly passionate and organized fan base? Did the regime permit this to grow, in your opinion, because gathering to argue about ballerinas is less of a danger to the power structure than gatherings devoted to possibly subversive literature, theater, or cinema?

The answer to those questions is simpler. The ballet phenomena in Havana-(can't speak of other areas due to lack of knowledge)-is based in an older cultural knowledge that goes back to the late 40's and the creation of the Company. Performances, even before Castro, were of easy access, and full houses were reported since its early beginnings. Later on government support, low prices and frequent TV telecasts added to the interest. On the other side, Mme's Company has its competition among the Havana cultural life. The National Symphony Orchestra has its own theater and loyal crowd-(full house too)-along with several other contemporary dance companies, Opera, Cinema and Theater plays-(there are annual Festivals of almost EVERYTHING). It's just that ballet is the reigning queen of them all...remember that old saying, "Cuba is all about the 3 B's, BASEBALL, BOXING AND BALLET". Also, young street boys, a la Carlos Acosta, are very eager to get into the ballet world, which is also considered to carry an aura of sex appeal among youngsters, from both sexes, from and to every sexual orientation.