A Huge Peeve

[Juliet]

At least you know what evening slippers are!

I am not going to open myself for socially correct target practice by mentioning the appalling disregard for appropriate dress for social occasions such as ballet or theatre performances. Sigh...

[Nanatchka]

The whole point of going out is getting to wear one's shoes, no? Note: I have just acquired some 1920s Chinese embroidered evening slippersat an out of the way dealer in London. What Bloomsbury wore to the ballet....to see Lydia Lopukova before she married Meynard Keynes.

[creativejuice]

The National Ballet of Canada takes policing its audience members very seriously! Below is a link outlining detailed guidelines for audience behavior at the Hummingbird Centre: http://www.national.ballet.ca/EducationAnd...h/etiquette.php

Sure you’re laughing now! One misfortunate soul who callously broke the strict “No Cell Phone” bylaw was shocked when Kudelka’s Bears from the Nutcracker yanked him from his seat and pulled him onto the stage right in the middle of Swan Lake to make an example of him! The entire corp de ballet rushed onto the stage and beat the stupid bastard mercilessly with their pointe shoes to get their “No Cell Phone” policy through the lunkhead’s melon!

[nlkflint]

And why is it that there are so many with cellophane-wrapped candy at the ballet!!! I never notice this noise any other location than the theater during a ballet. And to think that NBC actually puts this request in writing. Hurray!!! :bouncing:

[Mark D]

At the New York State Theater it might help if the ushers would enforce what I used to understand as the policy-- No one is seated after the ballet has started. This past season the ushers seated a couple at least 4-5 minutes after the ballet had started.

I also think that most people do no understand that when you lean forward in your seat your are blocking the view of the person behind you. This should be part of the announcement before the performance that mentions no photographs and turning off cell phones. That being said I attended a performance when someone politely asked the person in front of her to sit back in her seat and she refused pleading a bad back.

[Marga]

That being said I attended a performance when someone politely asked the person in front of her to sit back in her seat and she refused pleading a bad back.

Yes, what are we unfortunate folk with health problems to do? Stop going to the theatre, even though we behave (and dress) otherwise impeccably? I, too, have to lean forward in my seat at some point in every performance to alleviate the advancing, gripping pain my abdominal tumour imposes on me if I sit in an upright position for longer than an hour. I realize that that may obstruct the view of a person behind me, depending on how the seats are arranged, and always feel guilty for having to do so.

When possible, I choose a seat that will allow me to hunch myself over to accommodate the pain I know will come during the performance. Perhaps I and others who struggle with pain, should become first-act-only balletgoers?

[colwill]

I am curious to know why this topic posted over two years ago has suddenly been revived. Was it recovered from the archives. :rolleyes:

[Alexandra]

Colwill, as with the former software, topics (unless they're moved to the archives) are never closed, and can be reopened at any time by simply posting a reply. I guess Marga found this one and had something to add to it. You can control how many posts are shown in the control panel (the same as we could before) by choosing to expose 30 days, or 5 days, or "from the beginning." If only five days of posts show on the forum list, that doesn't mean the others are gone. It just means they're "hiding." If you select "show from the beginning" you'll get several screens of posts in each forum. But this isn't a change.

[Arak]

Oh, if anything drives me crazy, it's bad theatre etiquette. I think I've mentioned this elsewhere, but it's relevant here, too. My high school's band and chorus took a trip to New York this past spring, and on the itenerary was a performance of Beauty and the Beast. During the course of the performance, no less than half a dozen of my classmates were snapping pictures of the stage. I stopped the ones near me with a dirty look and a hissed "Are you crazy?!" I tried to explain during intermission how distracting - and even dangerous - it can be to see all those little flashes in your face when you're onstage, but ninety teenagers aren't going to listen to one, unfortuantely. A cell phone also went off, from my group again, I'm sorry to say. I was so angry by the end of the performance that it took me about twenty minutes to unclench my teeth after leaving the theatre. I was so embarrassed even to be seen with them. People can be so rude and inconsiderate it's just unbelievable.

[monte]

I really hate it when people's babies cry at the end of year performance and all you can hear on the video tape that is made for us is the sound of crying screaming babies. I know it is hard for people to leave little babies at home sometimes but I do wish they would take them out of the theatre when the baby starts to cry. :angry: Maybe some Valium might help (Just kidding, really I am )

[Redstorm]

I guess we all experienced some sort of disruption or bad behavior at a performance...here's mine.

Last year I bought season tickets for SFB as a gift for my hard working dd. We had wonderful seats and enjoyed all the performances...except one.

We were to see Elite Synchopations (sp?). Neither one of us knew what to expect, so when the curtain went up we were on the edge of our seats! My daughter had the biggest smile on her face. The costumes were wonderful! Very shortly after the curtain went up...a man sat down right in front of my daughter. He had an odor about him that was annoying but not too offensive. The problem was, he wouldn't stop itching! I don't know if he needed a bath or what. He scratched his head over and over, then his side then his neck, then his face....I am sure you get the picture. He kept shifting back and forth to get better scratching coverage. I am sure the people behind my daughter were getting upset too. She kept moving to see around him. The whole night was a fiasco. It was such a disappointment to miss so much of this fabulous ballet. :angry:

[Guest ArabesqueAngel23]

Ah, cell phones. As a teenager most think I am probably one of the rudest of all and don't consider others at all. That's the general feeling I've gotten when I'm at ballets and such. A cell phone rings and heaven forbid there be a group of teenagers sitting together because it must be them! I for one, do not even have a cell phone. I think leaving your phone on is so incredibly rude. It is as though the offender seems to think that they are so important it is unnecessary for them to follow directions. Ugh. Local school theatre, the ballet, Broadway, I've heard the phones in all of them. I hate it. That's all there is to it. If it is so important for you to get a call, stay home and wait. That's what people did before cell phones were around. They survived for 3 or so hours without a phone fix. Get over yourselves, I say to them.

Heather

[Doris R]

Well fortunately, so far both my husband and I have been fastidious in making sure our cell phones are turned OFF before entering the theater. If you do it before you sit down -- its done!

BUT... several months ago my daughter had finished dancing for the evening and was changed and watching in the wings while waiting for her husband to finish. She didn't bother to turn off her phone -- who would call her? Most of her friends and of course her husband were in the theater...except Mom. I wondered why when I called it rang about two times and was picked up and quickly extinguished. She called me later that night to explain.

[Funny Face]

I can't help giggling over some of these stories -- especially the tale of the itching man ... yuck. But -- until you've lived in my city, you have yet to experience real boorishness at the ballet. Yes, this is a fun city, but it's definitely low brow in its performance-attending behavior -- no matter how much you dress 'em up and how much they donate. I hate to say it, but performing here has to be a dancer's nightmare.

Example: when Baryshnikov first danced with Mark Morris, the company was brought to this city by an entity other than the association that typically brings dance companies here, and the company performed in an auditorium not typically used for dance performances, perhaps to an audience not entirely typical of the usual peformance goers. Still -- what chaos! These poor rubes apparently didn't understand what they were going to see. They catcalled and wolf-whistled at Baryshnikov. A good portion of the audience conversed in everyday speaking tones. And -- hordes of people, sounding like sailors stomping on a gang plank, kept up a continuous entry and exit through swinging doors, carting in jumbo-sized colas, boxes of popcorn, and cellophane-wrapped candy. You could hear the ice jangling, the popcorn crunching, and the candy spilling on the non-carpeted floor.

Our regular dance goers aren't much better. By way of background, there is no ballet company here. About 12 or 13 years ago was the last year of the existence of tri-city ballet. Since that time, there is an association that brings about 6 major dance performances per year to a performing arts theater (which has yet to put soap in the restrooms). Everything starts late in this town, and dance is no different. If a performance is to start at 8:00, that's when most people are leaving their houses for the performance, which doesn't get underway until about a 1/2 hour later. And when I say "get underway," I don't mean that the dancing starts. Nope -- that's when the association director comes out onstage with the corporate sponsors and they all congratulate each other over and over again on bringing this company here, and the audience has to clap repeatedly. It must be so nice for the dancers to warm up and then hurry up and wait.

The intermissions go on indefinitely. This is a drinking town, and that takes precedence. At the end of a very long evening, the dancers have to come back out on stage (tired, sweating and aching -- probably wanting nothing more than a hot shower and a meal) and give, as part of the deal with the association, an "Informance" -- doing Q and A with the audience members who opt to stay afterwards.

The whole thing embarrasses me, having come from a Midwestern city of the same size that treats dancers like gold. It's the only Midwestern city that has continually and by itself supported a ballet company, kept it in the black all these years, and given it the same attention and support the city gives its opera, theater, symphony and sports. The company's headquarters are in the most beautiful studios I have ever seen -- and I've been in a lot of studios throughout the country. The theater is set up so well -- parking is in an adjacent building, accessible by skywalk. There is a wonderful little restaurant and lounge in the lower level. The building is elegant and well tended. And the audience arrives on time -- or isn't seated -- is punctual about returning from intermissions, would never think of bringing in food or drink, and behaves like true balletomanes. That city is an unsung jewel.

[koshka]

So why aren't you naming the "unsung jewel"???

[Funny Face]

I apologize. I guess I was making the assumption that most balletomanes knew which major cities in the U.S. sustained their own ballet companies, and which major cities did not, or, in the alternative, shared a company with one or two other cities. With that said, I think it might be interesting to share, in the near future, a bit of history of ballet companies in the Midwest, in a different thread, perhaps within the section devoted to American Ballet Companies. I've done some research, interviewing and writing in this respect, and hopefully, can share some insights. More later.

[carbro]

So why aren't you naming the "unsung jewel"???

Oh, Funny Face, you have a cruel streak!

[atm711]

Funny Face's experience sounds a lot like the movie-going public. One of the perks of being retired is that I can go to the movies in the afternoon and sit in a relatively empty theater---maybe a dozen people. However, last week I went to see "Seabiscuit" and the theater was crowded. I had a large family nearby and they never stopped shopping for food!--constantly up and down the aisle. This, combined with audible chatter and the sickening smell of tubs of popcorn convinced me to wait a few weeks before seeing a popular movie. :shrug:

P.S.--I loved "Seabiscuit"

[Marga]

I guess Marga found this one and had something to add to it.

Oh no, it wasn't me who dug in the archives! I don't have time for that. I just respond to active threads. If you check page 2 of this thread, you'll see that it was creativejuice who revived the 2 year old thread, then nlkflint and Mark D who responded to it before I did. Just to set things straight!

I think it was a good thing to get this thread going again -- look at all the peeves being aired! Like, when those on either side of you lay claim to both armrests, hemming you in with only your lap for your hands.