I have occasionally "interrupted" with applause because something just really made me want to stand up and shout. Otherwise I would wait for the end of the piece.
At least the few times I've seen SFB audiences seem to be sparing in their standing O's but there have been a few. "In the middle with elevation" brought Stern Grove to its feet.
I would never boo a dancer. If the performance was really bad I'd leave at a break. I have on occasion booed sports teams when I felt someone was just going through the motions. For all they are paid they should damn well give it their best try. I compare them to dancers who nearly always DO give it their best try even when paid peanuts.

It seems to me that when I attended ballet performances in my youth (1960s & '70s), audiences were more knowledgeable about when to applaud. That is, they knew that in the big classical ballets that had flashy solos, it was traditional and acceptable to applaud when the dancer did something exceptional. They also mostly knew not to applaud something technically impressive when it was in the middle of a dramatic scene or some other scene whose mood would be ruined by applause. These days, I hear audiences applaud at the most inappropriate times. It really bugged me to hear applause off and on during "Serenade."

<small>[ 28 February 2005, 05:40 PM: Message edited by: djb ]</small>

I have been on stage when the production team of an opera was booed at the Met. It was opening night of Macbeth. The whole company was on stage and it was so loud that it felt like a huge wave roaring twords us. Not a nice feeling. I should have known when I saw 3 blow up dolls inflate out of the cauldren in Act 2 that we were in trouble.

Was the opera "Macbeth?"

Yes it was, The audience laughed so hard when we came on to the really raked stage (so raked that we had to have rubber on our point shoes for traction) in Les Sylphides costumes . This was after the nude witch with lights in her hair came up out of the floor.

They re-worked the production the next time it came back and ditched the ballet. They did keep the naked witch though.

Looking back, I think I may have booed as well.

I prefer to applaud at the end with a sprinkling of applause during the ballet in appreciation for a stellar variation. In my opinion, those who applaud through out a performance demean the art form by turning it into gymnastics. It’s more than that.

I must ask what venues you attend, as I often find myself a lone dissenter in most "Standing O's." I attend dance, theatre, and concert events in New York several times a week and rarely have any view of the stage once curtain calls begin. In fact a young (26) neighbor told me that a production at our neighborhood Brooklyn Academy of Music was not worth my time because "it didn't even get a standing ovation." It was a provocative, though not a popular piece that I was glad to see.

I like to think NYCB audiences are more discriminating. I was one of many who long followed the practice of booking seats for the last performance of each season, when Mr. B could often be persuaded to appear for a richly deserved standing ovation. I was also among the group that stood and cheered at the retirements of Patricia MacBride and Suzanne Farrell (at least Peter gave her a gracious farewell) and will show up in June for Jock Soto and Peter Boal. And absotively posolutely for Kyra whenever she hangs up the pointe shoes. Suzanne set the mark at 18 minutes....

Still and all, does Ashley Bouder, highly touted by scores of NYCB fans, feel unappreciated because she failed to get an SO? I hope not. If audiences offer acclaim on the cheap, they'll wind up with cheap performances.

When Jerome Robbins first presented The Goldberg Variantions an announcement routinely preceded the performance asking the audience to hold their applause for the conclusion. At some point, for reasons unknown to me, the announcement ended, encouraging audiences to add applause and cheers to prolong and already long piece.

Harry

<small>[ 28 February 2005, 09:37 PM: Message edited by: Morris Neighbor ]</small>

Booing is rare in the UK and when it does happen, my impression is that it tends to be traditionalists expressing disgust with an avant-garde work.

At the other end of the scale, a standing ovation is also rare and really needs to be a 6-star performance when the range is 1 to 5. Thus, you can usually get a good idea of the degree of audience approval from the applause at the end of a work. The exception is the first work in a mixed programme, when the audience often haven't warmed up yet.

An exception is Daimohk Chechen Youth Dance Group, which regularly receives a standing ovation around the UK, because they are an exciting dance group, they achieve astonishing standards for child performers plus the context of the very poor conditions in which they live and rehearse.

The "obligatory" standing ovation seems unhelpful for all concerned as audiences have no differentiation mechanism and the artists can't can't take the pleasure that comes from a well-received, excellent performance that deserves an SO or very loud and long applause.

I'm an enthusisastic applauder and have been known to get to my feet. My applause is not just for the performers, but also for the quality of the overall artistic experience. I have never booed a work on the basis that it's a tough life in performance and artists almost always deserve support.

It's different in the world of UK politics as the annual conference closing speeches by the party leaders always get an SO. Then commentators took to timing the length of the SO, but the organisers now take account of that too when they are orchestrating SOs.

I was referring to ballet in NY - you definately see more SOs at the theatre and on Broadway. But ballet fans tend to say in their seats - if they are not dashing off to make the train.

Kate

A good example of the UK way with the SO, in the context of the revival of the play "A Raisin in the Sun":

"When an audience spontaneously stands up and cheers at the end of a play, you know it must be something special."

This is from Peter Hepple's review in The Stage:

click for more

I'm just waiting for the day when a dance work is so good that the audience spontaneously clamors for the choreographer and not leave the house until he or she appears on stage.

Of course if that ever happens, organizers will take note and orchestrate it at every opening performance.

A thrilling balletic moment for me was the School performance of the Paris Opera Ballet school at the Garnier in 1998. First the performance was amazing...wow, those kids were incredible. But even more exciting was that the audience was not to going anywhere until the (then) school director Claude Bessy took a bow. The entire house was chanting Bessy until she appeared. And when she did, the reaction was quite explosive. Incredible.

Booing? I have a clear memory of many boos at the premiere of Bob Gladstein's "Mistletoe Bride" ballet at SFB in the late 70's.

One example of a totally spontaneous and deserved standing ovation at a dance performance actually happened before the end of the dance. It was at the 25th anniversary gala performance of the Alvin Ailey ADT in 1983. Judith Jamison, who had not danced with the company since 1980, was the host. "Cry" was performed by three different dancers, one per section, all excellent. All three dancers joined in for the last movement and, much to our delight, Jamison herself came out and danced in her street clothes, so vibrant that she eclipsed the other three dancers. It was one of the most exciting moments I can remember. The audience practically screamed, and it seemed that everyone instantly jumped to their feet and applauded.

at the new york city opera in 1997, audiences roundly booed choreographer donald byrd after a performance of 'carmina burana'.