Well, one of the worst I have seen - occurred many years ago during a Bolshoi performance here in San Diego. It was, I believe Chopiniana (I could be wrong - it was so long ago) - anyway the curtain opens and the stage is filled with the female corps de ballet all in white tutus - a typical ballet blanc. The music starts to play - and some man - dressed in a dark suit (not a stage hand) just goes walking through the groups of dancers posed on the stage. He's just sauntering along - the audience starts to titter and giggle, the man hears that and suddenly in horror looks out and sees the curtain has opened and he starts to run off. <P>The poor dancers were wondering what was so funny 'cause all their heads were down, they couldn't see him. The audience quickly quieted down out of respect for the dancers. - But the sight of that poor man - I can only think that he may have ended up in the Gulag for that one.

Surely, there must be more members with anxious moments to share. <img src="http://www.criticaldance.com/ubb/smile.gif" alt="" />

Here again, btw, was the original, very popular thread:

Anxious Moments

(Edited by salzberg to fix link)

<small>[ 08-10-2002, 04:46: Message edited by: salzberg ]</small>

Well, I have definately recieved my daily dose of laughter upon reading this thread! Unfortunately my stories are not as good! But..once, while performing in an outdoor venue a baby goat (from a neighboring farm) somehow managed to enter the arena and run across stage...LOL..that was interesting to say the least.<p>[This message has been edited by Misa_danseuse (edited February 18, 2002).]

Oh, well of course, Misa. Afternoon of a Faun!

LOL! Of course, Maggie! But how do you explain the stagehand chasing the goat with a flashlight?

Um...choreographic license?

I have so many stories I don't know where to start.<P>Okay, here's one.<P>Working on an opera. There is a scene where the women take of their headresses in a ritualistic manner and drop them onto a pile of clothes five feet think that covers the entire stage. At intermission I would go retreive the hats before the stagehands started to rearrange the rags on the set. One night I got there a little late and one of the hats was gone: buried somewhere in the pile. Well the show must go on. We improvised a new hat with a pair of tights wrapped around the singers head. The costume designer never knew the difference. I know. I asked him.

I love this stuff. When I was a student we did Lichine's Graduation Ball-still love that ballet- anyway when the fouette girls came out a wire hanger was stuck to the back of one of the girls tutus (and this dancer did go on to dance in a major company) I think we all really were laughing on stage in a performance......with Grad Ball one can almost get away with it. <P>D

Once during a performance of, I believe it was, Les Sylphides (San Diego Ballet - Sonia Arova artistic director) suddenly an underskirt - one of the layers of the long tutu on one dancer comes drifting down. At first it looks as though one layer is longer than the others. Then as the dancers are bourée-ing across the stage and skirt slowly drifts down, around her knees, to her ankles. Of course the audience is mesmerized.<P>She very delicately steps out of it. Subsequently each dancer, as she went by, gave the wispy skirt a gentle kick until eventually it was kicked into the wings. There was muted applause for this balet within a ballet.<P>This same company once, again in a ballet blanc, but this time in classic tutus, had a dancer who came out with her black leg warmers still on. As I sat in the audience, I was trying to imagine Arova's (the AD) response to that dancer. OY

Another famous dancer walked on stage in sweat pants... during a live national broadcast...

Yep, and preserved forever on tape. But it was a beautiful performance, and he was a wonderful dancer.

Actually only preserved on tape if you taped it from the broadcast. Wasn't that final scene reshot for the commerical video? Or a later broadcast? Yes? No? <P>D<p>[This message has been edited by DavidH (edited February 22, 2002).]

I was in a Nutcracker in which the Sugarplum Fairy's foot went through the stage at the end of her variation. She pulled it back through (bleeding) and finished the ballet before she was rushed to the emergency room for stitches.

DavidH - I don't know if it was re-shot for another broadcast or commerical video. But, you are right, I have it because I taped it from the original broadcast.<P>The look on Juliet's face is priceless.

in the best story i have, the spectacle was more off-stage than on...<BR>It was the spring recital for my dance school in Tulsa, OK.<BR>This was about 4 or 5 years ago... the height of popularity for the teen boy band Hanson. The Hanson family is from tulsa, and it just so happens that the boys in the band were former students at the studio, and their little sister was dancing in the recital that night, so they decided they would attend. The auditorium we were performing in had a balcony so the Hanson family closed that off and sat up there to watch.<BR>Unfortnuately, however, the entire audience did not look forward to the stage but back up at the balcony, and some rude 12 year olds actually were yelling up to the balcony during performances! Perhaps the worst part was that some dancers actually missed their numbers to wait at the bottom of the balcony stairs to catch a glimpse. It was terrible! I think the Hansons had to leave before their sister's 2nd performance because it was causing such a ruccus.