Sit down and clap! 4
Oct
18
2015
Is polite, even fervent, audience applause from a seated position a bygone social custom? This nicety has not completely disappeared; last month at the conclusion of “Raymonda,” at Segerstrom Hall, it was a joy to regard the massive Mariinsky Ballet’s elegant bows in full view. The audience, perhaps still enthralled by the enormity of the ...
Culture war erupts over cellphone useage @ AFI Fest
Nov
18
2014
It was the aggrieved versus the entitled in an unsurprising yet noteworthy altercation that broke out at AFI Fest, as the shared public viewing experience ratchets down. The depressing incident (ironically occuring at a screening of a new biopic on British painter William Turner) perhaps serves as a cautionary tale for those of us aggrevated ...
Fresh air on a very hot night: No)one. Art House @ Highways
It was a sultry, sweltering, wonderful Saturday evening when a new dance posse, No)one. Art House, propelled ‘danse du moment‘ onto the stage of Highways Performance Space in Santa Monica. The audience, half-shvitzing from the room temperature, also seemed half-stunned by how stimulating, immediate and excellent the experience. An amazing cluster of nine dancers arising ...
Balanchine visits Grand Park, courtesy of Los Angeles Ballet
Perhaps it was City Hall — imposing, authoritarian, standing “at attention” behind Grand Park’s platform stage — that riveted the crowd. People were afraid that if they misbehaved, they’d get busted. Or blame it on Balanchine. A huge throng of more than 3,000 respectful onlookers serenely watched Los Angeles Ballet present a double-bill of works ...
Odette/Odile for a discerning audience — kids
Dec
22
2011
You live or die in front of an audience like this — London schoolkids watching a lecture demonstration of “Swan Lake.” Because unlike adults kids don’t fake being interested. Ursula Hageli and Richard Slaughter coached in Swan Lake by Svetlana Beriosova with the Michael Basset at the piano at a lecture-demonstration/performance under the auspices of ...
You want audience? China has audience! 2
Jul
6
2011
Back now for several weeks from the tour of central China with Lula Washington Dance Theatre, our friend Keith forwards us photos. Perusing, I’m reminded of the outdoor amphitheater at Zhengzhou’s SIAS University in Henan where we had two shows. The first night a mere 2,000 people were in the house; the second, ostensibly enjoying ...