When do you clap at the ballet?

December 26, 2021 4:31 PM

I know you don't clap between movements at the symphony, but when do you clap at the ballet? My fellow audience members seem to think the answer is "all the frickin time!" which doesn't seem right to me. But merely clapping at the end of each act and the end of ballet ignores a whole lot of motionless ta-da poses by the dancers which seem to deliberately invite applause. So please, guidance would be welcome. Please also tell me how you know your clapping scheme is the correct one, because I don't want opinions - I want the Truth.
posted by pH Indicating Socks to Media & Arts (6 answers total)

At the end of each act.
posted by turkeyphant at 5:40 PM on December 26, 2021 [2 favorites]

In my experience this is pretty cultural, so following your local audience is fine. For example the National Ballet of Canada advises to clap whenever you feel moved to do so, in particular after soloists or pas de deux.

Applause—when to clap (pdf).
posted by muddgirl at 6:57 PM on December 26, 2021 [1 favorite]

Another vote for “it’s culturally dependent, follow the audience”. Here in Seattle the audience claps at the end of a solo or duet, and at the end of an act. Things are much rowdier during the Nutcracker or other shows intended for families and younger audiences, although there are also sensory friendly performances where sounds are mitigated in different ways and the clapping changes then, too. I’ve been to performances elsewhere with much less clapping and much more - one time it was whenever any new important character came on stage the first time and IMO that was much too much but everyone seemed to be having a good time.

If your audience’s exuberance is affecting your enjoyment of a performance, you might look to attend at a different time and see if the energy feels better for you then. For example, when I’ve attended the opera during a weeknight show, things feel a bit more calm, while a Saturday evening show was a lot louder and also attendees had clearly enjoyed a lot more wine during the intermissions.
posted by Mizu at 7:22 PM on December 26, 2021

North America’s a little more inhibited about this. It’s definitely not the same as at the symphony — there’s less of the “you’re breaking the spell” thing that happens at an orchestral performance.

After a solo or a duet finishes is definitely appropriate to clap. Also, after a particularly tricky or impressive section (for example, fouetté turns).
posted by sixswitch at 7:24 PM on December 26, 2021 [4 favorites]

Best answer: Agree with sixswitch to clap after a solo or pas de deux, and after the "show off your skills" part that usually happens in the finale. Usually these would involve big leaps and turning jumps for the male lead, and fast turns (the classic 32 fouettes) for the female lead.

In story ballets where it's kinda like, "Welcome to our kingdom, here we have a bunch of entertainments lined up for you!" it's also customary to clap after each group is finished. Basically it's a performance-within-the-performance, right?

For example, in The Nutcracker, when they are in the land of the sweets I would clap after each of the dances: Chocolate, Tea, the candy canes, Mother Ginger, etc. In the 1st act, I would clap after the clockwork dolls do their solos, for the same reason. Giselle - peasant pas de deux.

Contrast that with the 1st act of The Nutcracker where they are having a big party at home and we are all just observing their big party, I wouldn't necessarily feel like I need to clap in between dances there (though if enough of the audience did it, I'd follow their lead).

Some clues: Did the music stop? Did the dancers finish in kind of a "ta-da!" pose with their arms outstretched/lifted up, and need some time to walk/run off the stage? That's typically a good time to clap.

Source: former professional, but never performed in North America
posted by tinydancer at 7:53 PM on December 26, 2021 [13 favorites]

I went to a performance of a Russian ballet company in Boston once, and they had long bows built in after every solo and cool bit. The audience clapped (the bowing dancers were a good cue), but the bows always went on a full 30% longer than we clapped. They were clearly planning for different clapping than we were acculturated and/or moved to.
posted by gideonfrog at 7:56 PM on December 26, 2021 [2 favorites]