Overbravofication
Well, the holiday season is about to begin in 22 minutes and I can't think of a better way to start it than by seeing the NUTCRACKER or as they say in German Das NusselCrackenshoede at the Kennedy Center as performed by the Joffrey Ballet. What fun it was to see the Russian Nougat dance and the Marzipan shephardess cat fight, but what made the evening most enjoyable were the incessant "Bravos!" and "Bravas!" coming from one specific individual in the audience about two rows behind me. The dancers kick "Bravo!" The dancers turn "Bravo!" The ballerina twirled "Brava!" It really brought the audience together. As the evening progressed, we choreographed a ballet of our own: All together now, 5, 6, 7, 8
Cue: Dancer jumps up and lifts arms over head:
"Bravo!" Eyes roll
"Bravo!" Annoyed looks and sighs in general direction of source
"Brava!" Chatter and embarassed giggles
Curtain Falls
"Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!" astonished glances and sassy whispers "Who is that man?"
Well, I like to think of him as the Joffrey Ballet's Soccer Mom, standing on the sidelines, cheering even when the team is losing. Other people think of him as the artistic director.
This leads me to ask the question: What is the motive for such behavior? Is he truly proud of his dancers, or is he fully aware that the press is in the house? My heart would like to believe the prior, but his cheers did not consitantly follow outstanding performances - in fact it followed any performance. This leads me to a third hypothesis. Maybe he's insecure. Maybe it is more important for him to convince the audience of the company's success even when he himself isn't certain.
Regardless of the goofy behavior, the ballet was entertaining, and I'm always a sucker for eccentrics. I say let the man have his ovations, cause my aunt lost hers to cancer.
Cue: Dancer jumps up and lifts arms over head:
"Bravo!" Eyes roll
"Bravo!" Annoyed looks and sighs in general direction of source
"Brava!" Chatter and embarassed giggles
Curtain Falls
"Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!" astonished glances and sassy whispers "Who is that man?"
Well, I like to think of him as the Joffrey Ballet's Soccer Mom, standing on the sidelines, cheering even when the team is losing. Other people think of him as the artistic director.
This leads me to ask the question: What is the motive for such behavior? Is he truly proud of his dancers, or is he fully aware that the press is in the house? My heart would like to believe the prior, but his cheers did not consitantly follow outstanding performances - in fact it followed any performance. This leads me to a third hypothesis. Maybe he's insecure. Maybe it is more important for him to convince the audience of the company's success even when he himself isn't certain.
Regardless of the goofy behavior, the ballet was entertaining, and I'm always a sucker for eccentrics. I say let the man have his ovations, cause my aunt lost hers to cancer.
posted by Schitzo at
11:37 PM
