How to Behave at a Ballet Performance

Few evenings feel quite as special as a night at the ballet. The orchestra tunes, the house lights dim, and the curtain rises on a stage where dancers make extraordinary effort look as light as air. For a couple of hours, the audience is invited into a world of music, movement and story.

Like every art form performed live, ballet has its customs. They are not there to intimidate newcomers. They simply help everyone in the auditorium, and everyone on stage, give the performance the attention it deserves. A little knowledge goes a long way towards a relaxed and happy evening.

Arrive in Good Time

Plan to reach the theatre at least twenty minutes before curtain up. That allows time to collect tickets, leave your coat in the cloakroom, find your seat and glance through the programme. Many theatres sound a bell or make an announcement a few minutes before the performance begins.

Latecomers are usually held outside the auditorium until a suitable break, which may be the first interval in a short ballet. Accept the usher's direction with good grace. A darkened house with dancers mid leap is no place for a search along the row with a phone torch.

Finding Your Seat

If you must pass people already seated, face them as you go and offer a quiet word of thanks. Keep bags small and tucked beneath your seat, and remember that a tall hat or an elaborate hairstyle can block the view of the person behind you.

What to Wear

Most ballet performances today have no formal dress code, and smart casual is perfectly acceptable for an ordinary evening. Opening nights, galas and special occasions are often dressier, and some guests enjoy the chance to wear something elegant whatever the date.

Choose comfort as well as style. You will be seated for some time, and auditoriums can be warm in the stalls and cooler in the upper circle. Avoid noisy jewellery, crackling fabrics and heavy scent, all of which carry further in a quiet theatre than you might expect.

Phones, Sweets and Programmes

Switch your phone off entirely before the lights go down. A glowing screen in a dark auditorium is distracting to everyone behind you, and photography or filming during the performance is almost always forbidden. Many theatres will allow a quick photograph of the empty stage or the curtain before the show.

If you bring sweets, unwrap them before the music begins. Read your programme during the interval rather than turning its pages during a quiet passage. Whispered commentary, however enthusiastic, is best saved for the bar.

When to Applaud

Ballet is more relaxed about applause than a symphony concert, and knowing the conventions helps you join in at the right moments.

During the Performance

Audiences often applaud when a principal dancer makes an entrance, after a showpiece solo or a grand pas de deux, and following a particularly dazzling sequence of turns or jumps. If you are unsure, follow the lead of the rest of the house. The dancers will often pause briefly to acknowledge the response.

At the End

When the final curtain falls, the company returns for curtain calls. Applaud warmly, and feel free to rise if the performance moved you. It is customary for bouquets to be presented to principal dancers on stage, usually arranged in advance through the theatre rather than thrown from the audience.

The Interval and Leaving

The interval is a chance to stretch, order a drink and discuss the first act. Many theatres let you order interval drinks before the performance, which saves queuing. Return to your seat promptly when the bell sounds so that others are not disturbed once the house lights fall.

At the end, resist the urge to dash for the exit during the curtain calls. The dancers have given their all, and the moments of applause are their reward. Gather your belongings once the house lights rise, and leave at an unhurried pace.

A Graceful Evening

Good manners at the ballet come down to consideration: for the performers, for your neighbours and for the art itself. Arrive on time, stay quiet, applaud generously and let the performance carry you.

Do that, and you will be welcomed into one of the loveliest traditions in cultural life. Duchess Magazine wishes you many enchanted evenings under the stage lights.