ETIQUETTE FOR THEATRE, BALLET AND MUSIC CONCERTS

 

1. Don't enter late after a performance has started.  Wait until the selection has been completed and you hear applause.

2. Don't exit in the middle of a performance.  An exit should be made between numbers or preferably at intermission.

a. Don't exit between movements of a piece.
b. Exit quietly; close the door carefully.
c. Exception:  leave quietly and quickly if you have a crying child, hiccups, or a constant cough. (Try to remember to bring along cough drops to help stop a cough before it becomes a recurring annoyance.)

3. Dress for the occasion.  Usually, this means dressing up as you might to attend church.  Although in recent times many concert goers have dressed extremely casually, treating the occasion as casual as a sports event dishonors the performers.  Dress for them as you would want others to honor a formal event in your life.  Don't wear a hat or cap (men) inside of the building. 

4. Don't put your feet on the back of the seat in front of you.

5. Don't plan on taking flash pictures unless you have prior permission from the performer.  Wait until after the performance to take pictures.  Flash pictures can be of great danger to dancers and a distraction to other performers.

6. It is rude to talk during a performance.

7. Don't applaud after movements of a piece. Wait until the entire selection is completed.  If a set of songs is grouped together, wait until the entire set is completed to applaud.  It is appropriate to applaud after a solo or duo have danced a selection and they are exiting or taking a bow (common in ballet and opera). 

8. Don't leave immediately after the last number.  The artist may have an encore.

9. Do show your appreciation to the performers at the close of the piece, act, or play.  Appreciation takes many forms:  artistry and virtuosity, of course, but also for just showing the hard work that preparation took, courage, and skill for their age or experience which deserve our appreciation and encouragement. 

10. A bow is not a statement of, "wasn't I great!", but rather a way of acknowledging the applause...a "thank you" to the audience. (Remember this when you have performed and the audience applauds.  To not bow would be as ill mannered as to say nothing after someone had complimented you verbally.)  Some people think the conductor is taking all the "credit" for an organization's efforts when he bows.  This is not true.  The conductor bows on behalf of the group to acknowledge the applause because it is awkward for the entire group to take bows.