Posted by Miki Orihara
This if the front site of Alessandra’s curtian call( one of many )
tonya said,
Thanks Miki! From another audience perspective, here’s my photo album, if anyone’s interested:
http://www.tonyaplank.com/tonyaplank/photo_journal/index.php?level=album&id=29
SanderO said,
How do you guys get away with taking pics in the Met? Whenever I take our my tiny camera, a suit comes over and tells me to cool it… even in the lobby!
On the other hand I see flashes going off at curtain calls all the time. What gives?
tonya said,
I think they’ve done away with that rule. At least, they relaxed it for her farewell performance, and I’m sooooo glad they did — they knew how much she means to her fans and they knew everyone needed to preserve this moment for themselves. But they haven’t been very strict lately in general. I went to see David and Gillian’s Sleeping Beauty during a matinee and every mother in the entire orchestra was flashing away, one stuck her camera right over an usher’s head… I thought perhaps the ushers just didn’t want to yell at these women in front of their kids or something, but then again last night during Marcelo and Diana’s Swan Lake same thing — cameras flashing right and left and not a word from the ushers. Let’s hope they’re letting people photo the curtain calls now — what harm does it do???? It only lets us bloggers promote the dancers and the Company we so love!!!
Larry said,
Tonya asks, “what harm does it do????”
All those flashes going off in a performer’s eyes can be very painful.
tonya said,
I’m sure they LOVE it, Larry.
tonya said,
Dancers LIVE for attention; that’s why they do what they do. There are no dangerous stunts going on during curtain call … well, I guess unless you’re Angel 
tonya said,
And isn’t Miki a dancer???? Am I missing something — are you telling her she’s being disrespectful to herself? I’m sorry, Larry, we went through this last year and I just don’t understand why you keep complaining about the pictures when you’re not even a dancer?
tonya said,
I’m sorry, just one more thing and then I’ll stop. I AM a dancer, albeit not a ballet dancer, and when I dance in ballroom competitions there are pro photographers with gigantic flashes going off all around the ballroom dance floor — MUCH closer to us than the closest audience member with a camera is from the dancers onstage at curtain call. I’ve never heard a single person complain about the flashes, and it doesn’t hurt my eyes when it’s so much closer, and pro dancers are far more used to it than I am. I just feel like bloggers are trying so hard to promote ballet, and I don’t understand why you keep telling us to stop it — it’s so much more “real” when a picture is taken of the actual dancer taking a bow after a great performance, and not some headshot or Gene Schiavone photo or something that’s just simply borrowed from the ABT’s website. Dancers live to perform, and they live for the attention they get from it and I can’t understand why anyone would want to take that away from them.
miki said,
Yes I am a dancer.
For me, I DO care during the performance, since a lot of MG’s work is so sensitive, and it will break the concentration. but after that, for curtain call, I don’t mind, and that means people enjoy it! I know for the ballroom competitions, there are many photographers taking during the competition. I always hope that huge flash doesn’t bother those dancers.
also taking the photo during the performance in ballet or other serious theme, I am sure it will bother audiences. Espeacially these days with huge CLICK or SHUETTER sounds. And I am sure people with those camera knows it makes a lot of noise.
I don’t take pictures during performance. I respect the dancers and also audiences. I hope the same to others too.
tonya said,
Thanks for your input, Miki I would never take a picture during the performance either, as it would obviously bother a dancer then and, as you say the audience as well — I just feel like curtain call time is THE time for pictures! And, yes, like you said, I feel like the flashes are kind of the same as the clapping in a way — they show the dancer how much you appreciate their performance!
And sorry if I got a little hot-headed, Larry You know how I am when I get passionate about something, right
Larry said,
No need to apologize, Tonya. But as a lawyer, you know perfectly well that any organization has a right to set its own ground rules and expect them to be followed. Whatever the reason for prohibiting photography - whether it’s distracting the performers, violating copyright, or anything else - you’re almost certain to find every arts organization quite expressly forbids the taking of photographs by members of the audience. The fact that the ushers let this go by is not really relevant: they may want to avoid confrontations, or they may feel powerless to go against the tide, or they may just not care. And no, I’m not a dancer, but I’ve worked closely enough in college productions with actors who have complained that the flash bulbs bother their eyes. As it happens, I recall a performance by the Joffrey at the Tilles Center in Long Island a few months ago; someone was taking photographs during the performance and I was distracted by the flash even though I was sitting some 20 seats away. There is likely also a difference between images taken by a professional photographer who knows how to control his aperture settings and those taken by an amateur using a personal camera or cell phone. It’s also quite a leap to assume that just because I object to audience members taking flash photographs, I am somehow trying to oppose the promotion of ballet.
Xtanzer said,
photos during curtain calls are pretty much never prevented
But photos (with or without flash) whle they are dancing is definitely a no-no — and I’d be shocked if an usher didn’t step in.
The Met prohibits photos in the lobby for security reasons….
tonya said,
Right, I definitely wasn’t talking about during the performance, just curtain call.
RSS feed for comments on this post · TrackBack URI
