As a very new member, I have been really struck by the number of people who post that they enjoy ballet or ballet scores, but have never actually seen a live on-stage performance.
Why is that? Is it that no live performances ever take place in the region where they live? Is it that they fear that, although they enjoy dipping into and out of DVDs or CDs, sitting through two or three hours virtually uninterrupted might be too much? Does ballet have such an effete image that men, in particular, are deterred from going (it's certainly true that, whenever I go, men are a small minority of the audience)? Or is there some other explanation?
Why is that? Is it that no live performances ever take place in the region where they live? Is it that they fear that, although they enjoy dipping into and out of DVDs or CDs, sitting through two or three hours virtually uninterrupted might be too much? Does ballet have such an effete image that men, in particular, are deterred from going (it's certainly true that, whenever I go, men are a small minority of the audience)? Or is there some other explanation?