When is it Appropriate to Cheer During a Live Performance?

A few years ago I went with my friend Lauren and her family to see 'Jersey Boys' on Broadway. I blogged about this before.

One of the plot points was that Frankie Valli had written a song about his wife, but no one liked it to the point where it almost never existed. Finally the guy playing Valli began singing said song, and it turned out to be "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You". As soon as he breathed the initial line, the audience started cheering.

Lauren turned to me and whispered, "Why are they all cheering? They are supposed to be quiet." She was insinuating that because it was theater, us audience members were supposed to be quiet and respect the performance.

I usually agree. I'm against talking a great deal during a performance, of course, but I wanted to explain that people were reacting to one of the Four Seasons' greatest hits, thus it was appropriate.

I remembered that above story after something that came to my attention more recently.

This past summer SYTYCD produced its 14th season. In one of the episodes, four of the dancers (Kiki Nyemchek, Koine Iwasaki, Mark Villaver, and Taylor Sieve) performed a contemporary piece about diversity and standing up against hate, choreographed by Sean Cheesman.

It's a beautiful piece and obviously one that is much needed nowadays. They performed it to Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise," as recited by Alexis Henry. So therefore, they performed a dance not to music, but a poem. I was spellbound watching it, and I tried to envision how I would react to such a piece live. I felt that I would be so entranced by it, as if I was consumed by it as an experience, temporarily forgetting that it was a performance I was witnessing.

However, there is one problem I have with it.

People would NOT stop cheering.

I wanted to listen to the poem as it complemented their movements, but all of the audible reactions just reminded me that it was a routine executed by competing dancers with the audience applauding the impressive motions and positions that told the story. I found the cheers distracting and felt that they took away from the experience and the piece itself.

In fact, I felt so strongly about this that I made a comment on YouTube about it:

The screaming ruined this one. This piece is beautiful and is one of those art forms that just needs to be witnessed without interrupting cheering in the background.

And then I even took it upon myself to tweet my feelings:

The audience cheering is not necessary. This deserved to be just experienced for the art that it is. #SYTYCD https://t.co/pm7LGj39sg

— Stef Sears (@MissStefSears) September 17, 2017

However, this is where it gets interesting. A Twitter friend of mine and fellow SYTYCD fan Michelle Waxman, who was actually in the live studio audience for this performance, responded to my tweet with a different opinion. Our conversation is as follows:

Michelle:
I disagree. Especially being there in person. They tell you to cheer if you like something. See something so beautiful like this had the crowd go absolutely nuts. It was life changing.

Me:
I can see your point. :) For me I just find the cheering distracting from the piece. Cheering is appropriate depending on the dance. You do bring up a good point about being so moved and reacting as such. For me, watching it made me speechless, so a different reaction. This one feels like you need to quietly be immersed in it as an experience to get the full effect. I really like your counter though. :)

Lol you're kinda making me reconsider my argument now. Lol

Michelle:
Lol well just being there makes it so different than watching through a tv screen

Me:

See I would think being there would make you feel more entranced, hence not likely to cheer.

Michelle:

It's hard to explain!

I had a difficult time explaining my point as well. Even though I still stand by my own argument, I began to see Michelle's side. I personally believe that there is a time and place for such constant cheering, like a lively hip hop performance. However, people have the right to react to an art form that moves them in any way they like, just like that 'Jersey Boys' audience that one 2011 afternoon. And who knows? Maybe there will be moments when I may respond certain ways to certain things that move me as well. Plus, time and time again I often hear how audience reactions encourages the performing dancers. 

So what side do you take in this argument? Does appropriate cheering depend on what type of live performance it is, or does it not matter?

In fact, you know what? If any of you reading this plan on attending the tour this year and this routine is a part of the lineup, which I see it is based on a tour video I saw, tell me how you reacted to it live and why. :)