What is significant about the time 7:55 PM; particularly on a Friday or Saturday night? You can bet that somewhere in America, 7:55 PM means that a curtain is about to rise. At 7:55 audience members are anxiously awaiting a performance that begins at 8:00. They have found a place to park, meandered around the elegant lobby, visited the crowded restroom, stopped by the merchandise table, taken note of the prices at the concession stand, and picked up their playbill. When they are ushered into the theatre, a quiet stage with a closed curtain greets them. In five minutes that curtain will rise, and the audience members will find themselves captivated by the world of the performing arts. For audiences, 7:55 PM is the moment when an entire performance lies before them. Anything can happen.
As an avid supporter of the art of ballet, 7:55 PM triggers numerous memories of ballet performances throughout my life. One of the most vivid 7:55 moments I can remember is one that took place at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, New York. During the summer months the New York City Ballet performs in the large, acoustically ideal amphitheatre, set in the heart of Spa State Park. At 7:55 PM, just when the sky begins to get dark, the amphitheatre fills with people. The summer air surrounds the audience as they gather for a performance that includes live orchestration and the dancers of the New York City Ballet. It is a unique atmosphere that feels more intimate than the traditional theatre setting, and therefore elicits more excitement and appreciation from the audience. In the amphitheatre at 7:55 PM, nothing matters except for the stage and the people sitting in front of it.
On a particular night at 8:00, the New York City Ballet Orchestra conductor took his place in the orchestra pit. The audience immediately applauded as they gave their full attention and utmost respect to the members of the orchestra. A sudden quiet filled the amphitheatre and seconds later the haunting but beautiful music of Tchaikovsky was the only sound heard. The curtain opened to rows of ballet dancers in long, flowing blue dresses, their right arms extended upward as if they were all paying homage to the great one, Mr. George Balanchine, the man who choreographed the piece they were about to perform.
The ballet "Serenade", set to Tchaikovsky's "Serenade for Strings", was performed that summer night without lavish sets or fancy costumes. Every dancer looked the same as the dancer standing next to her. It was not a ballet with a plot and characters that told a story. It was a ballet with intricate choreography where each segment of the piece built on the segment before. "Serenade" culminated in a moment that left the audience members afraid to blink for fear that they would miss something. As the night air blew through the amphitheatre a group of male dancers lifted a female dancer so that she was standing in mid-air with her upper body bent backward. The audience's intense concentration could be felt throughout the amphitheatre as could the concentration of the dancers on the stage.
Moments like that are what audiences hope for when they go to a theatre. As the audience became completely engrossed in the beauty of "Serenade's" ending a moth fluttered around the dancers on stage as if it had been worked into the choreography of "Serenade". Perhaps the moth was a reminder to the audience that the performance was their escape from their lives and the world around them. "Serenade", in its beauty and simplicity, had captivated the audience in the time it existed on stage. At the end of the piece a loud and long ovation was given as people came to the realization that the ballet had ended.
That performance took the audience to a place that only consisted of music, dancing, and the artists who were making it possible for them to experience something so beautiful. As choreographer Twyla Tharp said, "art is the only way to run away without leaving home." Perhaps the performance of "Serenade" is a good example of what she was referring to. Although the audience had to leave their homes to go to the amphitheatre, they experienced a work of art that made them forget everything else that mattered in the world. "Serenade" was a journey in and of itself where the audience members were able to submerse their minds, hearts, and souls into its beauty and its mastery of the collaboration of music and dance.
If you have never been to a live performance I invite you to try this edifying experience. Take note of the rush of excitement that fills your body at 7:55 PM when you are looking at the closed curtain. Whether you attend an opera, a play, a symphony, or a ballet, you can bet that there will be at least one moment where you find yourself completely awestruck by the performance. 7:55 PM on a Friday or Saturday night is an experience that no one should be without.
This past summer I went back to Saratoga to see the New York City Ballet perform. I happened to be able to see "Serenade" again! It saddened me to see how small the audience was, compared to several years ago when I had last seen it. Times are tough in the arts right now. Many arts organizations have come face to face with the reality of budget cuts, staff reductions, unpaid artists, overwhelming deficits, and basically any other words or actions which indicate something of a "lesser value". I have followed developments with the Louisville Orchestra and their "suicidal" move to no longer employ any musicians as of June 1st. Also, the state of Kansas' elimination of the arts in their state budget. I worry that these actions will be trend-setting, and will fuel a "survival of the fittest" epidemic throughout the arts industry, leaving only the large nationally recognized arts organizations in the largest cities of America standing strong.
With less and less funding for the arts, it is almost as if society is sending out a message that the arts don't really matter. They're not necessary for our survival. We will survive without arts programs in our communities. While I agree that there are bigger concerns and larger issues that we need to take care of, I can't help but to go out on a limb to think about all that I have seen firsthand what the arts can do for people.
If I had to write an inspirational article for a college assignment today, I think it would be very different from what I wrote above. Not that I don't agree with what I wrote in that article, I just have so much more to say from my experience in working in the arts over the last several years. I will write THAT article in another blog post some day. For now, I can only say that I have convinced and inspired MYSELF to recognize the value of the arts in people's lives.
