Applause - WikiHQ

thumb|upright|Crowd applause taken at the Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival 2006, [[Liverpool, England]]

thumb|The violinist [[Aleksey Semenenko comes to receive applause after performing in concert with the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra at the Kurhaus, Wiesbaden, conducted by Luigi Gaggero, who stands at the back of the stage.]]

Applause (Latin , to strike upon, clap) is primarily a form of ovation or praise expressed by the act of clapping, or striking the palms of the hands together. Audiences usually applaud after a performance, such as a concert, speech or play, as a sign of enjoyment, approval, and praise.

History

The age of the custom of applauding is uncertain, but is widespread amongst human cultures. Varieties of applause typically serve as the means to show appreciation as an audience participant and fulfils the need to be included. The variety of its forms is limited only by the capacity for devising means of making a noise (e.g., stomping of feet or rapping of fists or hands on a table). However, within each culture it is usually subject to conventions.

The ancient Romans had set rituals at public performances to express degrees of approval: snapping the finger and thumb, clapping with the flat or hollow palm, and waving the flap of the toga. Upper-class spectators expressed approval by waving their togas, while lower-class spectators, who were not allowed to wear togas, waved pieces of cloth, which may have been a precursor to the handkerchief. Aurelian, Roman emperor from AD 270 to 275, substituted the waving of napkins (') that he had distributed to the Roman people for the toga-flapping. In Roman theatre, at the close of the play, the chief actor called out "" (farewell and applaud), and the audience, guided by an unofficial choregos, chanted their approval antiphonally.

Similarly, a claque (IPA: /klak/) (French for "slapping") was an organized body of professional applauders in French theatres and opera houses who were paid by the performer(s) to create the illusion of an increased level of approval by the audience. Alternatively, if they were not paid, they would boo and throw things at the stage. By the 1830s this had become commonplace. Heads of theatres and opera houses could get many professional clappers whenever they needed a boost. The leader of the claque would decide when and where to begin the cheering. The claque consisted of people participating in a variety of roles: some would memorize the show to emphasize key scenes or moments, so-called "laughers" may feign laughter so as to incite the audience to laugh along, "criers" would fake tears, The emergence of claques made composers like Gustav Mahler, Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn begin to request in their scores that their works were to be performed with no break between movements as to avoid applause, becoming a catalyst to the well-known applause etiquette upheld in many classical performance settings.

In Christianity customs of the theatre were adopted by the churches. The early Christian scholar Eusebius says that Paul of Samosata encouraged the congregation to indicate approval of his preaching by waving linen cloths (), and in the 4th and 5th centuries applause of the rhetoric of popular preachers had become an established custom. Applause in church eventually fell out of fashion, however. Partly due to the influence of the quasi-religious atmosphere of the performances of the German composer Richard Wagner's operas at the , the reverential spirit that inspired this soon extended back to the theatre and the concert hall. Instead, members of Parliament and members of the House of Lords and in India members of lok sabha and rajya sabha generally will shout or showsupportby desk thumping. "hear, hear!".

In air travel

In various countries, airplane passengers often tend to applaud the landing upon completion of a flight and when they have felt the plane's wheels touch down and have run a short but satisfactory course down the runway. The purpose of this custom is unclear.

At film festivals

At film festivals, it is normal to have applause (usually a standing ovation) after a film is shown. These ovations usually last longer than usual, and sometimes exceed the 20-minute mark.

Most of the time, the applause is for the film's director and actors, and not for the film itself.

Festivals such as Cannes and Venice have become examples of applause, and generally, their duration is used in the film's publicity material to indicate that the material was approved.

Variations

A golf clap is a form of quiet clapping, so named because it is the preferred form of applause for golfers; louder forms of applause are discouraged at golf tournaments so as not to disturb other golfers, who may be in the process of attempting a shot. Golf claps are sometimes used at other events to heckle or to show sarcasm. Similarly, in the game of snooker, a good cue shot, a difficult pot, a 'snooker' which is difficult from which to escape, will be rewarded by the opponent tapping their cue several times on the table edge.

Likewise, string musicians of an orchestra use bobbing their bows in the air or gently tapping them on their instruments' strings as a substitute for applause. Wind section members will generally lightly stamp their feet or pat one hand on their leg to show approval to a conductor or soloist, while percussionists often rap drumsticks together. An even more subtle form of approval may be exhibited by a member of an orchestra during a formal rehearsal or performance when a colleague performs particularly well, usually a slight shuffle of the foot on the floor or hand on the knee. These subtle forms of applause may not be recognized as such by the audience. Outright applause by performers for other performers, although increasingly common, is traditionally regarded as gauche, self-congratulatory, and usurping of the audience's prerogative (and sole task in this respect) to provide accolades when they feel that the performance merits it.

In skateboarding culture, when a skater performs and lands a manoeuvre exceptionally well the observers will bang their own boards against the ground to express approval or encouragement.

thumb|Visual applause pictured at the Pittsburgh Deaf Clubhouse

In deaf culture deaf audiences will use a more visually expressive variant of clapping. Instead of clapping their palms together, they raise their hands straight up with outstretched fingers and twist their wrists. However, in a situation more specific to hearing culture, the traditional clap is used.

In poetry performances applause often takes the form of finger snapping in order to express approval to the performer without being loud and disruptive.

In some countries, applause may be used to indicate respect for a recently deceased person in some instances, such as at a funeral procession. A recent phenomenon in Britain and Israel is the use of a minute's applause, which has come to replace the traditional minute's silence. In Britain it is used especially at football matches, and in Israel also at basketball matches and other sports. However, in most countries applause for a deceased person is still widely frowned upon and not recommended because it may be misinterpreted as rudeness or joy.

In German-speaking countries it is customary for university students to rap their knuckles on the desks after each lecture. The same technique is used in German-speaking countries to express approval at meetings.

In Russian-speaking cultures performance applause can morph into unison/synchronized clapping rather than staying individualized and multi-patterned.

In Jamaica people may bang lids and pot covers together during celebratory events such as a victory at the Olympic Games or the Miss World competitions.

Slow handclaps in film

Another type of "slow handclap" is used as a dramatic device, often forming the conclusion of dramatic turning points in films. After some dramatic speech, one audience member claps slowly, then another, and then a few more, until the trickle of clapping gives way to roaring applause, often ending in a standing ovation. This is also referred to as a crescendo applause, named for the increasing level of volume it produces.

References

External links

The dynamics of audience applause, Journal of the Royal Society Interface, May 29, 2013, Richard P. Mann, Jolyon Faria, David J. T. Sumpter, and Jens Krause