How much does seat location matter?

The Orange County Register review of American Ballet Theatre's mixed rep performance on Thursday has a few notable differences from my review: Laura Bleiberg writes about Paloma Herrera's performance in the Don Q pas de deux, "she returned to the familiar Kitri, from the act three pas de deux of 'Don Quixote,' a role she does so often she could sleep-walk through it. Not on this night.... Herrera broke through to another level, adding nuance to her dancing, and demonstrating a new musical sensitivity. She dug into the immediacy of Ludwig Minkus' familiar score, and still delivered the thrills, like triple turns in the middle of her fouetté turns." Here's what I wrote about Herrera's performance, "I've seen Paloma do this pas de deux countless times with Angel Corella on the ABT Variety and Virtuosity video - and tonight it was not like that. She looked like she was sleep walking through the role, and though all her positions and placements were pristine and gorgeous, there was no spark."

Strange - we both even used the words "sleep walking," but in reference to entirely opposite things! My first thought was, 'What? Were we at the same performance?'

But then I thought of something: we may not have been. She as a critic was probably sitting in a prime orchestra seat, while I was off in the Balcony section (which in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is actually the fourth level of the massive theater). Based on our positions in the atmosphere, we may have seen entirely different shows. Andre, over at Ballet-dance.com's forums was also in an up-close orchestra seat, and he wrote, "I think I enjoyed Don Q more than Art did --- I never realized how beautiful Paloma's feet were until last night, and I loved J-MC's stop-on-a-dime pirouettes. He has got to be one of the most beautiful turners out there."

Did seat location affect our respective opinions of the performance? I found Herrera's performance lacking from the balcony, but the orchestra section appears to have found much more detail to admire.

At Othello on Satruday afternoon, I enjoyed the ballet and performances a heck of a lot from a great seat in row G of the orchestra - up close and personal thanks to tickets through work. I got to observe facial expressions and the intensity of the piece from an intimate vantage point. My opinion and enjoyment of the ballet was greatly improved over my viewing of the piece several years ago, where I was in Tier 2 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center - and yes Tier 2 is as far away as it sounds. There are, of course, other elements to my criticism of Othello, but I did really like Saturday afternoon's performance regardless, and I think row G helped.

There is, though, something to be said for a great performance being perceivable in all areas of the theatre. I'll never forget Audra McDonald, alone on stage with a three piece band, thrill me from my seat in Tier 3 of the OC Performing Arts Center. And Alina Cojocaru's superlative Giselle made me tear up from row Z of the orchestra. And Avenue Q's puppets had me on the floor laughing in the last row of the balcony.

I suppose it just depends on the show. And the theatre. In certain gargantuan halls, the cheap seats are at enormous distances from the stage, so even the greatest artists will have trouble projecting to everyone. As for Herrera? I still think she could have done it better, since I've seen her really take full hold of the stage before. And dozens of others have created sparks in the Don Q pas de deux on the Pavilion's stage before, and I've observed from a similarly high perch. Who knows what I would have felt had I been downstairs.

(Photos Credits: Above - Paloma Herrera in her Don Quixote gala costume, photo by Rosalie O'Connor. Second - from 2003, the view from the upper balcony of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on a sparsely attended weeknight show. Can't even see the upper level of the set from here.)