Atte Kilpinen tells Iltalehte about the inappropriate behavior of the young audience during their ballet performance.
Ballet dancer Atte Kilpinen29, witnessed the outrageous behavior of the audience at the Finnish National Ballet on Wednesday. At the time, he was performing in a COW ballet piece that was being watched by young people through the Taitetestaajat cultural education program.
Kilpinen tells Iltalehti that during the performance the audience could hear, among other things, name-calling and sniggering laughter.
– Laughter in itself is not bad, but if it becomes mockery and something like: “Horrible, what a freak”, then it becomes inappropriate, he says.
Kilpinen says that he heard special reactions from the audience, for example, in the part where he and his colleague danced a male duet in skin-colored pants.
– It was a terrible feeling to dance when it felt like something was coming from there all the time, says the dancer.
According to Kilpinen, the youth also whistled when all the dancers in the piece arrived on stage in skin-colored underpants.
– That is really degrading and inappropriate behavior, regardless of age, he states.
– There are many silent moments during this work, when all the audience’s words are heard, Atte Kilpinen says to Iltalehte. ATTE KAJOVA
Objects were also thrown from the audience onto the stage, and one object hit Kilpinen’s colleague. Kilpinen does not want to comment on what objects were thrown on the stage, but feels that it crossed the line.
Dancer Tiina Myllymäki previously told Iltalehti that she was the dancer who was hit by the object.
– I was standing in that position when suddenly, to my surprise and horror, I felt something hit me in the corner of my eye. Either it was a small rock or a small paper tollo, I can’t really say, Myllymäki said.
According to Kilpinen, the young people were the most silent when a nine-minute long video clip was shown during the piece. The dancer feels that this tells about the fact that young people are used to spending too much time in front of the screens of their phones.
The behavior of the young people made Kilpinen angry.
– They didn’t just take the show away from others, but also from me. A wonderful piece that I love to dance, and suddenly I feel like I don’t want to go on stage anymore. It’s a terrible feeling. Of course, later on, you’ll realize it and be able to deal with it, says the dancer.
– That’s not nice for anyone. By the way, when you are a dancer on stage, you objectify a lot and are ready to be judged. Even when someone shouts or whistles there – no one should have to experience that, he says.
After the show, Kilpinen just wanted to go home. According to the dancer, those involved in the performance got together for a moment and the Finnish National Ballet apologized for the situation.
Kilpinen also appeared in another performance later on the same day. According to the dancer, before the performance, the audience was told to behave and instructed not to throw anything on the stage.
– The second act was clearly better than the one in the morning, but there were shouts there as well, he says.
– Especially if it gets physical, that something is thrown, it does leave a mark, Atte Kilpinen commented to Iltalehte. ATTE KAJOVA
Kilpinen cannot say whether the schools have been given feedback on the students’ behavior during the performance. He hopes that both teachers and parents of young people would intervene in the behavior of young people.
In Kilpinen’s opinion, the cultural education of young people should also start much earlier, both at home and in schools.
– Even more children from kindergartens and elementary schools should be brought to experience and see cultural performances in order to get used to them. Then the children would know how to behave in museums, ballet and theater, the dancer suggests.
– This work is also quite short: one hour and twenty minutes. I think it’s worrying if in the first five minutes of the piece you start doing this kind of behavior, because an eighth-grader is no longer a child, he says.
Kilpinen states that the experience completely changed his perception of today’s youth. At the same time, he does not want to generalize because he is aware that among the young people there are also individuals who love shows.
– It’s sad that there are those bullies who take this kind of experience away from performers and also from young people.
According to Atte Kilpinen, there are usually people in the audience who have paid for the show, who know how to behave and respect the performers. ATTE KAJOVA, .