Culture adjustment in China

I cannot remember who famously said spiritual needs come only after material wants are satisfied. In that case, perhaps we still have a ways to go.

After the first shock of actually getting into the venue, there is the torture of sitting with people who are short on audience etiquette.

I have gritted my teeth more than once in response to those who simply have no sense as to when to clap, when not to clap, when to talk and when not to talk, cough or clear their throats. In stadium venues especially, the clearing of the throat may also be followed up by liquid littering.

Then there is the new but no less irritating habit of taking pot shots with smart phones, despite constant appeals from organizers not to do so. It gives a whole new meaning to the word "flash floods".

Having said all that, I have faith that audiences can learn, and that peer pressure from the better-informed will slowly turn them into perfect arts-supporters.

The spouse reminds me that being boisterous was how people showed appreciation in the old-time opera theater halls. We simply have to learn to adapt to modern theater manners.

For a start, venue owners and event organizers must lift the standards.

It's all about attitude, really, and looking at it from the art-lover's perspective-with the experience starting from the moment he buys the ticket and ending when he leaves, smiling, from the concert hall.

Spouse and I have a pair of tickets to Sarah Brightman's Dreamchaser concert in a few days, and we are very much looking forward to it. However, the event is being held at the Great Hall of the People, and the only damper is the thought that security checks would be even more rigorous than usual.

This time, however, star power wins and we will probably run the gauntlets without too much protest.

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