Why do kicklines provoke a Pavlovian applause response in audiences...?

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 12:39pm

It makes me absolutely insane.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 1:04pm

Because a perfectly synchronized kickline is impressive.

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 1:07pm

They don't necessarily make me stand up and cheer, but it does represent a skill set most of us lack.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 1:08pm

I said nothing about perfectly synchronized kicklines.

[backwoodsbarbie]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 1:11pm

Because they are flashy and audience members that have no dance experience think they are difficult. The response kicklines get on Broadway is similar to the response that fouettes and extended turn sequences get at the ballet or at dance competitions.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 2:11pm

I think The Straight Dope tried to answer this several years ago. It doesn't appear this question is archived on their site, though.

[perfectliar]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 3:42pm

Best thread. I've often wondered the same thing myself. Even if the kickline is in no way synchornized or well-executed, an audience will applaud it. I will never understand.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 4:05pm

Perfectly put, BackwoodsBarbie. Thank you.

Graciella Danielle once said (or something to this effect) that it was easy to end a dance number with applause simply by having the entire ensemble come downstage toward the audience, all doing the same step, with the star in the center.

The kickline provides a similar effect.

[Calvin]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 4:08pm

Crescendoing (is that a verb?) and slowing the song down to its climax at that point doesn't hurt, either.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 4:20pm

Exactly! &#%$!

The tempo slowing in combination with those legs going up in anything resembling uniformity (as long as it's all happening in the same 1-second range, say) is a guaranteed clapper.

And, PJ., aye, Ms. Daniele's example rings clearly with truth, but at least in that case the applause is coming at the end of the song, where it would normally fall anyway. Usually even an awful song can get a hand with little effort on the part of thes creatives -- a button, a tableau, some signal to the audience.

What reminded me of how crazy this drives me is -- I was watching high-school and other amateur videos of "Side by Side" on YouTube (don't ask), and that kickline just works like an applause switch. Every time I witness it in the theater -- even at the Phil last weekend -- I have to fight the urge to stand up and start screaming like Annie Wilkes.

[threetwoone]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 4:24pm

I think it depends on the experience of the audience as well though. Legally Blonde on Broadway - applause during the kickline in the Remix. Legally Blonde on tour in Portland (a city that gets many tours) - yes, applause again. Legally Blonde on tour in Vancouver (a city that doesn't get much theatre) - crickets during the kickline. Not to say there wasn't roaring applause at the end of the song though.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 4:46pm

Maybe just because it's fun. Some people aren't as jaded as you and just enjoy it. It's not a difficult concept.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 4:54pm

I clapped like a trained seal when I saw this one.
Link

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 4:59pm

"Maybe just because it's fun. Some people aren't as jaded as you and just enjoy it. It's not a difficult concept."

lol okay except just don't be an idiot

Updated On: 4/14/11 at 04:59 PM

[My Oh My]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 6:39pm

Maybe they clap because the kickline comes at a moment where an emotional climax is achieved? You know, that moment where all those elements that make-up live theatre so unique merge and stun the senses, and not the kickline itself?

Updated On: 4/14/11 at 06:39 PM

[RuprechtJr.]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 11:48pm

I think almost all kicklines are at the end of an exhausting dance break and it's a kind of pre-end congratulations. As if waiting to the end of the song wasn't good enough to applaud the dancers, they had to do it at the big climax of the dance break. Eh, it isn't a necessary thing, but I usually get caught up in the moment and clap anyway. The kickline after the dance break in MAME, even the orchestral build up is exciting.

[trentsketch]

Posted: 4/15/11 at 7:41pm

I'm baffled by this as well. I've seen high school productions where the entire eight second dance break (cut down from a minute) is a five person kickline and it gets applause. What happened in human development to cause a fierce round of applause for a line of people kicking in time at us?

[chris d]

Posted: 4/15/11 at 8:15pm

I always thought it's because usually the whole cast does it, and they're facing the audience, so it's like an "acknowledge the great work we're doing and we'll acknowledge you before going back in character" moment.

[twinbelters]

Posted: 11/30/11 at 6:19pm

No, really, WHY?

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 12/1/11 at 7:55am

It's a good question. I don't know the answer.

[adam.peterson44]

Posted: 12/1/11 at 8:25am

I have always wondered this too. Appreciate the various interesting explanations/theories.

[tazber]

Posted: 12/1/11 at 9:28am

And they also call to mind the Rockettes. So people associate them with spectacle.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 12/1/11 at 9:31am

Not a kickline response per se, but when I was in high school, my best friend and I attended the annual recital of a local dance studio. At various times throughout the evening we started applauding in the middle of some routines to see what would happen. Each and every time the audience started applauding, too.

[tazber]

Posted: 12/1/11 at 9:37am

Dottie, you have always been such a trend setter.

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/1/11 at 9:46am

If everybody does a basic time-step at once, that will often get applause as well.

It's just an impressive step. It doesn't have to be complicated.