Las Vegas Sun

November 28, 2009

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Letter: It’s rude to leave show before end

Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2000 | 9:36 a.m.

Unfortunately not all seemed to appreciate the performance as much as my wife and I. The woman near us who was obsessed with loud yawns could have done us all a favor by leaving during one of the intermissions to go home and get some sleep. Unfortunately, she chose to leave just before the end of the ballet with the other one-third of the audience. We thought that rather rude.

At the end of the performance only one-half to 60 percent of the people were left to applaud the hard work of these talented dancers. Perhaps those who left early thought a ballet is like a baseball game; when you know how it's going to turn out, you might as well leave. That way you can jump in your SUV, be first out of the parking lot, and start cutting people off in traffic.

I used to think much of the rude behavior in Las Vegas was because people here were still living in the old West, cowboy traditions -- that getting them to hit the spittoons was an achievement. But people have come here from all over the country; we cannot blame original Las Vegans for everything. Whoever you are, whether you've just moved here from the farm or wherever you're from, it's considered polite to stay and applaud for a performance after it's over.

Walking out early says one has no respect for the program or the dancers. Either leave during an intermission or stay until the show is over. You'll still have plenty of time afterward to cut people off in traffic.

JERRY BITTS

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