Ballet Riot Will Keep Fans on Their Toes

From the L.A. Times future file, probably around 2010:

COSTA MESA -- A performance of “Swan Lake” at the Orange County Performing Arts Center ended abruptly Saturday night when an enraged prima ballerina leaped from the stage, climbed through the orchestra pit and slugged a front-row patron who had hurled a glass of wine at her after screaming, “Tchaikovsky sucks!”

The two fought alone for at least a minute but soon triggered a melee as other performers of the American Ballet Theatre and several members of the string section stormed into the audience. While it appeared that many were acting as peacemakers, at least four separate fistfights broke out in the aisles and in the front rows.

In one of the more serious incidents, a cellist later described as “having anger-management issues” was identified as having sucker-punched an unsuspecting season-ticket holder, knocking him unconscious. As the fights continued, many of the combatants became awash in Chardonnay as angry and/or festive patrons from the second tier of the concert hall doused them from afar.

The brawl, in a setting historically considered a bastion of elegance and formal-wear sophistication, was branded as the latest manifestation of violence in public venues. “Odette has been grievously wronged,” said disconsolate spokesman Drake Turnbow of the American Ballet Theatre, referring to the name of the ballet’s main character -- a woman transformed into a bird. “We shall see if she can recover.”

Dispirited officials said they would decide overnight whether to cancel the final 10 performances of the ballet.

Dismayed observers traced the roots of the concert hall violence to professional sports. Among the most egregious was a 2004 incident in which some National Basketball Assn. players left the court and fought with fans. In recent times, the “spectator-participant” hostility had spread from sports to other previously “safe” venues. For example, Miss North Carolina gouged the eyes of an intoxicated audience member at the 2009 Miss America pageant after the man made unflattering remarks about her thighs.

“This is an evolutionary movement -- in the wrong direction -- that inevitably had to come to ballet,” the spokesman said. He refused to comment at length on why ballerina Imelda Consuelo Casteneda, a rising star on the international scene known as Pajaro Bonito (“beautiful bird”) would respond to a taunt.

“Clearly, she didn’t enjoy being pelted with the wineglass,” Turnbow said. “Or hearing the slur against Tchaikovsky. But, I must confess, we can’t have our stars fighting with the patrons. It detracts from the enjoyment of the ballet.”

The incident erupted about midway through Act Three, as Miss Casteneda was executing an arabesque. “She was in a particularly vulnerable position when the glass hit her,” Turnbow said.

Arts center officials said they were aghast at the patrons’ behavior but suggested that, like the rest of society, ballet audiences had grown increasingly restive in recent years. “Our biggest problem used to be snoring,” an official lamented. “Now we have to deal with the occasional jerk who yells something at the performers.”

The spokesman noted that in the last decade or so the center has opened its doors to all kinds of popular entertainment. “We’re getting some crossover audience members,” the official said. “People forget there are different rules for ballet.”

The violence caught many audience members by surprise. “I thought Casteneda was introducing a brand-new interpretation as she darted toward the orchestra,” said Sofia Sterngold, a longtime patron of the theater. “But when she threw that first right hook, I knew it wasn’t.”