Applause

, England comes to receive applause after performing in concert with the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra at the Kurhaus, Wiesbaden, conducted by Luigi Gaggero, who stands at the back of the stage. Applause (Latin , to strike upon, clap) is primarily a form of ovation or praise expressed by the act of clapping, or striking the palms of the hands together. Audiences usually applaud after a performance, such as a concert, speech or play, as a sign of enjoyment, approval, and praise.

, England comes to receive applause after performing in concert with the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra at the Kurhaus, Wiesbaden, conducted by Luigi Gaggero, who stands at the back of the stage. Applause (Latin , to strike upon, clap) is primarily a form of ovation or praise expressed by the act of clapping, or striking the palms of the hands together. Audiences usually applaud after a performance, such as a concert, speech or play, as a sign of enjoyment, approval, and praise. ==History== The age of the custom of applauding is uncertain, but is widespread amongst human cultures. Varieties of applause typically serve as the means to show appreciation as an audience participant and fulfils the need to be included. The variety of its forms is limited only by the capacity for devising means of making a noise (e.g., stomping of feet or rapping of fists or hands on a table). However, within each culture it is usually subject to conventions. The ancient Romans had set rituals at public performances to express degrees of approval: snapping the finger and thumb, clapping with the flat or hollow palm, and waving the flap of the toga. Upper-class spectators expressed approval by waving their togas, while lower-class spectators, who were not allowed to wear togas, waved pieces of cloth, which may have been a precursor to the handkerchief. Aurelian, Roman emperor from AD 270 to 275, substituted the waving of napkins ( ) that he had distributed to the Roman people for the toga-flapping. In Roman theatre, at the close of the play, the chief actor called out " " (farewell and applaud), and the audience, guided by an unofficial choregos, chanted their approval antiphonally. This was often organized and paid for. Similarly, a claque (IPA: /klak/) (French for "slapping") was an organized body of professional applauders in French theatres and opera houses who were paid by the performer(s) to create the illusion of an increased level of approval by the audience. Alternatively, if they were not paid, they would boo and throw things at the stage. By the 1830s this had become commonplace. Heads of theatres and opera houses could get many professional clappers whenever they needed a boost. The leader of the claque would decide when and where to begin the cheering. The claque consisted of people participating in a variety of roles: some would memorize the show to emphasize key scenes or moments, so-called "laughers" may feign laughter so as to incite the audience to laugh along, "criers" would fake tears, The emergence of claques made composers like Gustav Mahler, Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn begin to request in their scores that their works were to be performed with no break between movements as to avoid applause, becoming a catalyst to the well-known applause etiquette upheld in many classical performance settings. In Christianity customs of the theatre were adopted by the churches. The early Christian scholar Eusebius says that Paul of Samosata encouraged the congregation to indicate approval of his preaching by waving linen cloths ( ), and in the 4th and 5th centuries applause of the rhetoric of popular preachers had become an established custom. Applause in church eventually fell out of fashion, however. Partly due to the influence of the quasi-religious atmosphere of the performances of the German composer Richard Wagner's operas at the , the reverential spirit that inspired this soon extended back to the theatre and the concert hall. ==Protocol and variations== ===In legislative bodies=== In the Parliament of the United Kingdom and in Parliament of India clapping is generally prohibited (however, this rule is frequently broken and is non-existent when there are speeches by foreign heads of state). Instead, members of Parliament and members of the House of Lords and in India members of lok sabha and rajya sabha generally will show support by desk thumping or by shouting "hear, hear!". In the House of Commons of Canada, by contrast, clapping is customary and frequent. ===In air travel=== In various countries, airplane passengers often tend to applaud the landing upon completion of a flight and when they have felt the plane's wheels touch down and have run a short but satisfactory course down the runway. The purpose of this custom is unclear. In Russian-speaking cultures performance applause can morph into unison/synchronized clapping rather than staying individualized and multi-patterned. In Jamaica people may bang lids and pot covers together during celebratory events such as a victory at the Olympic Games or the Miss World competitions. ==Slow handclaps in film== Another type of "slow handclap" is used as a dramatic device, often forming the conclusion of dramatic turning points in films. After some dramatic speech, one audience member claps slowly, then another, and then a few more, until the trickle of clapping gives way to roaring applause, often ending in a standing ovation. This is also referred to as a crescendo applause, named for the increasing level of volume it produces. ==See also== Acclamation Applause sign Booing Cheering Clapping Clap-o-meter Concert etiquette Standing ovation Ululation Kentish fire ==References== The dynamics of audience applause, Journal of the Royal Society Interface, May 29, 2013, Richard P. Mann, Jolyon Faria, David J. T. Sumpter, and Jens Krause

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