Reviewing NYCB's "Four Voices" program, Alistair Macaulay says he cried at two of the ballets: Wheeldon's "Carousel (A Dance)" and Mr. B's "Sonnambula." I always cry at the latter. (One look at Paul Kolnik's stunning photo of Kistler and Hubbe in today's NY Times and I almost teared up again). Macaulay considers these lachrymose reactions "cause for celebration," and I agree with him. I always used to cry at Balanchine's "Don Quixote," and did again at every performance of Farrell's revival two years ago. I may have brought up this subject in the past, but I think it's time for another good cry. What always makes you weep at the ballet? No wise guy answers, please.

I didn't cry for Tuesday night's Sonnambula, but I did feel a lump form in my throat. Tears welled up for yesterday's Bayadere matinee.

One thing that always gets to me is a beautifully danced Rose Adagio. It doesn't matter who the dancer is--if it's done well, I'm overcome with emotion. The combination of the music along with everything I love about ballet is summed up in that single moment.

Not actual "crying," but I have had feelings exactly like those described by Old Fashioned.

The only time this happens over plot issues is in Swan Lake and (rarely) at the end of Giselle. Thinking about it, the crucial factor seems to be sudden awareness of a connection between movement and feeling that overpowers me. It also happens during a particularly beautiful Rose Adagio.

It only happens in live performance.

Usually I am responding to some quality, of deep intensity, of movement, or some exceptionally beautiful linkage of movement, dancer, and music. I find myself thinking: "Thank God, there are artists like this. And that I am here to see it."

I feel something similar occasionally at opera and classical theater, but never as powerfully as at ballet.

This season, it's happened three or four times. One was Haiyan Wu bourreeing backwards into the wings but holding Albrecht in her gaze for as long as possible, bending her torso slightly forward toards him ... until tkhe connection was lost, the eyes became blank, the torso moved back to the erect, and then she was gone. Another was during a surprisingly lyrical performance of pas de deux in Agon, when I suddenly remembered in great detail my feelinsg seeing it for the first time almost 50 years go..

And one was not ballet at all. It was the chance to discover qualities of movement I'd never seen or imagined before, during an all-Ravel program of the Pascal Rioult Dance Company

Isn't it refreshing to have a critic who can cry not once but twice during a performance? Wow! Not jaded!

I used to cry fairly often at the ballet. I don't think I ever would have cried during the Wheeldon Carousel, but that does not mean I can't be moved by Broadway-inspired ballets. One of my more reliable tear triggers was the "Somebody Loves Me" section of Who Cares?, the upbeat female quintet. Go figure!

The last Liebeslieder Walzer of the winter season -- which was also Miranda Weese's last Liebeslieder -- was the first time I cried during that ballet. Not for Miranda's imminent departure (she's a dancer I've admired more than loved), but for the remarkable intimacy the cast created among themselves. The dancers were portraying people who all seemed to have had long lived relationships of family and community with each other.

For me it was always at the starburst figure and ascension at the end of the shorter Apollo. It may have had to do with the fact I was living in a apartment next to Russ and Daughters at Houston & Allen (not terribly fashionable then) and would soon have to take the pungent F train back to my dreary quarters and leave all of the Apollonian glory behind.

I didn't cry at Carousel (a dance) this year here in San Francisco, but I was quite moved by it. It is the best Wheeldon I've seen so far, his most Balanchine-like ballet, perhaps because of way the leads are kept apart by the corps.

I often get teary when I see really good work. It doesn't necessarily have to do with the theme or storyline of the work -- I'll cry at Dark Elegies, and at the end of Four Temperaments.

The opening images of Serenade. the closing tableau of Firebird.

And, cheesy as it is, the rumble in west side story suite. I know riff's going to die but it gets me every time.

Great topic! A question: do you have the same or similar responses to dance on video as to live performance?

The only videos I cry at are of performances and performers I can no longer see live. Two examples:"Robert Schumann's Davidsbundlertanze," and, of course, "Suzanne Farrell: Elusive Muse," at which I cry every time.

I was about to reply "Oh, no! Of course I never cry during videos!" But FF's reply above helped me remember the Allegra Kent section of the film "Six Balanchine Ballerinas." Her story and her dancing both affected me deeply.

A mutual friend introduced me to Allegra Kent just one or two days after the broadcast. Because of the freshness of the emotions aroused by the film, I was tongue-tied.

Ah yes, Allegra. She made me weep just about every time out: Concerto Barocco, Serenade, Sonnambula, Bizet, Goldberg, Dances at a Gathering, Faun .. even Bugaku.

And she made me laugh in The Concert.

I cry during second movement Barocco. It's almost a healing cry, a sort of washing away of worries, tensions and feelings of inadequacy that plague at my peace of mind. That music and those steps are better than any drug! And I always cry at Davidsbundlertanze. Does anyone else cry at the end of Prodigal Son as the father lovingly cradles his grown and broken son in his arms? God that gets to me everytime!

Perhaps we should divide our various responses into categories:

Major Blub: uncontrollable, noisy and totally embarrassing displays

Lesser Blub: not so noisy but a 3 kleenex experience

Minor Blub: noiseless but wet; 1 kleenex

Welling Up: the most common manifestation, occasionally accompanied by a small hiccup.

Try to sit far away from me during retirement performances. I may have to buy out the house if they hold a Hubbe farewell as that will be a Major Blub Deluxe.

Me Too, Perky -- the adage in Barocco.

The end of Prodigal Son.

The first time I saw Symphony in C, San Francisco Ballet was performing in Berkeley, and Betsy Erickson made me cry in the adagio. Same place Allegra makes me cry, when she swoops idown into that penchee arabesque and goes round the corner.

The end of Dido and Aeneas -- last time I saw it, here in Berkeley, with Morris as Dido, retreating one step forward, 2 steps back, 1 step forward, 2 steps back, until she exited through the slit in the curtian center stage. Audible.

The end of Swan Lake totally destroyed me, Dowell and Sibley.

I found myself kvelling in Aurora's last variation, to hte violin solo, when Joanna Berman danced it in SanFrancisco, when she started corkscrewing her wrists started doing that Russian dnace on pointe

The end of "Dances at a Gathering" does it for me. And the Act I curtain for Giselle. And yes, the right Act II curtain, too - major blub. And I can cry at proper apotheoses in Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake, too.

My dislike for Balanchine's Don Quixote should be well-known by now, but when he mixed biblical imagery or religious tradition, as the servant girl drying the old man's feet with her hair, or Dulcinea crowned on an eminence, the Queen of Heaven, those things catch me hard at the throat.

The only time at the ballet was McBride in 'Liebeslieder Walzer' in 1985. At opera, only 'Die Meistersinger' (Bernd Weikel's singing) production at Met in 1995. In dance, Virginie Mycene as the Bride in 'Appalachian Spring' in April, 2005 at City Center with the live orchestra made me cry nearly uncontrollably, and recently Audra McDonald's wrapping up '110 in the Shade' with all that infectious happiness as the rain came down onto the stage brought me to tears.

So far, openings, closings, and adagios seem to be in the lead. Thanks, all, for helping me fill in some of the blank spaces in my memory.

The diagonal line of women at the start of Seranade -- and the end of Dances at a Gathering, with the dancers gazing silently at the sky -- have always seemed to me two versions of the same feeling. And they both choke me up.

With Seranade, the emotion is one of anticipation: I can hardly wait for the dancers to move; and indeed they do, rushing away so that the ballet can begin.

In Dances, the feeling is valedictory: I don't want the final image ever to end.

Suzanne Farrell in Mozartiana

Fonteyn & Nureyev in one remarkale matinee of Romeo and Juliet.

Videos: Fracci in La Sylphide, when she goes blind and feels her way toward James.

Live: Sleeping Beauty, during the Rose Adagio and the Apotheosis.

Gelsey's mad scene in Giselle w'/ Barysnikov when ABT had a season at the Uris theatre ( not sure what the current name of the theatre now) in the 70's and M Van Hamel- P Bissel's 4th act of the Blair-staging of Swan Lake at the Met.
I don't recall of "crying" lately but the end of La Bayadere with Nikiya guiding Solor up the stairs to heaven always leaves a lump in my throat.

Balanchine’s Midsummer Night’s Dream: When Helena walks weeping across the stage and plucks the leaf Puck holds out to her to dry her tears, while all the little fireflies flutter sorrowfully – and apparently unperceived -- around her. Chokes me up every single time. Even in video. No matter who’s dancing.

When I saw Two Pigeons during the 2004 Ashton celebration I don't think there was a dry eye in the house.

Tonight: In the Shades scene, after the first part of the adagio, as Veronika Part boureed towards the wings, arms beckoning to her Solor, blink blink, sniffle sniffle.

Super-deluxe-major-blub: David Bintley's Cyrano; David Nixon's Madame Butterfly

Major Blub - Sir Frederick Ashton's "Two Pigeons" although a performance in Birmingham with Nao Sakuma and Robert Parker went absolutely off the scale! - do other people cry at happy ballets as well as sad ones?

Major Blub - NBT's current Romeo and Juliet; some BRB performances of Macmillan's R&J (especially Sadler's Wells October 2006 - Ambra Vallo and Chi Cao - I was crying almost as much as the dancers at the curtain calls!)

I seldom cry but choke up at the end of Serenade, at the brief moment in Liebeslieder where the dancers are locked in a circle, and then in the late 2nd part pdd which I don't know how to describe, but Patty McB and Bart Cook performed, and believe it or not, the closing of the first part of Symphony in 3 Movements, where that beautiful wave of arms slides up the line of women.

However, at the Seminar on Lincoln Kirstein on Monday night, I teared up just as I had the night it happened when they showed the clip of the 80th birthday celebration.

Yes! Exactly that! And Cook was simply inspired, bristling with fire there--I've never forgotten how glorious he also was in that performance, so thanks for mentioning it.

I am with you Mel. The first act of Giselle if done right can really get me. If the storytelling is done well the situation for all involved is so tragic.
Also when Alexandra Ferri sits on the end of the bed in Romeo and Juliet. The music swells and she is motionless with Juliets thoughts and emotions carrying the moment. It is all internal and is so powerful at that moment.
Just sometimes the feeling of being in the Theater (somewhere legandary like the Royal Opera House, The Met, or the City Center, the buzz of the crowd and the feeling of being there with so many ballet lovers really gives me the shivers and makes me well up thinking how lucky I am to be alive and right there at that moment. The anticipation of the moment.
I knew my son at 11 was hooked when I took him to a peformance of ABT and turned at some pointe to see him with tears rolling down his cheeks. When I asked if he was OK he answered "its so good". I knew at that point he was hooked!

I cry whenever I saw Chris Wheeldon's After the Rain with Jock Soto and Wendy Whelan. Jock is hard to replace, in my opinion. That role was made for him. The first time I saw Gentilhommes 3 or 4 years ago brought me to tears. It was beautiful to see all the male SAB students dancing like men at the workshop

I never blub(ber), just get that little lump in back of throat, and have to blink...

1) The oboe(?)'s first notes of Swan Lake's Overture. All the emotions poured into those first 8-10 notes. And the Act IV finale when the key changes to major(?) as the sun comes up, our lovers are united in some nice afterlife (in the traditional versions anyways) , and the swans can be women again.

2) The Nutcracker Pdd. (not the variations or coda) Again, music in a "minor" key after all the fluff before and after. (And snowflakes too--though I'm usually smiling too in remembrance).

3) The final C-major chord of Prokofiev's Romeo & Juliet. (Best final chord of any ballet; Firebird is runner-up.)

4) The opening of Round of Angels and then the dance itself.

5) Arvo Part's "Fratres" (sorry it's so overused now); Wheeldon's "Liturgy" .

6) And my anonymous entry...Last November watching a certain dancer perform a certain work (to music by one of my favorite composers) specifically choreographed on them. In a weekend that could have been all tears, it was the one thing that made me smile--and to this day, sustains me.

I'm usually not tearful at the ballet, but this past weekend in Seattle has been a very emotional one. Patricia Barker's farewell program was planned months in advance and was highly publicized after she announced her impending retirement last year, but according to Peter Boal, Christophe Maraval announced his in April. Boal created a short ballet for him and his long-time partner, Louise Nadeau, but his final role in the regular season was to be in the central pas de deux of Symphony in Three Movements, with Miranda Weese. Sadly, Weese had a calf injury (per Boal), and rather than start over with a new partner, Maraval chose to end the season in Boal's ballet.

It was already a highly charged night, as Jonathan Porretta danced an even more intense State of Darkness. After the last intermissions, Maraval and Nadeau danced Boal's Adieu, which was a lovely portrait of both dancers and a fitting tribute to them. Maraval was moved by the ovation, and when the curtain came down, there was a giant cheer from backstage.

The next night, Barker bid her goodbye in a program she selected, and Maraval was her partner in the second work, the first Pas de Deux from A Midsummer Night's Dream. It was so fitting to see Maraval in a Conrad Ludlow role, as a partner of the highest caliber, putting the irreplaceable Barker in the spotlight.

That was a cause for tears.

What a lovely envoi. That first pas de deux is one of the most gloriously theatrical of all the pas de deux Balanchine created, even without the transforming scenery and the light changes. A truly queenly farewell.

I'm so glad you saw the special duet for Maraval and Nadeau -- I had to be elsewhere, and was so sorry to miss the evening.

I didn't get teary at the Barker farewell, I think because we've had the whole year to get used to the idea that she's leaving, but I did thoroughly enjoy both Balanchines. Midsummer was lush and wild, and Agon (with Olivier Wevers, who is dancing particularly well lately) just blew me away.

I always get very emotional at the end of Giselle Act I. This love/deception/madness formula simply gets me very deep.

I can usually be found sobbing my eyes out by the end of Kenneth MacMillan's Manon - when Manon and des Grieux are dancing and she just goes limp in his arms

I've twice seen Sylvie Guillem as Manon, and she's absolutley fantastic.

Are the tears always related to the emotions of the storyline... or can anyone actually cry because of the beauty of the dance? I would think of so they would be tears of joy rather than sorrow.

I haven't shed a tear but I have thrilled very deeply when seeing beautiful dance... and it need not be virtuosity. It almost takes my breath away. I like the feeling... and wonder if dancers and choreographers are aware of how this can effect some people.

I am definitely with you there. I have cried onstage at the end of act one as a peasant after watching Franklin Gamero and Iliana Lopez in Giselle. Have you ever seen them?

No, i haven't... , but i saw many "Giselles" by Mme. Alicia Alonso and she just had the exact formula of how to tear my heart apart EVERY SINGLE TIME...

Figurante, I'd love to hear your memories of the Lopez/Gomero partnership and just what made them so moving to you.

I started attending Miami in 2002 and did see that Giselle, but I blush to say that I have no special impression of their dancing. The only other thing I saw was Diamonds Pdd in their last season (2004).

I know that many Miami fans have warm and deep memories of the partnership.

I find it poignant when art imitates life inasmuch as ballet partnerships are formed of real life partners: McBride-Bonnefous, Lopez-Gomero, Cojocaru-Kobborg . . . my most moving memories of this sort are of Jenifer Ringer and James Fayette in the second movement of Brahms-Schoenberg.

I remember when MCB did Giselle...I just had came from Cuba, and didn't get to see it...Aside from the fact that back then i didn't even have money to take a bus- (so talk about attending a ballet performance)- i was still hesitating (even kind of in denial,i must say) on the very real fact that THAT OTHER GISELLE that had made me cry so many times was already , and was going to remain ,FOREVER in the past ...

I am a fairly sentimental person, both music and ballet often touch me deeply, so much so, I always make sure I have a tissue handy. This is fine in my own home, sitting in a room with dimmed lights watching one of my many DVD'S, Manon, Myerling (Mc Millan) Sylvia (eumer.) Swan Lake Finale, Bayadere, Raymonda all bring tears to my eye's.

However, the worst occasion was in October 2007, when I had gone to the Opera Bastille, in Paris, to see the new Berlioz version by Sasha Waltz of Romeo and Juliertte. This production was unique, quite different to a normal classical ballet performance. It consisted of Orchestral music, an Opera chorus and Soloists, and the Etoiles and Corp de ballet of the POB. There was no inerval to pull yourself together or get a freshment, it just run ,for 1hr 45mins.

It was absolutely wonderful very tragic, moving, and unforgetable. By the time the finale came, when the two young lovers lay dead in each
others arms on the stage I had a big lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. As the house lights went up, I was not the only person with wet checks, where my tears uncontrolled had rum down my face. It took me all my composure to dry my eyes and leave my seat, as though nothing had happened !!!

OH, I am very emotional at ballets! The beauty and grace in them just breaks my heart. I cried like a baby at the NYCB's Romeo and Juliet with Sterling Hyltin not only because I know her, but because it was so well done and wonderful to watch. I also cried during La Somanbula with Darci Kistler. Her spirit-like bourees that seemed to make her float across the stage are what set off the floods!!!

I identify with the statement: "because it was so well done and wonderful to watch." Sometimes there is an out-of-this-world quality to a peformance -- something that is based on exceptional technique but transcends it --that makes me feel emotional and full of gratitude that arts like ballet, opera, and classical theater exist.

I'm not a cryer, but deep admiration and gratitude are feelings I'm very familiar with at the ballet. In part it's generally because I'm happy for the dancers, almost as a friend or relative might be at a great achievement. The dancers at the time are beautiful to me not just as performers, but -- in the magnificence of their achievement -- as people.

I started crying at Maya Plisetskaya's Carmen even before she made a single step. Just the impact of seeing her in the middle of the stage after the curtain went up was such,that you couldn' help getting very emotional.Also cried at Baryshnikov's and late Natalia Bessmertnova's Giselle at the Kirov - the best performance of Giselle either on stage or video - unforgettable.

Sometimes, I can weep for joy at even the sunniest moments in ballet. I've been known to dissolve in a welter of tears at the double curtain in "Les Patineurs", or during any given moment in Gerald Arpino's (I know, I know) "Trinity" or "Kettentanz". A beautifully executed "Agon" can do it, too. I'm like the late Walter Kerr: When the happiness level reaches a certain point, I cry!

All my friends know that tears leap from my eyes at the drop of a hat both from seeing a tragedy such as R&J and from something that is happy (Two pigeons) and/or beautiful (rose adagio). Some performances have me sobbing uncontrollably (which can be very embarrassing!):

Robert Parker and Nao Sakuma in Two Pigeons
Carolin Cavallo and Andrew Bowman (RDB) in Manon (March 2006, Copenhagen)
Desire Samaii and Daniel de Andrade in Madame Butterfly
Eva Evdokimova and Alexander Sombart in Onegin
Agnes Le Testu and Jiri Bubenicek in Lady of the Camelias

In the final of the listed performances I started sobbing towards the beginning of the last act (I had never realised that someone just standing at the side of the stage could have such an effect) and continued right through to the end, plus all the curtain calls and standing ovation and all the way back to our hotel. My friend was similarly affected and we couldn't speak for about an hour afterwards. We had seen the previous evening's performance and, while I very much enjoyed it, it did not have the same emotional impact so this was definitely down to the leading dancers. The performance occurred in Paris in July 2006.

Okay, this is going to sound completely lame. Yes, I do cry at the end of Romeo and Juliet, Manon, normal dark ballets. I also cry from beauty. My lameness-I always cry when the orchestra begins the opening overture. I have no clue why-I am moved by music normally but perhaps the music coupled with the anticipation of what I'm about to see just gets me. My husband always laughs at me while giving me tissues.