Well-recognized politicians, actors, and musicians often receive applause as soon as they first appear on stage, even before any performance activity has transpired. Applause in church eventually fell out of fashion, however, and partly by the influence of the quasi-religious atmosphere of the performances of Richard Wagner's operas at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, the reverential spirit that inspired this soon extended back to the theatre and the concert hall.
Eusebius says that Paul of Samosata encouraged the congregation to indicate approval of his preaching by waving linen cloths (οθοναις), and in the 4th and 5th centuries applause of the rhetoric of popular preachers had become an established custom. In Christianity, customs of the theatre were adopted by the churches.
#Applause definition professional#
Similarly, a claque (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. In Roman theatre, at the close of the play, the chief actor called out "Valete et plaudite!" (farewell and applaud), and the audience, guided by an unofficial choregos, chanted their approval antiphonally. Emperor Aurelian substituted the waving of napkins ( orarium) that he had distributed to the Roman people for the toga flapping. 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.
Within each culture, however, it is usually subject to conventions. 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). The age of the custom of applauding is uncertain, but it is widespread among human cultures. Problems playing this file? See media help.