As for the ballet, I once truly believed it was a great art form. Ballet isn't as popular in London as it is in Paris because Parisian audiences have a higher level of artistic appreciation. But now, I've found I'm mistaken; ballet is more popular in Paris because the theaters there know how to pull tricks."
"Tricks? What kind of tricks?" Schneider immediately caught the keyword: "Can you elaborate?"
Arthur poured himself some more wine: "Actually, nothing too novel — cheeky tunes, actresses without underwear, and old dance shoes thrown at the audience during the curtain call. August, you simply wouldn't believe what a hellish experience it was; I nearly got trampled to death by the crowd scrambling for the shoes. Those people fought tooth and nail until the dance shoes were ripped to shreds. What surprised me the most was that the newspaper coverage of this scramble for shoes exceeded that of the July Revolution and last year's Republican uprising."
