system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: why do we clap excessively at the end of a formal performance (play, ballet, etc)? Where did that originate?

I certainly understand why we applaud at the end of the performance. However, I was at the Royal Opera House in London for a ballet the other night, and when it finished, we clapped for ~5 full minutes. In addition to clapping for the whole group and main ballerinas individually, the curtain closed and re-opened for applause 3 more times. It got me thinking, where did this originate? How did it become standard to applaud for several full minutes?
gpt
It is really just kind of a ritualized release of energy built up during the performance - from the highs, lows, awe, dread, excitement and what not. People have stomped their feet, jumped up and down, flailed about excessively at various times in our cultural history to express this energy in different ways.