sandik

The symposium is cancelled as well -- I am so sad about this.

Oh, me too.  I'm hoping that some of these events can make a reappearance in the near future...

I love the slice of life there, with the dogs clamoring on the sideline!

Bumping this back up to the top of the queue, for obvious reasons.

We're not going out, so I propose we make a virtue of necessity -- here's my request.

Let's talk about programming.  Your idea of a wonderful evening in the theater, the special qualities of your local company/audience, a great program that has stuck with you for years, common errors you see companies make -- what have I missed here?

I'll go wash my hands, and come back to add my thoughts.

pass the tissues.

My social media feeds are full of teachers migrating their studio practice to the internet.  Yoga, martial arts, Pilates, ballet, modern, hip hop -- even Kate Wallich, a local dance artist who runs a weekly "everyone come" practice called Dance Church, is streaming like mad.

Hoping that we learn some lessons about outreach from this, when we're back on a more even keel.

5 hours ago, nanushka said:

Ah, perhaps that explains why the Met On Demand app on my Roku TV hasn't been working since yesterday evening, and the Met On Demand website seems to be having problems as well. They may not have the capacity to really make good on that invitation.

We were talking about this at dinner last night -- between the folks who are working from home, and need a higher/faster level of connection than normal; the kids, from pre-K to grad school, who have been migrated to online learning without any real prep time; people who are trying to stay close to home and so are teaching themselves to use online shopping tools; and all of us who want more information about these untested times -- this is a real time stress test of our online infrastructure.  If we're lucky, nothing will collapse.  If we're smart, we'll take this as a big nudge from the gods to improve the network, and expand access.

I'm assuming that the Giselle Symposium, scheduled for the second week of the run, will be cancelled as well.

Boggs is a great interview here, and there's a lot going on, but I just loved his comment -- when CB first contact him with the idea that he could come interview for the directorship, he turns to his wife and asked "Where is (area code) 303?"

Damn -- I hadn't thought about visa and work permit issues, but this could really bollux up a lot of artists. 

On 3/12/2020 at 9:06 PM, Josette said:

[I am trying to have something to look forward to.]

I think most of us are in the same boat!

On 3/13/2020 at 2:17 PM, dirac said:

I wonder what will happen with the Summer Olympics this year.

I'm wondering as well.  It's such a huge undertaking -- I have a feeling they will push hard to keep it open.

On 3/13/2020 at 1:43 PM, pherank said:

I think SFB is doing the same thing: only Midsummer Night's Dream ticket holders will get to see the video of the opening night performance. I think that's areal missed opportunity though. I hope PNB and SFB eventually figure out how to offer these videos to the public and generate some income.

I don't know how much income they'll be able to generate from this, at least at the beginning, but it's an excellent way to reach a larger audience.  Being a lemonade from lemons kind of person, I'm hoping that this will give arts organizations a nudge to think more creatively about the technology.

I'm hoping that this experience will create positive change there.

They worked together in Peter Pan, and he did many things like this as a young man at Camp Tamiment (not sure about spelling).

14 hours ago, California said:

Many symphonies and operas are live-streaming performances (Berlin, Jacksonville, Met). I'm wondering if ballet companies have dress rehearsals that are being live-streamed for free on Facebook. This could be a dramatic change in the way we access the arts on-line! Of course, Amazon Prime has a lot  of great ballet in its collection, but not everybody can afford that. 

Pacific Northwest Ballet is trying to pull something like this together for its ticket holders, but like many organizations, they don't have a lot of resources to turn on a dime.

10 hours ago, Helene said:

For example, when the inevitable cancellations of Michelle Dorrance's company's performances in April, I'll donate tickets back to Dance House in Vancouver without hesitation, but not Seattle Theatre Group.

This is making me cry -- I was really looking forward to Dorrance's show here in Seattle.

That is just charming -- I had forgotten that sequence!

Even if your community closed off public events tomorrow, it sounds like CB got more performances of this rep than SFB did!

I think Upper Room is quintessential Tharp does ballet -- kinesthetically thrilling and intellectually challenging.  Always glad to see it, and to hear that others get the chance as well.

Glad to see how other communities are dealing with this challenge.  Gary Tucker, press rep for Pacific Northwest Ballet, was quoted in the Guardian about their response to the state closing all events over 250 people as of today -- the company was set to open tomorrow with a double bill of Alejandro Cerrudo and David Dawson.  The tentative plan is to create some kind of online screening for ticket holders, but the details are still being worked out.

I agree, this is a good moment for a paradigm shift, but when you start something like this, you want to make sure to pull in a large group to start -- maybe a "this time for free" version?  I'd certainly pay to see SFB in Midsummer (after those reviews, and plus, they're dancing in PNB's sets and costumes...), but you need many more than me!

Considering the state of the world, I thought this might be a pleasant moment for a few of you.  Not ballet, but a tap dancing Alan Alda, about 20 years ago, dancing with his granddaughter.  Short and sweet.

Happy to offer something cheerful.

On the boards, which presents avant garde work in Seattle, has a video streaming component that features works that they have presented over the years.  As part of their attempt to help keep performing arts in the mix while we're all avoiding large groups during this COVID-19 outbreak, they're offering free access to their streaming service.  From their press release:

If you're interested in Crystal Pite, her "Dark Materials" is here.

On 3/9/2020 at 4:15 PM, California said:

Cluedo: The world premiere of this ballet, based on the famous board game Clue, was Friday night, March 6. Choreographed by Julia Adam on this company, it was a dazzling hit. I confess I knew nothing about the choreographer, although she has been doing a lot of work for a lot of companies. As every company nowadays seems to be looking for female choreographers to highlight, I'd recommend her. Adam used a medley of music by a young composer, Cosmo Sheldrake, which I can only describe as funky, goofy, tongue-in-cheek, and great fun. The gorgeous costumes are by Christine Darch - formal wear for the men and beautiful flapper dresses for the women. Most importantly, the choreography was chock full of surprising, crystal-clear, fast-paced patterns, with distinctive motifs repeated throughout. Like the music, it is tongue-in-check, funky, and goofy, and the dancers seemed to be having great fun.

I saw some of Adams' work early in her choreographic career and liked it a great deal -- I thought she was working with the vocabulary in a smart way.  And Sheldrake is indeed big fun!

9 hours ago, California said:

 I'm really looking forward to In the Upper Room next month, which I know Gil danced frequently and in the original cast, if I remember correctly.

I love this work -- I'll be curious to hear what you have to say.