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Tiit Helimets reposted this classic video: Core strength exercise, or just being a mom?

An official message from SFB to its audience regarding the Covid-19 closures: http://sfballet.activehosted.com/index.php?action=social&chash=798cebccb32617ad94123450fd137104.4820&s=debab89d342b54dd67bfa5136386615f

Sasha Mukhamedov posted this time-lapse video of her online class with other SFB dancers - it looks like she may be using Zoom, but it's hard to see the screen in detail:

Yes, people will tend to stick to something they already know, that's human nature. But sometimes circumstances force a change. It will be interesting to see how this remote class thing develops. One thing I'm realizing is that few dancers have access to decent, safe flooring (that can be danced upon without injury) while at home. Even performing basic barre exercises can be difficult in some living spaces. It's hard to participate in a "class" if the exercise surface is inadequate, and possibly dangerous. I hope we don't see a rise in foot and ankle injuries just because the dancers want to stay in shape. The dancers probably feel that a layoff period is not a good time to spend money on a ballet flooring surface.

Mathilde working out at the restaurant:

In order to hold remote company class, the dancer participants need to start using their computers with online video conferencing (and presumably the class leader needs to have a built-in camera on their computer like Apple Mac's have). I was emailing with an old friend (who is a corporate VP), and he recommends Zoom for online video conferencing. But there are quite a few online apps for video conferencing - Google has one, Adobe, there's FreeConferenceCall.com, UberConference - and those are just some of the ones that have a good reputation. Zoom has a "Support during the COVID-19 pandemic" web page: This site is here to help you most effectively use Zoom as we all navigate the coronavirus pandemic. But the dancers would likely need technical help just to get things going, which is why everyone ends up doing Facebook and Instagram video which tends to be small and low-quality. And you would be supporting Facebook, which is its own issue, imo.

Not specifically about ballet, but Mathilde Froustey's husband, restaurateur Mourad Lahlou, has posted a message on behalf of the Food Service community regarding the impact of shutdown on this industry: https://www.instagram.com/p/B97yQBNnNBk/

Forest may be the first danseur to master Terpsichore's "swimming lesson". Misa Kuranaga just posted about her issue of not having a proper surface to do pointe work on. Alas, most people don't choose a place to live based on how perfectly it replicates their work environment.

Sorry to say so, but it seems really unlikely that either company can resume their seasons until, as the medical experts put it, we "flatten the curve". Meaning, the number of new Covid-19 cases is brought to a virtual halt for a period, and the hospitals, clinics, etc. are able to restock and resupply their personnel with the necessary protective equipment, and create bed space for the sick. Right now we're in a situation where the nurses, doctors, EMT's and everyone else in direct contact with the sick (or possible carriers) often don't have the proper gear to keep themselves from getting sick and becoming carriers. Production is ramping up on medical supplies, but it's going to take time to hit necessary levels. And creating lots of quarantine sites is going to take still longer... Virtual ballet classes is an idea whose time has come!

Sasha De Sola in Anima Animus rehearsal with Felipe Diaz: https://www.instagram.com/p/B96_bRdnNfH/ Misa Kuranaga's long video talking about Day 3 of 'shelter in place': https://www.instagram.com/p/B97cLPAn6CZ/ Mathilde and Carlo dancing Romeo and Juliet:

SFB posted a sequence of images from the production (SFB dancers in costume!): https://www.instagram.com/p/B95CghcFqjt/

It really all depends on how the local and state governments are handling things. The SF Bay Area is considered to be one of the "hotspots" for the virus outbreak, so drastic measures are being taken now to try to keep hospitals and clinics from being overwhelmed. Unfortunately, there's a bit of a rural vs metropolitan, and a red state vs blue state thing going on with these protective measures. But viruses care little about our human grievances. It looks to me like things are going to get worse before they get better...

Madison Keesler's last look around the studio: https://www.instagram.com/p/B908vRznPQO/ Lizzy Powell's home class: https://www.instagram.com/p/B93GwKig0IM/ Powell's images from last show of the season (in costume): https://www.instagram.com/p/B92XGKeAgtC/

File it under too cute. ;) OK, thanks Josette.

Is it just me, or was there no mention of donation/receiving credit for Program 6? I hope Tomasson moves The Seasons to 2021 season - that was supposed to have been a co-production.

I thought this was an interesting development: Art Galleries Respond to Virus Outbreak With Online Viewing Rooms After canceling its fair, Art Basel Hong Kong will present more than 2,000 works online with an estimated value of $270 million. That’s just the beginning as the art world goes virtual. "...Some point to the added value that online viewing rooms can provide, namely historical context through accompanying scholarly essays; the ability to reach collectors who can’t easily travel to galleries or art fairs; and leaving much less of a carbon footprint by eliminating shipping and flights to fairs." https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/16/arts/design/art-galleries-online-viewing-coronavirus.html

NYT article about the Kirov Academy of Ballet: A Ballet School Rehired an Embezzler. Then $1.5 Million Vanished. The ex-employee is now charged with taking the money from the Kirov Academy, which was created by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church. "But Ms. Kim also had a gambling habit and had recently spent almost two years in prison for embezzling $800,000 from another nonprofit affiliated with the church. So it was more than a bit surprising when the Kirov Academy, for reasons that remain tremendously opaque, hired Ms. Kim back, put her in charge of the books, gave her a Branch Banking & Trust debit card and access to the school’s accounts." https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/16/arts/dance/kirov-ballet-academy-embezzlement-moonies.html

Jewels is streamed March 21st - Sat, 21 March 2020, 7.30 pm (CET) https://www.staatsoper.de/en/news/online-schedule-until-19-april.html I just re-read their advertisement and it is a bit confusing. Aside from the date give above, they also have this info: "The stream starts on 21 March." 24 hours Video-on-demand: 22. March, 12.00 pm (noon) until 23 March 11.59 am

SFB is taking care of the ticket holders first, and that makes sense. But I agree that any film productions need to be made available to as many paying customers as possible. SFB's new Executive Director, Kelly Tweeddale, has her work cut out for her. Hopefully she can get the company truly into the 21st century. Currently more than half of the world's population have access to the Internet, and the number is obviously growing. If ballet and opera companies cannot figure out how to provide their art forms/entertainment through digital channels (and win over young people to their arts) then I can't see them surviving more than 30 years from today. Sorry to sound so depressing, but this is yet another industry or part of life that needs major restructuring but isn't really looking to get it. While ballet and opera continue to think only in terms of selling tickets to performances in a theater, with an occasional DVD thrown into the mix - already a dated form of distribution, there are other industries that get the need to broadcast and stream their products in addition to live in-person events: "The sports market in North America was worth $60.5 billion in 2014. It is expected to reach $73.5 billion by 2019. The biggest reason for such growth is projected increases in revenue derived from media rights deals, which is predicted to surpass gate revenues as the sports industry's largest segment." https://www.forbes.com/sites/darrenheitner/2015/10/19/sports-industry-to-reach-73-5-billion-by-2019/#5cc89eeb1b4b [In 2019] Streaming makes up 80 percent of the music industry’s revenue Although physical sales are also on the up-and-up: https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/6/20852568/streaming-revenue-growth-spotify-apple-music-industry-ariana-grande-drake-taylor-swift "Meanwhile, people now surf for porn from the comfort of their basements thanks to technologies that the industry helped popularize. The Internet gave people a way to privatize their unmentionable habits, and this dynamic pushed porn firms to become early adopters of many tech features, such as digital credit-card transactions, instant messaging, and video streaming. Current emerging technologies like VR are getting boosts from porn, too. The porn industry’s adaptability also transfers to how they do business. Similar to the music industry’s woes, piracy cut into porn’s profits. Porn companies adapted by designing new business models around licensing, educational courses, live camming, crowdsourcing, event hosting, and commerce. Porn also has its own trade publications, industry events, talent agents, and lobbyists." https://finance.yahoo.com/news/porn-could-bigger-economic-influence-121524565.html

Thanks for catching that - it should read "martial" not marital. Some might argue there's no difference. ;)

Normally SFB keeps its dancers busy much of the year, so I would think that even with the performance cancellations there would still be things to work on (such as new ballets and any tour plans). Helgi Tomasson has said that he's always the last one to get time with the dancers to work on new choreography. Well now he's got his chance. ;) Any new ballets planned for next season are usually scheduled for summer creation, but choreographers close to the company, like Yuri Possokhov, Myles Thatcher, Val Caniparoli, Danielle Rowe, and Tomasson could conceivably make time to create new work. It's a terrible time to travel, so best for anyone in the Bay Area to stay put and create.

And a note from Mathilde Froustey about the closures affecting the restaurant and cafe community (click arrows to view images):