Balletwannabe

Children are a product of their upbringing ..it's very difficult in your early 20's to break free from indoctrination.  I don't give her a "pass" due to her age, but it's certainly not shocking to read her comments.  I view the world/people completely differently than I did in my 20's.  

Very eloquent in her response to the war.  

12 hours ago, Novice123 said:

One can always move to a more "rational" state like Florida or Texas under enlightened leadership where performances are "free" that way you won't need to scream into a pillow case.

I understand why you would respond with sarcasm...because no one can make sense of the hypocrisy & double standard of the masking guidelines at the Koch theater.  

Someone make it make sense:

NYCB performances- guests vaccinated & masks.  Performers, maskless.

Winter ball at the Koch: guests packed in, socializing, eating/drinking, no masks....oh but the (fully vaccinated) minors performing for your entertainment?  N95 masks.

Let me go scream in a pillow now before someone tries to explain this one away.

16 minutes ago, On Pointe said:

Well that was a pretty depressing read.  Sexual coercion is terrible,  but honestly,  I don't understand why anyone would tolerate being hit by a ballet teacher.  Didn't anyone hit back?  It's not like North Carolina was the greatest,  most influential ballet school in the world.  One can and should go elsewhere.

I know of students who were slapped by a ballet teacher, the kids never told their mom, she thankfully witnessed it one day.  Abuse really messes with your mind, the logical response is often the hardest.

2 hours ago, On Pointe said:

I posted that video of Bella Jones last year,  bemoaning the fact that even with her extraordinary talent and facility,  American ballet companies prefer their Black dancers to be barely distinguishable from the white dancers.

I've also been looking at the YAGP videos for this year and while I hesitate to say it,  because I know there are ballet moms who post here,  some of the American dancers this year are shockingly bad.  Not untalented.  Bad.  Too many are stumbling their way through difficult solos with such faulty technique,  they scarcely look trained at all.  Some are clearly not strong enough even to be on pointe,  as evidenced by their slack knees,  unstretched feet and turned in legs.  I assume that the pandemic has made serious training difficult.  But they should not be attempting work that is so far beyond their current ability.

"Competition dancers" do not have any true ballet training, they have an hour "ballet" class taught by their contemporary/jazz teachers.. who are often former competition students with zero ballet training.  They're bad because a lot of YAGP participants are not ballet students.  It's become very popular for "dance studios" to send their students to YAGP.  They make a killing convincing parents that their kids need weekly private lessons all year round to learn a variation.

Everyone who attends has gotten 2 shots already, people with a deep resistance are unvaccinated and not going, so I'm sure it's not to please that crowd, that makes no sense... I think they'll update this policy eventually.  The School of American Ballet is requiring the booster for all their dancers coming this summer.  

4 hours ago, GB1216 said:

Bravo to Sara! I think we all know her devotion to the craft, so it must have been very hard for her to consciously step away.  The mind is a very powerful thing and needs to be taken care of as well.  Good for her for getting help and coming back!  An excellent example.

I remember her interview with M.Fairchild, she was describing what she was doing during quarantine, and it sounded extremely intense, she didn't give herself a break, at all, when everyone else was.  I'm not surprised to read this result.  Glad to hear she reached out to get the help she needed.  Student dancers need to read stories like these so they can plan for breaks instead of getting to a breaking point. Of course it's really up to ballet companies to...care...and recognize that rest needs to be built into dancers work schedules.  

They're doing the best they can.  Nobody wants cancelled performances.  

15 hours ago, California said:

The Denver Center for the Performing Arts does allow a religious exemption, but those persons must show a negative PCR test and wear a mask. No exemptions for masks.

https://www.denvercenter.org/reopening/#toggle-id-4

https://storage.googleapis.com/dcpa/pdf/CB-CSA-DCPA-OC Accommodation Form 9-13-21.pdf

I'm not crazy about that loophole, given that the Pope himself is vaccinated and urged his followers to do the same.  

Protestants don't listen to the Pope.

15 minutes ago, miliosr said:

West Side Story took a dive at the box office last weekend; dropping from $10.6 million in its first weekend to $3.7 million in its second. Not good for a movie that reputedly cost $100 million before promotional costs are taken into account.

It may pick up some during the upcoming week between Christmas and New Year's. But I still question who the audience was for a big-budget remake of West Side Story when a more-or-less definitive version alreay exists.

I suspect that could also be due to bad timing with Omicron revving up, everyone wanting to lay low before holiday gatherings.

45 minutes ago, canbelto said:

Royal Ballet has canceled Nutcrackers through 1/3.

Based on what I'm listening to in the news, we're in for a rough winter and I doubt anything is going to get better in the next two weeks... So sad Nutcracker season is being cut short for some companies.  I know that's the bread and butter of every ballet company.

47 minutes ago, cobweb said:

I was very much looking forward to a performance tomorrow of Mark Morris Dance Company, at Berkeley, California's Zellerbach Hall. Just got an email -- positive covid test in the company, performance cancelled. Wow, what a bummer. And awfully expensive for an arts organization. Having it affect me personally makes me wonder more about this - who is going to pay for these cancellations, is it the dance company or the presenter? Also, is this really necessary if no one is actually sick/symptomatic? 

Don't close contacts have to wait something like 3 or 5 days before taking a test to see if they're positive?  

5 minutes ago, canbelto said:

I think @nanushkais talking about the idea that ballet organizations should erase all their masking and vaccination requirements. 

Did someone say they shouldn't have vaccine requirements?  I certainly didn't.  Vaccines work. 

14 minutes ago, nanushka said:

800,000+ dead in the U.S. alone but at least we haven’t had to stop living our lives.

That's a weird thing to say considering we have all been risking Covid by going to live performances with thousands of people.  We too, are living our lives, by going to the ballet.  So I guess this judgement is on us all as well.

45 minutes ago, AB'sMom said:

Studios don’t always have poor ventilation. Someone mentioned Aran Bell. I’m not sure which videos they are talking about, but most of the studios at Segerstrom Center have ceiling heights of over 30’ and they installed massive ventilation and filtration systems during the first year of the pandemic. The whole place was completely closed to dancers (including students at the school)  for all but a few weeks for a full year. They are currently testing ABT company members before they enter the building.

My posts were in defense of him. If it's poorly ventilated, I see it as useless.  If it's like what you're describing, then I also see it as useless.  Seriously I don't know if anyone has seen dancers close up dancing?? Their droplets are spewing everywhere, regardless of masks; unless it's an n95, which no one is wearing.  And then when they're not dancing they're having water breaks where they're heavily breathing trying to catch their breath...again, droplets, everywhere.  And don't even get me started about the fact that dancers hang out together outside of the studios... Honestly, just think about it for a second and you'll see how little masks in these situations actually do.  My daughter will wear the mask as a student dancer, next to another student dancer, and then go for a sleepover that night with said student... Few people have stopped living their lives outside of the studio.  Young people are not living in a bubble.  The two New York City ballet dancers who guested recently for a Nutcracker show... shared a hotel room.  It's right on their IG stories.

44 minutes ago, Lauren said:

I found it disappointing- it would have been much better to have more positive ballet stories (we desperately need those- especially from someone who has enjoyed a dream career) and less of a self- help feel. It also felt written at more of a YA level, but that could have been the intent, of course. But overall a nice book, especially for young dancers.

I haven't read it I just gave it to my 15-year-old daughter.  Mental health is something that student dancers are talking about a lot more because of social media.  I wouldn't be surprised if she wrote it with students in mind.  When I saw the title I assumed it was a self-help kind of book.

2 hours ago, Helene said:

Exposure is cumulative, and ventilation plays a large part.  Ventilation in a studio where dancers spend hours together can be significantly inferior to ventilation in a theater.  Pacific Northwest Ballet has had many Instagram live/regular stories/posts as well as mainstream media stories where you can see that dancers mask back up as soon as they're in the wings.

They're breathing heavily.  Unless they're wearing an n95, I'm still going to use the word "silly" to describe how little these masks are doing in this situation, if someone is actually infected.  They're also taking them down to drink water... In the poorly ventilated studios... For hours together. 

53 minutes ago, California said:

It worries me when I see social media rehearsal clips of dancers skimping on mask protection. One of my favorites, Aran Bell, is too often seen with his under his chin. I hope company management is reminding everybody about cancellations of Broadway shows and sporting events due to spread of COVID.

 

But how silly is it to wear a mask with a dance partner and then a couple of hours later perform with that same partner without a mask??  Sometimes masks makes sense, and sometimes they make absolutely no sense.  Another example...yesterday I was at a concert and there were like 100 children on stage, shoulder to shoulder, they wore the masks to walk up to the stage, and then took them all off to sing together. 

I'm SO glad student dancers are having the opportunity to do Nutcracker this month, because I do not see good things coming for Winter.  

5 minutes ago, canbelto said:

It's eligible people. If you just got your vaccine you're allowed in.

Oh good.  I couldn't read the article I don't have a sub.  

Aren't you supposed to wait until 6 months after the second shot?  Not everyone is at the 6-month mark.  

Unity is SPF today and tomorrow guesting with Eastern CT Ballet.   Indiana Woodward is Dewdrop.  Just a mention for any CT residents.  

Is anyone at NYCB "stereotypical"?  All of the principal dancers have unique bodies & looks, from my perspective.  Which I love.

I got the vaccine just to attend NYCB performances, that's actually the only reason.  Had a pretty bad reaction, ended up in the hospital.  Really hoping boosters aren't required in the future to attend because I don't want to experience that again.