Cornejo is god

10 hours ago, California said:

I just got back from the Simkin-Boylston Don Quixote at the Kennedy Center. He is so on top of  his game. What a joy to see after so long. A few observations:

• The program opened with MacKenzie stepping in front of the curtain to dedicate the performance to Ukraine, followed by the orchestra's playing of the Ukraine national anthem. I don't know if they are doing that every night.
• Ominous weather forecasts all day -- severe thunderstorms, tornados. But no rain before and it was dry after the performance. Near the beginning of the second act, telephone alarms started going off all over the theater. Even when you silence your phone, the alarms break through apparently. 
• No print programs. They have those QR codes all over the lobbies. Many of us stood there trying to get it to work and gave up. Fortunately, the program is also available on their web site: https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/explore-by-genre/ballet/2021-2022/american-ballet-theatre/program?performanceId=73832.

- The orchestra performed the Ukrainian national anthem before the Tuesday and Wednesday performances.

- There was a tornado warning issued, which is what caused the cell phone alarms. There were 2 possible brief tornado touchdowns, 1 just outside the beltway.

- A short cut for the online programs is tkc.co/OH. I understand the motivation for eliminating printed programs, but I miss them, especially in the concert hall where it is usually light enough to look at the program during the performance.

I'm in the nosebleed seats tonight, then will decide whether it's worth breaking into my piggy bank for better seats at future performances. The triple bill was better from upstairs than from the orchestra.

4 hours ago, cubanmiamiboy said:

I don't expect anything, dear. I just stated a fact. A fact being that you left the theater on your own account. That nobody forced you to. And that I find great that you could do so.  As your individual right. That's it. 

Peace out. 😘

I think that everyone knows what you meant, Unless there is a safety issue or if performers are using the aisles, audience members are never prohibited from leaving at any time.

4 hours ago, cubanmiamiboy said:

We don't have forced mask mandates down here. It is optional on indoor settings. 

And you have a higher infection rate and a higher fatality rate than we do. Florida mandates vaccinations against 12 different diseases in order to attend school (either public or private) or be in a daycare facility, so don't expect anyone to believe that resistance to covid mask or vaccine mandates is based on any sort of "individual rights" considerations.

1 hour ago, canbelto said:

 

According to the theater manager, this particular theater, apparently because food and drinks are allowed in the theater itself, falls under the same rules as restaurants and bars and therefore patrons are allowed to unmask if they purchased something to eat or drink. The problem that I have with this is that the audience is crammed closer together than the patrons in any restaurant or bar that I've been in.

OK, maybe I over-reacted. I bought a ticket to this evening's performance of The Nutcracker only to find that after I got there that anyone who had a drink or a bag of popcorn or any other snack could take off their facemask. There were a number of people around me who therefore weren't wearing facemasks (and a number of people in the very cramped hallways who weren't wearing facemasks). I got panicky and left. Entrance was restricted to vaccinated only and I'm only 2 months past my booster and my only co-morbidity is my age, so maybe the risk was low. But just before I left for the theater, I had seen a news headline that stated that DC is one of the leading covid hotspots in the USA (and actually has a higher per capita rate than any state).

The Strathmore (in the DC suburbs) and the Meyerhof (in Baltimore) have completely eliminated food and beverage sales. The Kennedy Center initially discontinued food and beverage sales, then during warm weather allowed sales on the outdoor terrace, and finally restored sales as the previous wave died down, but food and drinks are not allowed in the theaters.

5 hours ago, Lauren said:

I did, that is true. I do not believe vaccine requirements are reasonable for entry into a theater....and as we are actively seeing...they DO NOT WORK in terms of allowing the show to go on. 

Have you considered the possibility that even more shows would have been cancelled without a vaccine requirement? As well as the certainty that audiences would have been smaller?

They are starting to be cancellations on Broadway and with touring shows. Here in DC, the first 2 weeks of Ain't Too Proud at the Kennedy Center have been cancelled due to 1 or more members of the company testing positive (despite everyone having been vaccinated).

5 hours ago, California said:

•  
• Clara and Nutcracker Prince: These are very substantial roles for adults, with plenty of interesting choreography and partnering in both acts.
  • Jessica Payne and Bryce Lee:  Substitutions in the evening (again for unknown reasons) for Leah McFadden and Jonnathan Ramirez, one of the other new principals, someone I had hoped very much to see. Lee has been a corps member since 2015 and brings a commanding presence to all his roles, so this was a nice treat for him and for the audience.
  •  

Being away from Denver, I miss seeing a Nutcracker in which Clara/Marie and the Prince have serious dancing roles. Most companies that have performed in DC, including the Washington Ballet, have used students in these roles, and the Miami City Ballet used children. In the version that the Joffrey Ballet used to bring to the Kennedy Center, the Prince only appeared in the battle scene and didn't accompany Clara to the Land of Sweets.

The Baltimore Symphony has become (as far as I know) the first major arts company in the DC area to resume allowing negative test results in lieu of a vaccination (starting Nov. 4).

I went to their season opener, which was actually a fundraiser rather than a formal performance (the cheapest tickets were $80). It was held in an unlikely place: the National Building Museum. The program consisted of various excerpts with only 1 full dance: a roughly 15-minute long effort from one of their dancers, Andile Ndlovu (it was surprisingly sophisticated coming from a beginning choreographer). Since the program was only available via a QR scan and I didn't have time before the show to scan it in owing to malfunctioning credit card reader, I didn't bother to make any mental notes about the performance since I was too far from the stage to recognize most of the dancers (whom I hadn't seen for almost 2 years), other than that a studio company member named Rench Soriano was impressive in the Flames of Paris pas de deux, showing extreme athletic ability. The one item that some people might be interested in is that Rolando Sarabia has retired (and is now the AD at the Roanoke Ballet Theater).

The Baltimore Symphony announced a vaccinated-only policy today with no exceptions. They have cancelled/postponed most of their "family" concerts since they are not admitting anyone under 12. Even with an all-vaccinated audience, they will stick require masks and there will be no food or beverage sales.

The Kennedy Center will require both vaccinations and masks as of September 1. Under 12's and those not able to get vaccinated for medical or religious reasons must have a recent negative test.

With the situation as it currently is in the DC area, I probably would attend a concert or show that didn't require vaccination if it was something that I really wanted to see. However, there is no chance that I would go to an indoor event in a theater that didn't require masks.

I didn't find that Roadrunner filled in all the blanks for me. Maybe I was wanting it to find a smoking gun but instead it was intended to let viewers find the conclusion themselves.

1 hour ago, California said:

DC  area theaters just announced by e-mail that proof of vaccination and masks will be required through December 31, 2021. (Note that the Kennedy Center is not included on this list.)

 

More importantly, the Warner Theater (Washington Ballet Nutcracker) is not on the list.

On 7/30/2021 at 3:15 PM, canbelto said:

Just got the email. NYCB will be requiring vaccinations in order to attend.

 

The NYCB is not alone. Most Broadway shows will also require proof of vaccination, as will Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Opera, both of which will also ban under12's.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/30/theater/broadway-audiences-vaccine-requirement.html?smtyp=cur&smid=fb-nytimes&fbclid=IwAR1Sw20kK-u1BtR3KutB24Kg84N_Hxq0ERpty7-dlOJsVy7YjnwyBBQMjXc

IMHO, this issue puts arts companies in a difficult position. Most cannot afford to antagonize even a small portion of their regular audiences, and the non-vaxers can be pretty intolerant. It's mind-boggling that whether to get vaccinated against a disease that has killed 4 million people in 18 months is a political statement, but that's where we're at right now in the USA.

Last night's Chamber Dance Project performance in DC was mask-required but not socially distanced. (Their original plan was to have 2 performances on Saturday at an outdoor location, but the forecast of rain pushed them to instead have a single performance on Sunday in an unsuitable location - the Washington National Cathedral, where the stage was too low for adequate viewing except for those in the first few rows.)

4 hours ago, pherank said:

By focusing on vaccinating the most vulnerable, the United States has already brought those numbers down sharply. If the vaccination levels of that group continue to rise, the expectation is that over time the coronavirus may become seasonal, like the flu, and affect mostly the young and healthy.

It's the "over time" aspect that concerns me.

22 hours ago, Helene said:

I've been noticing different live ticketing schemes that require a minimum purchase of a pair, and if I was willing to attend, I would consider the second ticket as a donation and additional physical buffer, but making the minimum purchase the equivalent of a gala table is a bit much, in my opinion.

It turns out that they actually are selling a small number of pairs of seats; they must have already sold all of them for the shows that I looked at (perhaps mostly to "members", who get first dibs).

I would prefer "vaccine passports" to the current sell-only-25-percent-of-the-seats-and-only-to-people-who-buy-multiple-seats policies that most venues have adopted. It looks like most of the people in the USA who want to get vaccinated have already begun the process, so we clearly are not going to achieve "herd immunity" in the foreseeable future.

The Wolf Trap has announced some semblance of a summer schedule. My impression after a hasty look is that, for the classical genres, there is a lot of opera and nothing for dance fans (unless you're a fan of the Maryland Youth Ballet). Most of the performers will be local; the National Symphony Orchestra is featured in many of the offerings.

I only took a hasty look because it is irrelevant to me what the shows are or who is performing in them. The ticket policy does not work for me. They are selling groups of 4 (mostly) or 6 seats in alternate rows with 4 empty seats between each group, staggered so that no one will have someone directly in front of or behind them for 3 rows. A purchaser must purchase an entire group. I have exactly 1 friend who likes symphonies and operas.

On 4/23/2021 at 8:48 PM, California said:

Fran joined the company in 2013, after dancing with Corella's company in Spain (where he met his now-wife, Tracy Jones): https://coloradoballet.org/Francisco-Estevez

The important item is that he graduated from the SAB in 2008.

I can't help but wonder if these retirements are pandemic-inspired. I've been optimistic for a while that arts companies can run a normal schedule in the fall, but I'm growing increasing skeptical now due to the slowdown in the vaccination rate in the US and the low vaccination rate in other countries, and maybe they felt the same way. 

On 4/21/2021 at 5:42 PM, YouOverThere said:

So it looks like the CB is losing 2 important members. They seem a little young for retirement, especially Ms. Buchanan, but I am past the age at which time starts accelerating (I can't believe that I've been exiled from Colorado for 8 years), so they may have been there longer than I perceive.

I was correct, at least about Ms. Buchanan. It's only been 12 years since she joined the CB studio company.

The Colorado Ballet had a post on Facebook today that stated

Quote

'Today we honor two of our incredible Artists, Soloist Morgan Buchanan and Principal Francisco Estevez, who are moving on to the next chapters of their lives. The dedication, artistry and talent that they brought to the stage inspired us and brought great joy. We sincerely thank them for their time with Colorado Ballet. 

So it looks like the CB is losing 2 important members. They seem a little young for retirement, especially Ms. Buchanan, but I am past the age at which time starts accelerating (I can't believe that I've been exiled from Colorado for 8 years), so they may have been there longer than I perceive.

On 3/23/2021 at 11:55 AM, Balletwannabe said:

Do you think the performers will be wearing masks?

The audience have to mask up/test before entrance?

I'll be honest.. I don't watch performances with masks.  I just don't enjoy it.  And I have unpopular views on athletes wearing masks, but I have no desire to start a debate about that.  

I'm in half decent shape (25-30 minute run every other day) and I find it difficult to breathe after walking up the 80 stairs to my apartment if I'm wearing a mask. I don't see how dancers can go all-out while wearing masks.