YouOverThere
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Posts posted by YouOverThere
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45 minutes ago, Helene said:
I would write off the 2021 part of the 2020-2021 season easily. Even if the standard timelines for vaccine development are exceeded -- and there are a number of them in progress throughout the world, as Dr. Anthony Fauci said in a recent BBC interview (only accessible for four more days) -- production and distribution are not going to appear overnight, except for the very rich.
I haven't wanted to be the bearer of negativity, but I came to the conclusion 7-8 weeks ago that unless some existing drugs turn out to be effective against the SARS-CoV-2 virus there won't be a 2020-21 season at all for many performing arts groups. I agree with Helene that it will take months to manufacture, distribute, and administer the hundreds of millions of doses needed once a vaccine is developed. And 50 percent effectiveness doesn't seem like enough to allow several thousand people to be packed together for several hours. Given that quite a few organizations have cancelled performances 6-7 months in advance, I wonder whether they will be able to wait much past Labor Day before deciding on the 2021 part of their seasons.
I would think that opera companies are in the most difficult position, since generally the lead roles are played by guest artists who are contracted well in advance. Symphony and chamber orchestras can probably re-start with a few weeks notice, possibly having to change programs because of cancelling contracts with guest soloists.
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This isn't exactly ballet, but maybe it fits here...
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4 hours ago, California said:
Pennsylvania Ballet has cancelled their Nutcracker and Coppelia and postponed Cinderella to the spring:
http://paballet.org/2020-2021-season-update/
Any idea how long before a production a company has to make financial commitments? I've been incredibly over-optimistic about this situation right from the beginning (to the point of leaving stuff in my office thinking that I would only be telecommuting for a few weeks), so I can't stop thinking that something might turn up that will get this virus under control.
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32 minutes ago, Helene said:
Risks include direct health risks plus the financial risk of more and more cancellations and travel complications. I haven't read or heard of an arts organization that has been able to start tour-specific fundraising and/or arts grants for future tours, at least publicly, because the risk of cancellation is so high, whether that be because of the situation in the tour location or the status of US company members to enter or work in the tour location, including the costs of quarantining. Arts organizations in the US and Canada seem to be holding on to the possibility of a partial 2021 season, if only so that subscribers will renew or subscribe again in Spring 2021. They also have to be concerned about survival until that time.
It is not IMPOSSIBLE that a vaccine will be available by Fall, which would allow performances to start up in January, so it's understandable that no one wants to cancel the entire season right now.
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The Kennedy Center has cancelled almost all performances for the remainder of 2020. The only ballet performance currently listed for the entire 2020-21 season is the Washington Ballet's Swan Lake in May of 2021.
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On 6/18/2020 at 9:48 AM, California said:
Germany must be doing something right if three theaters expect to open in August!
Germany had a test developed and laboratories trained to process the results by the middle of February.
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2 hours ago, YouOverThere said:
Washington Performing Arts has created a series of PPV online performances (tapes of concerts they've presented in the recent past). For 2021. It appears that they aren't convinced that a 2020-21 season will take place.
Oops, I misread the announcement. These apparently will be new performances (the Ballet Folklorico de Mexico de Amalia Hernandez is the only dance company).
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Washington Performing Arts has created a series of PPV online performances (tapes of concerts they've presented in the recent past). For 2021. It appears that they aren't convinced that a 2020-21 season will take place.
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12 minutes ago, Helene said:
3. Definitive science that says that if you've been exposed/ill, test positive for antibodies, and are past a period in which you won't expose others to the virus, you can start going out freely in public. (The South Korean team that originally said that people were testing positive after getting the virus clarified that they were finding dead, not live virus in post-illness testing.) This would assume some kind of proof of the above to get into venues.
If they start allowing people who test positive for antibodies to do things that the rest can't, there's a huge risk of a lot of coronavirus parties (as well as a large market in fraudulent certifications) since people lacking (proof of) antibodies will perceive themselves to be at a social and/or economic disadvantage. That could be disastrous.
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On 6/1/2020 at 6:07 PM, abatt said:
Met Opera has cancelled all shows in the fall. The plan is to reopen on Dec 31 with a gala.
I wonder what they are expecting will happen in December that will allow them to open.
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The Toronto-based chamber orchestra Tafelmusik is creating a pay per view online concert series, with the first performance this evening (5/27). The wave of the future?
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23 minutes ago, California said:
It makes you wonder why Segerstrom hasn't cancelled anything past May 31!
I tried buying tickets for a few shows in June and was not able to, so apparently June shows are cancelled even if there isn't a banner on their website. For shows involving the Pacific Symphony, the ticket page does state that the Pacific Symphony has cancelled all their June shows.
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According to a New York Times article, the Mark Morris Dance Group and the (Benjamin Millepied's) L.A. Dance Project have both stated that they are not planning any performances for the remainder of 2020.
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The Wolf Trap has officially cancelled their entire summer season. This means that in addition to the previously announced visits by the Hong Kong Ballet (Alice in Wonderland) and Riverdance, the Richmond Ballet's production of Carmina Burana has also been cancelled. Other noteworthy cancellations include a production of Eugene Onegin and a multi-media performance of The Planets with the National Symphony Orchestra.
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17 hours ago, California said:
Central City Opera has been cancelled for summer 2020, but the Vail Dance Festival is hanging on, with a generous policy on ticket refunds and exchanges. I've been wondering if the covered but still outdoor amphitheater gives them more leeway for spacing, etc., etc.
The Wolf Trap has cancelled all their performances in June, so it's not a given that it is easier to socially distance outdoor audiences.
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It appeared to me that of all the donation links in the Relief Funds thread except 1 are donations to companies rather than dancers. Is this true? And the only one that appeared to be a relief fund for dancers (the one for ABT dancers) is one that I haven't seen enough information about to be comfortable in donating money, UNLESS someone else knows that it's legitimate. I know that I am ALWAYS a huge pessimist, but right now I'm not wanting to give the money that I have available for donations to ballet companies because I'm too concerned that they will go out of business anyway.
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The Hong Kong Ballet's visit to the Wolf Trap in June has been cancelled (Septime Webre's Alice in Wonderland), as has the annual visit by Riverdance.
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The Kennedy Center has extended its closure until August.
We're going to have to hope Avigan/faviparivir works, or things could get really bad.
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Today's (April 25) Washington Post had an article on the uncertain future of Russian ballet companies. But at least it contained a cute video organized by Ivan Vasiliev.
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2 hours ago, pherank said:
There's now a couple of articles that address people's concern about exercising in the open during the pandemic, and the likelihood of transition via packages and the like...
Is the Virus on My Clothes? My Shoes? My Hair? My Newspaper?
We asked the experts to answer questions about all the places coronavirus lurks (or doesn’t). You’ll feel better after reading this.
For Runners, Is 15 Feet the New 6 Feet for Social Distancing?
When we walk briskly or run, air moves differently around us, increasing the space required to maintain a proper social distance.https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/15/well/move/running-social-distancing.html
Hopefully this kind of information will be taken into account when the authorities decide how much businesses can truly "open up".
Wow! If this is true, running should probably be prohibited, and maybe taking walks as well. But I'm skeptical that the density of droplets and aerosols would be large enough that a person more than a few feet away would inhale enough virus particles to get infected. At least I hope so; with the gym closed I've taken up running because I want my heart and lungs to be at as high a capacity as possible in case I get infected.
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21 minutes ago, California said:
I've been thinking about possible scenarios. E.g., if a company was able to test every single dancer before each rehearsal (along with temperatures, perhaps), could they rehearse small ensemble pieces, solos, pas de deux that might be performed in a black box theater with physical distancing for the audience? The dancers need to feel safe performing, even if they don't have an audience for awhile. I appreciate the on-line streaming of classes and old recordings, but they'll wear thin soon, if they haven't already.
Taking temperatures or checking throats might not be sufficient. People with COVID-19 are contagious before they notice symptoms, and it isn't clear that any sort of exam would detect the infection before contagiousness sets in. I believe that there now are same day tests available in some other countries and it would only be necessary to test the dancers every 3 days, but that would still be a large expense and it might be forbidden for a non-essential organization to tie up testing resources.
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1 hour ago, California said:
A very candid interview with Gil Boggs, Artistic Director of the Colorado Ballet, about our current realities: optimism but also realism. Midway through there's an acknowledgement that the next season might have to be cancelled until there is a vaccine and people are comfortable in a large theater. But this company is in excellent shape financially, owns its own building, has great supporters, etc.
They might be able to pay the mortgage and keep a skeleton staff in place, but can they pay the dancers? Most likely not, and many of them might move on to their next careers.
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2 hours ago, Helene said:
A streamed season would surely help orchestras.
Maybe. But with all the free music videos available, some of which are by elite orchestras, there also might be limited interest in paying to watch a stream of the local orchestra.
We're going to have to hope Avigan/faviparivir works, or things could get really bad.
Cheerful video for the day
in COVID-19: Ballet and the Arts
Posted
Along the same lines as yesterday's video: