volcanohunter

On 9/20/2021 at 6:52 PM, volcanohunter said:

As of November, the U.S. will require foreigners travelling to the U.S. to be fully vaccinated. No indication yet on which vaccines will be accepted: the three authorized by the FDA, the six authorized by the WHO or a broader list.

The U.S. will be accepting the six vaccines listed by the WHO: Pfizer, Moderna, J&J, AstraZeneca, Sinopharm and Sinovac (CoronaVac). That means that in November vaccinated travellers from the UK and EU will once again be able to visit the U.S.

It also means that Russian vaccines are excluded. (Little wonder that some Russians are engaging in vaccine tourism to Serbia and a few other neighboring countries.)

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-will-accept-who-approved-covid-19-vaccines-international-visitors-2021-10-08/

On 9/29/2021 at 4:50 AM, volcanohunter said:

The National Ballet of Canada has announced rules about vaccination, masking and capacity limits:

The company will set up a tent outside the theater entrance for checking vaccination records, and people are being encouraged to arrive up to an hour and a half before curtain.

Full safety protocols:
https://national.ballet.ca/Tickets/Box-Office/Safety-Protocols-and-Procedures

No children under 12 will be performing in The Nutcracker this season. Normally the company's production includes celebrity cameos in battle scene, but not this time around.

Ontario has lifted capacity limits on concert venues. It's up to the National Ballet of Canada to decide whether to keep the 50% limit or open up all the seats. (And what happens if capacity restrictions return?)

https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1000947/ontario-cautiously-lifting-capacity-limits-in-select-settings

5 hours ago, Marta said:

About Balanchine's dislike of ballets on Onegin, somewhere there's a quote about the music; it may be that he complained that Cranko didn't use a note from the opera.

I believe Cranko wanted to use music from the opera, but the director of the opera house in Stuttgart forbade it. Ultimately I think it was the correct decision, because opera time is slower than ballet time, and Cranko would have ended up with too much music, and the ensuing cuts would have been controversial. The first act of the opera in particular is really long, but Cranko interpolated the rejection scene into the second act instead. (As it happens, he did use some music from another Tchaikovsky opera, Cherevichki, whose setting and subject matter are entirely different.) If music from the opera had been used, I think it would have sounded strangely bereft without vocals. (There might even have been a temptation on the part of some in the audience to hum the missing vocal parts. ) The score to Ronald Hynd's Merry Widow has that lacking quality.

13 hours ago, vipa said:

I don't want to see up and coming choreographers doing work on NYCB, that they'd do on any company. Works that look the same company to company. Personally, I don't want the further homogenization of ballet/dance companies so that where ever you go you see the same choreography done pretty much the same way. The last Pam Tanowitz ballet I saw at NYCB (pre-pandemic) would have looked the same on any company IMO - ballet or modern.

It drives me batty when ballet companies perform works that don't really require ballet dancers at all. I don't mean works by Graham, Cunningham or Limon, which constitute a significant technical and stylistic stretch for the dancers (one that they often fail), but the sort of pieces that make virtually no use of ballet dancers' training and technique--other than their bendiness, in which case rhythmic gymnasts would probably do just as well. What's the point?

1 hour ago, miliosr said:

I think it's telling that the great male classicist and star at the Royal Ballet, Vadim Muntagirov, has never appeared (based on his Royal Ballet bio) in any of McGregor's works. Maybe McGregor doesn't want him. More likely is that Muntagirov doesn't want his classical technique strip-mined by McGregor and has enough power in the organization to say 'no'.

More basically, he may be worried about what McGregor's contortions would do to his back and hip sockets.

Some dancers I know love doing McGregor. It's an exploration of what their bodies can do; they get a kick out of feeling muscles and connective tissues sliding over each other in unusual ways. What I can't always bring myself to tell them is that choreography which feels exhilarating to do isn't necessarily interesting to watch.

I don't have the quote on hand, but Balanchine seemed to have objected to the adaptation of the poem. Russian audiences have also objected to deviations from the text, which absolutely everyone reads in school. I can understand that, because even allowing for necessary modifications when switching genres, I have a lot of problems with a lot of balletic and operatic adaptations of Shakespeare. ("This idiot person couldn't possibly have read the same play I did!" )

I also don't have the old Ballet Goer's Guide on hand, but I remember Crisp/Clarke described Union Jack as  "affectionate," but clearly told from the other side of the Atlantic, which many British audiences find "disconcerting."

1 hour ago, dirac said:

I can see why the British might not see the joke with Union Jack

It's one thing to send up your own culture, whether in Scherzo a la Russe or Stars and Stripes. Doing it to someone else's carries a high probability of causing offense. 

So yes, I get the distinct impression that Dromgoole's nose had been bent out of shape, which is why I can't take his criticism at face value.

Dromgoole may have taken umbrage with what he saw as a perversion of his own culture. Even British critics favorably inclined to Balanchine would describe Union Jack as a work decidedly from the other side of the Atlantic. Balanchine was similarly outraged by Cranko's Onegin, and so were audiences when the Stuttgart Ballet first brought the ballet to the USSR. (Today Bolshoi audiences seem more willing to tolerate the completely inauthentic peasant dance, the fact that the sisters are present at the duel, Jürgen Rose's inaccurate flora and Tatiana's red dress.)

When I took my future husband to see NYCB he was convinced he didn't like ballet, at least not the Soviet variety he knew vaguely from childhood. But for him Balanchine was love at first sight. "If only I'd seen this sooner, I would have thought completely differently about ballet." He became an evangelist for Balanchine.

(I also knew a man who compared Agon to aerobics, but I never dated him.)

The National Ballet of Canada has announced rules about vaccination, masking and capacity limits:

Quote

 

In adherence with the Province of Ontario’s implementation of a mandatory vaccination policy for theatres and concert halls, and to ensure the safety of our audiences, artists and staff, all patrons will be required to show proof of vaccination along with government issued ID when they enter the Four Seasons Centre to attend a performance by The National Ballet of Canada

All audience members are required to wear a mask at all times, except when eating or drinking

All children under the age of 12 will be required to provide proof of a negative rapid antigen or PCR COVID-19 test – Note: Children’s tickets will be discounted to offset the cost of the test

In adherence with policies for indoor venues in Step Three of the Province of Ontario’s roadmap to recovery, the theatre will be operating at 50% capacity

 

The company will set up a tent outside the theater entrance for checking vaccination records, and people are being encouraged to arrive up to an hour and a half before curtain.

Full safety protocols:
https://national.ballet.ca/Tickets/Box-Office/Safety-Protocols-and-Procedures

No children under 12 will be performing in The Nutcracker this season. Normally the company's production includes celebrity cameos in battle scene, but not this time around.

9 hours ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

ETA: I just took a quick stroll through some 1970's era photos of Ib Anderson, Bart Cook, Adams Luders, and Peter Martins and I'm pleased to report that their hair was long, free flowing, and most definitely not shellacked into immovable pompadours. 

I agree completely that this looked much better. Moving hair enhances the kinetic quality of a dancer's movement. More voluminous hair is also better at disguising perspiration.

It's also obvious that facelift buns weren't always standard for women. Recently I came saw a video of a different company dancing a black-and-white ballet, and the gleaming, immovable French twists almost made it appear that the women were wearing racing helmets. A figure-eight bun at least looks like a bun, not like a part of an elongated cranium. I do appreciate that a dancer wants to be certain her hair will stay put while she's turning. But I'm very open to a rethink.

There have been dancers who alternate between bald and wigged depending on the ballet. For example, at the Royal Danish Ballet Jonathan Chmelensky goes bald in contemporary ballets, but wears a wig in narrative and tutu ballets, such as the company's stream of Ballo della Regina during the lockdown. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet had a soloist named Alexander Gamayunov who was bald in Forsythe, but wore a wig in The Nutcracker. In both cases the wig was a version of the standard danseur coiffure. (It has to be said that Gamayunov pulled off the bad-ass bald look as well as anyone.) In recent years the Bolshoi's Vyacheslav Lopatin has been wearing a toupee in roles that require him to appear very young, such as Romeo or Lensky. Since Ratmansky was mentioned earlier, Lopatin wore one in Lost Illusions years before he began to wear it in anything else.

3 hours ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

The sooner the company ditches those shellacked pompadours as the default danseur do, the better. Beards would be fine too.

Okay, but given that the women wear standardized hairstyles depending on leotard, tutu or tiara, you can kind of see how a default hairstyle developed for the men as well. And if the women are gelled and sprayed into total sleekness because strays and bangs would be distracting, it's not surprising  that the men should also be sprayed into some degree of hair immobility. And this is more of a rhetorical question, but if the men were to start wearing facial hair, would unibrows become acceptable for the women? (And would NYT reviewers pass over the issue in silence?)

I guess I bristle at the idea of men being afforded greater flexibility in these matters while the uniformity of the women's appearance goes unquestioned.

Yes, many American opera houses and concert halls have also adopted the WHO list. If the U.S. accepts the WHO listings, it would be difficult to say no to Sinopharm or Sinovac, although there is undeniably a vaccine pecking order. AstraZeneca has also been vetted by drug regulators in the UK, EU, Canada, Japan and Australia. Sinopharm and Sinovac have not. (I'm at a loss to understand why AZ hasn't submitted its vaccine for FDA approval.)

As for people worried about the fate of the Mariinsky's US tour, there's still the matter of the three Russian vaccines. The WHO and European Medicines Agency reviews of Sputnik-V have been stalled for months. The other two are still in phase 3 trials, but already being administered, and some dancers have received them.

As of November, the U.S. will require foreigners travelling to the U.S. to be fully vaccinated. No indication yet on which vaccines will be accepted: the three authorized by the FDA, the six authorized by the WHO or a broader list.

If that's how the music is going to sound, I'm not going anywhere near this film.

On 9/7/2021 at 2:31 PM, California said:

The bigger issue is how they will be admitted to the US in the first place if they don't have acceptable vaccination -- which does not include the Russian or Chinese ones.

The United States has not yet implemented any vaccine requirements for entry into the country, although there has been some talk about introducing them. On the contrary, in the spring New York City was actively encouraging tourists to visit in order to get vaccinated - only proof of age was required; any passport and hotel address would do. (A tourist was bound to spend more money in the city than the cost of the vaccine offered free of charge.) At present, only a negative test is required to board a plane for the U.S., although on the ground vaccination is increasingly a requirement to access entertainment, and many venues are requiring them of all employees.

Instead, entry is pretty much banned for any non-citizen/permanent resident who has been in the UK, Ireland, the Schengen area, Brazil, South Africa, Iran, India or China in the preceding 14 days. This may be the primary problem facing Chinese and European companies. A potential visitor could theoretically spend two weeks in a third country and then enter, but few have the time and resources. (I think it's absurd. Many of the permitted countries have far higher rates of infection and far lower rates of vaccination than, say, Denmark.)

For the Mariinsky a bigger problem may be obtaining visas. When Russia required the U.S. to dismiss all local staff from its embassy and consulates, the U.S. pretty much suspended visa services. It was suggested at the time that Russians would have to travel to other countries to obtain visas.

On 9/7/2021 at 2:31 PM, canbelto said:

There are several prominent Russian dancers who clearly wear masks not onstage but in life, judging from their social media.

Absolutely. It is exceedingly difficult to engage in strenuous physical activity in a mask, but outside the rehearsal studio, the masks often go back on. At this point, though, many have already contracted the disease and recovered, so some may feel impervious.

The situation with Russian vaccines has been further complicated now that two others are being administered, even though Phase 3 trials have not yet been completed. EpiVacCorona is already controversial and is meeting with a fair degree of resistance locally. The other day a Russian dancer posted that two months after receiving the third vaccine, CoviVac, lab tests showed it had not induced an antibody response in her body.

Many high-art venues have stated that they will accept WHO-approved vaccines, which goes past the FDA list to include AstraZeneca, Sinopharm and Sinovac. The first has been administered to millions of Britons in particular. At the moment it is nearly impossible for tourists from the UK and EU to enter the United States, but no doubt theaters are hoping to see a return of European visitors sooner rather than later.

This is a highly unusual career move for someone of her age and experience. Dancers have joined the POB after beginning their careers elsewhere, but they usually did it very early on, because the upward climb from quadrille through the competitions is a very long slog. Ludmila Pagliero did it, but she was 19 going on 20 when she joined, and her journey to étoile lasted nearly nine years.

The Joffrey Ballet will require spectators aged 12 and older to show proof of vaccination. The Lyric Opera of Chicago will require proof of vaccination from all audience members; children under 12 cannot attend. The Harris Theater will require proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test.

Lyric Opera of Chicago specifies that masks "worn properly over the nose and mouth, will be required for all patrons for the duration of their time in the opera house."

3 hours ago, abatt said:

If they really wanted to increase safety, they would require proof of vaccination for all audience members.  This is what some Broadway shows are doing.  However, that would be a disaster for their bottom line since kids under 12 are their bread and butter for Nutcracker. 

The company could easily exempt children from the requirement.

I've seen Ramasar as Demetrius.

25 minutes ago, JuliaJ said:

Not sure how not letting people get up to stretch their legs and use the restroom helps "maximize audience safety,"

I suspect they're afraid of the queues for the women's toilets. Lots of people bunched up together sharing air, stalls and fixtures. 

Planes can easily fly over Latvia, I've transferred there many times myself because the airport in Minsk is a dive. And I'm pretty sure that Aeroflot planes, assuming regular flights between London and Moscow are continuing, aren't avoiding Belarusian airspace. 

More likely, the quarantine requirements in Britain make traveling untenable. The United States has no such quarantine restrictions, so Sara Mearns recently flew to Moscow and back.

The Stuttgart Ballet in a program of works by Christian Spuck, Marco Goecke, Edward Clug and William Forsythe. On demand until June 21.

Viewers in the UK, US and Canada can purchase access to the British Ballet Charity Gala featuring Ballet Black, Birmingham Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, New Adventures, Northern Ballet, Rambert, Scottish Ballet and the Royal Ballet, and hosted by Darcey Bussell. The stream will be available until July 18.

https://stream.roh.org.uk/products/british-ballet-charity-gala

The program includes pieces by Sophie Laplane, Will Tuckett, Jonathan Watkins, Kenneth Tindall, David Bintley, Matthew Bourne, Yuri Possokhov, Andrea Miller and Valentino Zucchetti.

Not as far as I know, but the performances can be accessed online.

The Staatsballett Berlin has announced its repertoire for next season. (The link at the top of this thread leads to the Bavarian State Ballet.)

https://www.staatsballett-berlin.de/en/saison_21-22

It includes a David Dawson double bill, a new piece by Sasha Waltz, The Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Onegin, Swan Lake, Jewels, a Forsythe/Eyal bill and a young choreographers' evening.