abatt

An usher at NYCB mentioned that they undergo Covid tests 3 times per week. I assume it's the same for the dancers. Also, I would not assume that SAB doesn't have funding to conduct testing. Schools of all types, as well as arts organizations, received funding from the government to deal with the effects of Covid.

Netrebko will not appear at the Met Opera this season or next season: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/03/arts/music/anna-netrebko-met-opera-ukraine.html

Any guesses as to casting?

I thought that she was probably on the short list for promotion to soloist, since McKenzie gave her Myrta in the fall season. However, given McKenzie's imminent departure, there is uncertainty going forward about who will be promoted under a new artistic director.

Current events have caused Valery Gergiev to cancel his performances at Carnegie Hall this weekend with the Vienna Phil. Denis Matsuev has also cancelled his appearance with the Vienna for tomorrow evening. Now they are scrambling to find a replacement to play Rach Piano Concerto 2 tomorrow night. Both Gergiev and Matsuev are Putin supporters.

In any other country, I would say that she has more Olympic competitions in her future. Under the system in Russia, however, the fact is that most of the women figure skaters are gone after one Olympic cycle. There will be a 15 year old waiting in the wings who can do a quintuple jump, and team Tuberidze will always promote that skater. Unlike the US and some other countries, where figure skaters are around competition for a up to a decade on the senior circuit, this simply does not happen in Russian ladies figure skating.

I did not feel sorry for Trusova. Scherbakova skated better than Trusova and therefore she won by some 4 points. Trusova has almost no artistry or interpretive skills. Also, she faltered on some of her jumps. Scherbakova was the clear winner, fair and square. Trusova's infantile outburst was disgraceful.

Alexandra Trusova's tantrum and unsportsmanlike conduct was almost a fitting end to the Ladies Competition. I know she's only 17, but it was disgusting.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/14/sports/olympics/valieva-drug-test-heart-medications.html This story is unraveling quickly. It turns out Valieva had 3 heart meds in her sample, but only one is banned. So she was gulping a cocktail of meds to increase endurance? Kick her out of the games now. Don't blame grandpa.

I think the damage to the other athletes who will win medals should be factored in. The medal ceremony and having your country's anthem played as your flag is waving is part of the experience of a lifelong quest to be an Olympic medalist. The other medalists are now robbed of this experience because of the conduct of one skater and her entourage. Not fair. Just heard on the news that KV (through her attorney) has claimed that the contamination occurred because of a medication her grandfather takes. Sounds fishy to me, unless her grandfather ground up his medication and put it into KV's food or drink. I regularly administer medication to my mother, so it's possible that traces of medication remain on my hands if I don't wash them after touching the med. However, would a 15 year old have any direct contact with the meds of her grandfather? Not likely. Up until this point I had sympathy for KV due to her age, but this explanation seems so false that I've lost any sympathy.

NY Times review of Ratmansky's Swan Lake https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/13/arts/dance/swan-lake-miami-city-ballet-review.html

Thanks for your reports.

I saw "highlights" of the rhythm dance last night on NBC. However, it looks like the entire rhythm dance may be repeated today on USA Network. Looks like USA will carry the free dance tonight at 8:30PM.

I think the prolonged recovery period for James Whiteside may have prompted Simkin's return to ABT. Not wishing anything bad on Whiteside, but I hope Simkin also appears at the Met this Spring. Also, Covid international travel restrictions appear to be less onerous, so that may also influence the situation for Simkin's motivation to come to the US..

https://www.yahoo.com/news/mystery-delay-figure-skating-medals-115958721.html Well this is a shocker. Wonder kid Kamila Valyeva tested positive for an illegal drug, but since she is only 15 she cannot be deemed responsible for the banned substance. The lawyers are banging heads about whether Russia is going to be stripped of its gold medal in the Team figure skating event.

Thanks for clarifying. So Roomful of Teeth was performing live, but they are also using a recording? I'm not talking about using a microphone. They are not opera singers so I don't expect them to sing without a mic.

A friend told me they were using recorded vocals for Partita, but I wasn't sure if they were doing that for every Partita performance. So if you missed the premiere night, apparently you will not be able to hear live music for Partita. I think that's a first for NYCB, and not a good development as far as I'm concerned. One of the selling points of seeing this company is live music. I don't recall them ever using live music for a premiere and then switching to canned music for all remaining shows.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/06/sports/olympics/covid-olympics-numbers.html Zhou has tested positive for Covid. He may be unable to compete if a second test comes back positive.

Without intermissions, they cannot stage ballets that have sets. For example, Prodigal, Swan Lake, Slaughter. The Met Opera has also shut all concessions EXCEPT for food available on the Grand Tier level. To me that makes no sense.

I thought last night demonstrated why the US should have sent Malinin instead of Zhou. Zhou is consistently inconsistent.

They are trying to create a safer environment whether nobody has a reason to take off their mask while in the building. That's why there are no more food or drink offerings.

I was happy to see Tiler Peck's Mozartiana. It was a much more successful debut that her Rubies performance. Her Prayer opening reminded me of the beauty of her second act performances in Midsummer Nights Dream, one of her best roles. However, as noted above, it was obvious that she cannot do the iconic back bend. She tilted her head back a little bit. Her musicality and technique throughout the remainder of the ballet made for a fine performance, but Ms. Mearns remains my favorite of the current roster of ballerinas in this role. Harrison Ball was an eager and attentive partner, but I wish he had more elevation in his dancing. I did not care at all for Troy S. in the Gigue. Incredible performances from all in Rubies. Thrilling from beginning to end. I thought that Mejia would be too short for Hyltin, but they actually looked very good together. I vote for Nadon as Siren in Prodigal ASAP. La Valse was well done. Woodward looked like the sweet innocent in La Valse. I saw Walpurgisnacht in the afternoon just to see Mearns in this ballet. She dances with abandon. Love it. I am a big fan of Janzen but he seems to be having some issues this season with landing jumps.

The cast members are there to perform their roles. It's not their job to attempt to answer questions about Michael Jackson's behavior.

Janzen was an excellent partner, but his footwork in his solo could have been a little cleaner.

Both LaFreniere and Kikta were excellent as the tall girl in Rubies. But the tone of the performances were very different. Kikta knows how to flirtatiously vamp in this role, which is exactly what is needed. The constant grin of LaFreniere didn't bother me, but it robbed her performance of the sense that she is the sexy master of ceremonies. More sweet than dangerous.