ClaraFan Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 On 12/17/2021 at 9:40 AM, Balletwannabe said: 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. Sometimes I feel like masks are just for show. All these perfectly masked group photos of ballet dancers (gymnasts, etc) and then, boom! Showtime and forget about it. YAGP is back on with Seattle and one other city I haven't seen (Tampa?) and a very few dancers are still masking, which is good. I think it's a good idea to still be masking. This variant is very quick to spread. Maybe not as deadly, but still deadly. Been watching a lot of gymnastics, too, and hearing about figure skating, and those worlds are being rocked by the virus. My local Golden State Ballet hasn't published a schedule since Nutcracker (which had two days f cancellations), and it would seem COVID is the main reason. I don't know. I'm rambling. The stats are what they are. Even if things may be improving, the situation is still bad, and it could go up and down. Not sure how many variants we'll end up having. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mashinka Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 Saw a performance of Tosca at Rome Opera Last month, apart from the principals everyone on stage wore a mask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volcanohunter Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 In the performance of La Bayadère broadcast from La Scala, the dancers weren't masked on stage but the supers were, as was much of the orchestra. (At higher rate than in the pit of the Vienna State Opera, in any case.) There were also no children in the dance of the Golden Idol, and the two young girls in the Manu dance were replaced by adults. Regardless of the measures taken, the premiere had to be delayed by a week, two subsequent performances were canceled and five others have been postponed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
California Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 Problems with rehearsal time seem to be a big factor in delays and cancellations. Sarasota just announced cancellation of one part of their next program, Napoli Act III. Johan Kobborg's Napoli Act III Cancelled Due To COVID-19 Today, we announce that, because of the recent COVID-19 omicron variant surge, Johan Kobborg’s production of Napoli Act III has been removed from our upcoming fourth Program, Love & Betrayal. Due to several Company dancers having tested positive for COVID-19, rehearsals were cancelled for over a week; as a result, we decided that Napoli Act III would not be able to be performed to the Company’s artistic standards and was thus cancelled. Sir Frederick Ashton’s Valses nobles et sentimentales and Dame Ninette de Valois’ The Rake’s Progress will still be performed as part of Love & Betrayal at the end of the month. “It is with profound disappointment that we must cancel our scheduled performances of Napoli Act III,” says Iain Webb, Director of The Sarasota Ballet. “Due to rehearsal difficulties, as well as out of an abundance of caution for our dancers, we have deemed it necessary to cancel this ballet from Program 4, Love & Betrayal.” Patrons with questions regarding Love & Betrayal may contact The Sarasota Ballet Box Office at boxoffice@sarasotaballet.org or by calling 941.359.0099. For information regarding our current COVID-19 Health and Safety Guidelines for the 2021 - 2022 Season, please click the button below. Click here for our COVID-19 Guidelines Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AB'sMom Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 Dutch National Ballet has moved all of their performances of Raymonda to April, which means canceling the performances of Made in Amsterdam that were scheduled to take place then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
California Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 (edited) In all the stories of shut-downs, struggle, and re-openings in the ballet world, I have seen nothing about Gelsey Kirkland's Academy. With a little Googling, all I could find was a site that it closed in 2021: http://gelseykirklandacademy.org/ Pre-pandemic, I remember reading that her building was slated for demolition, but never heard anything more about a new location: https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2018/11/13/demolition-of-gelsey-kirklands-dance-school-in-dumbo-approved/ According to Wikipedia: "Gelsey Kirkland currently lives in Maine with her second husband, dancer, choreographer, and teacher Michael Chernov, who was also with ABT. " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelsey_Kirkland I wonder if others have seen anything more in published reports. Surely she could still contribute through teaching/coaching. Such a sad exit for a once-illustrious dancer. Edited January 21, 2022 by California Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaraFan Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 Golden State Ballet, the new ballet in downtown San Diego, still doesn't have a published schedule. I saw their Nutcracker (their debut as a company) on Dec. 16th. No news about the future, though they occasionally post to their Instagram . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volcanohunter Posted January 28, 2022 Share Posted January 28, 2022 Currently venues in Ontario are capped at 50% capacity. As of March 14th they should be back to 100%. Therefore, the National Ballet of Canada is switching around its schedule so that the mixed bill of Elite Syncopation, After the Rain and new ballets by Alysa Pires and Siphesihle November will play to 50% houses (ditto for A Streetcar Named Desire), while 100% of tickets will be on sale for The Sleeping Beauty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volcanohunter Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 The Stuttgart Ballet has been forced to cancel performances of Mayerling this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volcanohunter Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 A Royal Ballet tour to Japan has been postponed by a year, although gala concerts will go ahead this summer in lieu of the entire company performing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volcanohunter Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 (edited) The National Ballet of Canada will be able to go ahead with full houses after all, although "full capacity" seems to exclude the nightmarish fifth ring of the Four Seasons Centre. (Just as well.) I am glad that Sonia Rodriguez and Jillian Vanstone will have more-or-less full houses for their retirement performances. Proof of vaccination and masks are still required. Edited February 14, 2022 by volcanohunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helene Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 That is really wonderful news! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volcanohunter Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 Unfortunately, performances are still being canceled because of infections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volcanohunter Posted February 18, 2022 Share Posted February 18, 2022 The National Ballet of Japan has been forced to cancel a mixed bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volcanohunter Posted April 8, 2022 Share Posted April 8, 2022 Performances are still being canceled because of Covid infections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
California Posted April 9, 2022 Share Posted April 9, 2022 Skylar Brandt just announced on her Instagram Story that she has COVID and is not able to teach her on-line class. At the stage door at the Kennedy Center, you can see lots of fans with no masks at all and most of the rest with surgical masks, which are much less effective than the KN95s. Impossible to know where she got it, of course. Reports of the uptick in cases might make people decide to be a little more cautious. Scroll through to the stage door shown on the third photo : https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb_R3etvBq7/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volcanohunter Posted April 9, 2022 Share Posted April 9, 2022 3 hours ago, California said: At the stage door at the Kennedy Center, you can see lots of fans with no masks at all and most of the rest with surgical masks, which are much less effective than the KN95s. Gosh. At the very least they could wait for the dancers outside and ensure good ventilation. It's not the dead of winter anymore. The security guards really should insist on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mashinka Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 Here in the UK Covid infections are very high, 1 in 16, but people are now out and about in large numbers and at the Festival Hall last night it was a full house, much appreciated by the conductor, Vladimir Jurowski who commented that continental venues still aren't filling. That concert by the way was Mitsuko Uchida playing the Beethoven 1st piano concerto so very much worth the risk. However many older people are still not venturing out and I'm seeing lot's of empty seats at performances with just a few exceptions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
California Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 (edited) 10 hours ago, Mashinka said: Here in the UK Covid infections are very high, 1 in 16, but people are now out and about in large numbers and at the Festival Hall last night it was a full house, much appreciated by the conductor, Vladimir Jurowski who commented that continental venues still aren't filling. . . . The good news for travellers from the US is that we no longer have to have a negative test when we arrive or even show proof of vaccination. The bad news is we need a 24-hour negative test to get back into the US. With such a high infection rate in the UK, that's cause for great nervousness in travelling this year to the UK. Back in November, when I went to a conference in Montreal (which was super-strict on COVID precautions), we had a 72 hour window for the return test, which was easy and cheap to manage. Now we really have to worry about being quarantined at Heathrow for days until we test negative. Ugh! Edited April 10, 2022 by California Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volcanohunter Posted April 11, 2022 Share Posted April 11, 2022 3 hours ago, California said: The bad news is we need a 24-hour negative test to get back into the US. Entry into the U.S. is allowed with a negative rapid antigen test, which is less sensitive and less expensive. If a traveler is really nervous about testing positive, I would suggest taking along some rapid tests in order to self-monitor and avoid an unpleasant surprise when the official test is administered. As for entering Canada, a test is no longer required for vaccinated travelers. (But the horrid ArriveCAN app still is.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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