Jan McNulty

Hello Firebird21,

We've had a couple of earlier threads that may contain useful information:

Links - Sunday 09 August, 2020

Streaming News - Edinburgh International Festival online:  Barry Didcock, Herald Scotland

Feature - Landmark moments in the history of pointe shoes:  Julia Guiheen, Pointe Magazine

Streaming Reviews:

Old Vic/Drew McOnie/Dancers, Jekyll & Hyde:  David Cunningham, British Theatre Guide

92nd St Y Mobile Dance Film Festival:  Staff, Seeing Dance

Diavolo|Architecture, This is me: Letters from the front lines:  Valerie-Jean Miller, Broadway World

Feature - Ardani Artists, “old-fashioned” impresarios:  Aram Arkun, Armenian Mirror Spectator

How lovely.

Thanks for sharing.

A super article in the New Yorker:

https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-uk/the-season-of-cricket-returns-to-the-uk

32 minutes ago, Fonty said:

 

Oh that is sad news.  I was looking forward to that this year.  

Nothing about the Albert Hall yet...

2 hours ago, capybara said:

I would have wanted to respond in the affirmative but I've had no response to my e-mail of 10 days ago seeking to (re)become a BRB Friend.

I wrote to the company with a query a couple of months ago and it took a while to get an answer as most of the staff were furloughed.  I suspect the office staff may still be.

I've just picked this up via a newsletter from Phoenix Dance Theatre:

https://www.phoenixdancetheatre.co.uk/whats_on/lets-move-an-national-dance-summer-school-presented-by-danceeast-and-the-place/

Hello BalletmumH and welcome to the Forum!

Two points:

1). If you have an issue with a post or topic then hit the report button.

2).  When you respond to a post you bring it back to the "top of the pile" when otherwise it may just slip down the topic list and disappear into the mists of time.

I finally caught up with Sleeping Beauty last night.

I will state from the outset that this is in no way my favourite production (that is SPW's for BRB) but I loved the performances.  

Fumi Kaneko is just sublime as Aurora, she has a joyous  and radiant presence.  Federico Bonelli is elegance personified and a wonderfully generous partner.  Yasmine Naghdi and Matthew Ball were terrific as the Bluebirds.

So an evening well spent!

26 minutes ago, Bunny said:

Is it just me that feels this is a slightly unusual question by a relatively new member of the forum? I apologise if I’m off the mark but it seems a little bit inappropriate. Perhaps I am a little over sensitive/paranoid but I have seen many dodgy questions asked on dance costume selling sites and the tone of this post seems off to me. 

Rest assured Bunny that the Mods keep an eye on all posts.  The original post does not breach AUP and has sparked some interesting and useful responses.

1 hour ago, danceparent said:

This is correct and just as it should be but surely the Elmhurst graduates could have at least been seen? 

We don't know who was seen.

BRB take the dancers they perceive to be the best fit for the company whether that is RBS, Elmhurst or elsewhere (eg the wonderful Max Maslen came from Central).

Me too!  I wondered about the NIA where they performed many years ago?

I'd already signed it but thanks for sharing.

Hello Amme76 and welcome to the Forum!

7 minutes ago, Tony Newcombe said:

I’m fast losing hope. The Maryinsky are performing with social distancing in the audience( 50%) capacity.

The wisdom in this country is that it is not viable to open with audiences limited to 50% capacity.

I already had tickets for BRB Swan Lake in Plymouth, Nutcracker in Birmingham. Still waiting to hear about Cinderella in Southampton. I just don’t get it.  People can dump themselves on the beaches in their thousands and the government couldn’t care less.

Check the dates for Southampton Tony.  I was chatting to a friend yesterday who told me the dates have changed from January to February.

Very sad news from the Birmingham Hippodrome this morning that the Nutcracker (and the theatre's pantomime) has been cancelled.

But devastating news this morning that the Nutcracker in Birmingham has been cancelled.  Feeling rather sad.

Hello Olver,

Are you doing ballet or other dance lessons with a teacher?  You need to learn the technique that will enable you to do these moves without injuring yourself.

And the official press release:

PRESS RELEASE
3 August 2020

CARLOS ACOSTA ANNOUNCES JOINING  & DEPARTING COMPANY MEMBERS AS BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET DANCERS BEGIN TO RETURN TO THE STUDIO 

This week marks the return of dancers to Birmingham Royal Ballet’s studios. As the Company begins its preparations for a return to performance, its Director Carlos Acosta announces the full list of joining and departing company members at Birmingham Royal Ballet.

Departures:

Delia Mathews (Principal)  
Maureya Lebowitz (First Soloist)  
Aitor Galende (First Artist)

Joiners: 

Start with the Company on 1st September 2020
Lucy Waine (Royal Ballet School) - Artist
Sofia Liñares Vazquez  (Royal Ballet School) - Artist
Matilde Rodrigues - Artist
Shuailun Wu (Royal Ballet School) – Artist

Start 1st November 2020
Darel José Pérez - Apprentice

Start January 2021
Javier Rojas – Artist

Promotions:

There are no formal promotions, but we congratulate our two apprentices Ryan Felix (Elmhurst Apprentice) and Tessa Hogge as they formally join the Company as Artists.

Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, Carlos Acosta CBE, comments:

"So far, 2020 has been a formidable challenge for all of us. The lockdown has forced Birmingham Royal Ballet to work very differently, and to postpone or adapt our planned performing schedule.

But as we start to ease back tentatively from lockdown, the moment arrives in which we announce the names of dancers who are joining the Company for the start of the 2020/21 season. This gives us a focus on building for our future, and brings a welcome element of new hope and excitement. 

Among those dancers joining the Company from September, we are delighted to welcome Sofia Liñares Vazquez , Lucy Waine and Shuailun Wu, graduates from our sister organisation, The Royal Ballet School. Our historic affiliation with The Royal Ballet School grows stronger with time -  some 60% of our current dancers are alumni of the School. We take great pride in being a 'Royal' company alongside The Royal Ballet School and The Royal Ballet. 

Closer to home, we congratulate our Elmhurst Ballet School apprentice, Ryan Felix, as he joins the Company as an Artist. 

We also give thanks for the contribution made by those who will leave the Company this summer. Delia Mathews who has been with the Company since graduating from the Royal Ballet School (Outstanding Graduate 2008) and was made Principal in 2017 is delighted to announce with her husband, that they are expecting their first child and will be returning to raise their new family in her native New Zealand.

Departing artists also include Maureya Lebowitz and Aitor Galende. We wish them well in their future ventures as they extend the spread of our international family of alumni. 

The Company has proven its resilience in these difficult times and we are thankful for the contribution everyone has made on and off stage during 2020/21. We wish all of our dancers, whether with the Company or beyond, great success in the future and thank the Royal Ballet Sinfonia and our brilliant backstage team for making Birmingham Royal Ballet such an extraordinary place to work and perform.

I am reminded at times like these, of the wise words of Dame Ninette de Valois, Founder of The Royal Ballet School and Companies: 'Respect the past, herald the future, but concentrate on the present'. 

I look forward to meeting some of you and hearing your views, as the lockdown lifts and the Company's public events become possible once more.”

As the Company return to studio, Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Clinical Director, Nick Allen PhD MSc (Sports Med) MCSP SRP who has been an active member of the DCMS Events and Entertainment Taskforce will be overseeing the health of all dancers and ensuring studio work follows the latest government guidelines.

Hello LilyLongLegs and welcome to the Forum!

1 hour ago, MJW said:

 

I  certainly don't want to see anybody put at risk from the virus but until we have a vaccine we will have to live with it, potentially for years. Ultimately businesses that cannot function (with or without taxpayer support) go bust.

 

Quote: "I think it unfair to expect people to perform for me if they think there is any risk to them let alone other members of the audience."

 

People who work in the supermarkets have been required to work throughout - despite the risk to themselves. 

 

 

People who have had to work in public facing jobs throughout have done so because they are considered essential workers despite the risk to themselves.

No matter how much I want to go and see a live performance it is not a matter of life and death.

41 minutes ago, MJW said:

 

Not according to Prof Carl Heneghan of Oxford 

 

https://twitter.com/carlheneghan/status/1289993340927139840

The final paragraph of the linked report stating:

"Disclaimer: the article has not been peer-reviewed; it should not replace individual clinical judgement, and the sources cited should be checked. The views expressed in this commentary represent the views of the authors and not necessarily those of the host institution, the NHS, the NIHR, or the Department of Health and Social Care. The views are not a substitute for professional medical advice."

Given the conflicting information and statistics being bandied around by so many experts, so many of whom have a different point of view how are we supposed to know which report is correct.  Or did the spike in Leicester not happen and the spike in the Blackburn area a figment of people's imagination?

Spikes are happening all over the world so I'm afraid that desperate though I am to see a live performance (I even said to a friend I'd go and see Northern Ballet's Jekyll & Hyde if that was what was on offer despite the fact that it is the 3rd worst thing I have seen in a theatre EVER) I think it unfair to expect people to perform for me if they think there is any risk to them let alone other members of the audience.

(I'm not an apologist for the government but I do try to look around the world at what is happening.  Given that Australia had been doing so well how do you think Prof Carl Heneghan would explain away what is happening in Victoria?).

But we don't know how many people who have had the virus and were asymptomatic and how many people have not actually been exposed to it so the potential is still there for it to be caught.

It was sobering to hear a couple of weeks ago that if lockdown had happened even one week earlier then thousands of the lives lost would not have been lost at all.

As I understand the situation dancers who were offered contracts pre-lockdown have not yet been able to join the company.

3 hours ago, Sadielou said:

Defeatist seems about right. Granted this is a ridiculous situation but as everybody else seems to be marching and demonstrating these days - can't all the dance companies get together and tell it how it is. Dancers careers are being shut down for a virus with a 99 per cent survival rate - CRAZY - I don't know why we are accepting this ? I know there will be people telling me that this is a selfish attitude. But quite frankly if you don't want to go back to work or go to the theatre - stay at home that is your decision. But those of us that want to get back to normality should be allowed to do so. Before it is too late.  Come on Dancers / Directors lets make a stand !

There is already a second spike happening in various parts of the country and the government are anticipating more so perhaps we should be somewhat more cautious.  Would you want the dancers, musicians, technicians, ushers - basically everyone who works in the theatre during a show - to risk their lives for your vicarious pleasure?  Apart from the fact that if an audience member caught the virus in a theatre, how many people could they pass that virus on to?  The people in the supermarket?  The people on the bus...

I'm desperate to see a live performance, to see dancers I know dancing on stage again in front of a full audience but we have to move cautiously or there will be more unnecessary deaths.