La Scala (and other non-UK theatres/companies) closed due to coronavirus

[annamicro]

 La Scala dancers at home 😊https://www.facebook.com/1617128171/posts/10219497139851941/

 

Edited March 11, 2020 by annamicro

[toursenlair]

52 minutes ago, annamicro said:

 La Scala dancers at home 😊https://www.facebook.com/1617128171/posts/10219497139851941/

 

this is fabulous. Everyone, watch it!

[alison]

Love it!

[Dawnstar]

Handy for the ones who are married/living together who can practice together. I also like the ones using their kids for weightlifting purposes!

[capybara]

Maybe, with the UK about to move into the next stage of 'managing' the disease, we should give this thread a different heading.

After all, the Forum could well be a useful conduit of information about changes which affect ballet-going audiences.

[Jane S]

The Royal Danish Ballet has today cancelled all performances up to March 27th - ticket money will be refunded automatically.

 

Earlier this week they had announced that becasue of the limit of 1000 people in any assembly, they were continuing their performance schedule but were cutting the audience by half, with the intention that no two people would sit together. How they were doing this I have no idea but it must have been a huge job and now completely wasted...

 

The RDB were due to give their premiere of Neumeier's Mahler3rd Symphony on Saturday  - there are a few performances at the very end of March and one in April so they might just get those.

[Pas de Quatre]

Or should we start a new UK thread? I would, but don't have time until later.

[annamicro]

25 minutes ago, Pas de Quatre said:

Or should we start a new UK thread? I would, but don't have time until later.

This would be perfectly aligned with Brexit....

[annamk]

And this from Stuttgart Ballet 

 

Due to the preventive measures being taken by the State of Baden-Wuerttemberg to contain the spreading of the Corona virus, all performances between March 11th and April 19th, 2020 have been cancelled. 

[bridiem]

27 minutes ago, annamicro said:

This would be perfectly aligned with Brexit....

 

It would be perfectly aligned with practicality, since I understand that a majority of Forum members are in the UK. However, I don't mind whether there's a separate thread or not; I'm finding the Forum's constructive information sharing about this situation very helpful.

[Guest oncnp]

Apparently the ROH backstage tours are no longer going backstage

 

[Gargouillade]

So when is the ROH going to do the socially responsible thing and follow suit with closure? 

 

(I know that this may be an unpopular opinion, but I feel that the UK is being extraordinarily complacent right now. See this link for the crucial distinction between 'true' and 'official' cases: https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d3d9cd99ca) 

[bangorballetboy]

4 minutes ago, Gargouillade said:

So when is the ROH going to do the socially responsible thing and follow suit with closure? 

 

 

 

When the government advice is to do so, I imagine.

[Sim]

Well, if it's socially responsible to close theatres, then they will have to close down the London tube network too.  I would much rather be in a crowded theatre than rammed almost nose-to-nose with people every morning and evening. 

[Gargouillade]

4 minutes ago, Sim said:

Well, if it's socially responsible to close theatres, then they will have to close down the London tube network too.  I would much rather be in a crowded theatre than rammed almost nose-to-nose with people every morning and evening. 

 

So would I. Hence recommendations to work from home and avoid crowded areas. Social distancing has been proven to help flatten the curve, and closing theatres, cinemas, gyms and so on is an important part of that. 

[Lizbie1]

11 minutes ago, Gargouillade said:

So when is the ROH going to do the socially responsible thing and follow suit with closure? 

 

(I know that this may be an unpopular opinion, but I feel that the UK is being extraordinarily complacent right now. See this link for the crucial distinction between 'true' and 'official' cases: https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d3d9cd99ca) 

 

I’d rather take my advice from our CMO - an actual epidemiologist -than someone whose output has previously concentrated on Star Wars and storytelling.

 

Sorry to be a bit sharp, but there are a lot of instant experts out there whose opinions aren’t helping.

[Gargouillade]

1 minute ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

I’d rather take my advice from our CMO - an actual epidemiologist -than someone whose output has previously concentrated on Star Wars and storytelling.

 

Sorry to be a bit sharp, but there are a lot of instant experts out there whose opinions aren’t helping.

 

Fair enough. I take your point. We need actual experts now more than ever. But there *is* a lot of expert advice pointing to the need to implement more radical social distancing measures ASAP.

 

Speaking purely from personal experience as someone who was working in South East Asia when SARS broke out, the 'business as usual' mentality is not helpful or socially responsible. 

[Sim]

I work for a large company and we are continuing as normal.  I guess we will continue to do that until told otherwise by the government or until someone tests positive for the virus.

[Jeannette]

1 hour ago, annamicro said:

This would be perfectly aligned with Brexit....

 

Well, Brexit  may be to thank for the UK not included in the new travel ban between the US and Europe (as of midnight Friday).

[Lizbie1]

Just now, Jeannette said:

 

Well, Brexit  may be to thank for the UK not included in the new travel ban between the US and Europe (as of midnight Friday).

I think it’s a Schengen thing - not that that’s very rational either 🙂

[Rachelm]

34 minutes ago, Gargouillade said:

So when is the ROH going to do the socially responsible thing and follow suit with closure? 

 

(I know that this may be an unpopular opinion, but I feel that the UK is being extraordinarily complacent right now. See this link for the crucial distinction between 'true' and 'official' cases: https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d3d9cd99ca) 

 

I'm starting to agree with you and feel we need to be doing more already.

[alison]

17 minutes ago, Jeannette said:

 

Well, Brexit  may be to thank for the UK not included in the new travel ban between the US and Europe (as of midnight Friday).

 

Or possibly the fact that we are an island and perceived as having less of a problem with open borders?  Who knows?

[Sim]

18 minutes ago, alison said:

 

Or possibly the fact that we are an island and perceived as having less of a problem with open borders?  Who knows?

The US is banning flights from the Schengen countries because of their open borders.  The UK and Ireland are therefore exempt from the travel ban.

[Jeannette]

12 minutes ago, alison said:

 

Or possibly the fact that we are an island and perceived as having less of a problem with open borders?  Who knows?

 

Perhaps. In the meantime, performances continue at the Kennedy Center here, although the Washington DC local gvt is now calling for all gatherings of 1,000+ persons be cancelled (maybe affecting NYCB tour & Wash Ballet’s new Swan Lake soon). Also, I’ve emailed Sarasota Ballet about the status of  the  revival of Ashton’s R&J in a couple of weeks time, so as to possibly recoup some travel costs. We’re all in the same boat.

[Bruce Wall]

Ireland has just reported that all cultural institutions (serving over 100 people) will close until 29th March.  

 

 

Edited March 12, 2020 by Bruce Wall

[annamicro]

55 minutes ago, Sim said:

The US is banning flights from the Schengen countries because of their open borders.  The UK and Ireland are therefore exempt from the travel ban.

Isn't Ireland locking down right now?

Edited March 12, 2020 by annamicro

[Sim]

Yes, but that is very different from what this sentence pertains to, which is being banned by the US!

[LinMM]

I think the reason they are waiting here is to time it with this peak numbers thingy ....I think epidemiologists are advising the Gov about this it’s way beyond me to get to grips with it ...I think they are also trying to learn about the spread pattern of the disease for as long as poss. 
Id be very happy for them to close theatres tomorrow as long as open again by 8th April!! 
From an entirely personal perspective of course but I bet they delay another week and then close them in the Easter Holidays so bang goes the 8th 😩 

Meanwhile I will continue to travel up to London once a week for my course until they close the colleges...even though the Brighton line stops at Gatwick 😳 

I felt very virtuous yesterday wiping down the two pianos I used with anti bacterial wipes pretty thoroughly 😇 

Then sat in the cafe with a tea with my head resting on my hand before I realised I’d been touching my face lol 

Then I bumped into a dancing friend quite unexpectedly who I hadn’t seen since November and we automatically hugged each other 🙄

No wonder us oldies are getting hit with this disease just can’t remember all the instructions all at the same time! 
Im not meaning to be flippant just trying to cheer myself up

 

[Angela]

In Germany, Dresden Semperoper has closed until April 19th. They intended to stay open with a reduced audience, but no.

The only big opera/ballet house still open is Hamburg, all others are closed. I guess they will be following soon.

[Richard LH]

On 11/03/2020 at 12:58, Richard LH said:

Yes, this was clearly the case with some people who were wearing masks at the ROH last night. Constant fiddling and re-adjustment.

From BBC:

Speaking to BBC News, deputy chief medical officer for England Dr Jenny Harries said the introduction of social distancing measures should come at "exactly the right time".

She also warned that members of the public wearing face masks could be putting themselves at more risk of contracting the virus - if they touch it with unwashed hands or put it on a surface they have not cleaned.

"You can actually trap the virus in the mask and start breathing it in," she said.

[Angela]

Well, just as I wrote the post, Hamburg called off performances off until April 30th.

Also the high-profile Salzburg Easter Festival with Netrebko, Thielemann etc. has just been called off.

[Richard LH]

5 minutes ago, LinMM said:

I bumped into a dancing friend quite unexpectedly who I hadn’t seen since November and we automatically hugged each other 🙄

No wonder us oldies are getting hit with this disease just can’t remember all the instructions all at the same time! 

 

NHS 111 says :

Close contact with a confirmed case means:

- living in the same house

- face-to-face contact, for example, talking for more than a few minutes

- being coughed on

- being within 2 metres of the person for more than 15 minutes

- contact with their body fluids

 

So perhaps try a quick hug, whilst holding breath, and then immediately back off 2 metres !  And definitely avoid the last  scenario.....

[toursenlair]

37 minutes ago, Angela said:

In Germany, Dresden Semperoper has closed until April 19th. They intended to stay open with a reduced audience, but no.

The only big opera/ballet house still open is Hamburg, all others are closed. I guess they will be following soon.

 

It's kind of ironic that I was supposed to be going to a performance there next week of a contemporary mixed program, and judging by the seating plan, the "reduced audience" had taken care of itself. By my guess not more than 300 tickets had been sold!