Practicalities of re-opening in late Spring 2021 (previously Autumn 2020) - or thereafter?

[Guest oncnp]

1 minute ago, alison said:

.  The London Philharmonic Orchestra has just announced a full autumn season of concerts from the Royal Festival Hall streamed on Marquee TV:

 

 

...and free if I'm reading correctly? Thanks for pointing this out. 

[LinMM]

Month in the Country and other one Act ballets sounds great to me Muntagirov was a total delight in Month last time. Perhaps we might even get Dances again! 
Just so I’ve got this straight these programmes will be live-streamed from ROH ....there is no audience at the theatre yet...assuming this is still 2021? 
 

As someone who has been doing most of the ballet classes I do on Zoom since April although it is amazing how just doing a barre and a bit of centre work can keep you in some degree of good shape ( both my injuries to ankle and shoulder are way way better than a few months back defo due to continuing the ballet) you definitely can’t really do much jumping and build up much dynamics in allegro type exercises with turns etc and it would take time to get to top level of fitness again but would imagine most Professional dancers could do this for class purposes well within 12 weeks. I think the 12 weeks is more for Performance fitness with both full on rehearsals and performances going on together. 

I was interested to read about the theatre in Bath. How will they manage intervals etc? Or will people stay in seats? (I often do anyway unless meeting friends etc.).  Will the loos be open? can you take mask off once in seat? 
 

[Guest oncnp]

11 minutes ago, LinMM said:

Just so I’ve got this straight these programmes will be live-streamed from ROH ....there is no audience at the theatre yet...assuming this is still 2021? 

 

 

The two programs announced on 24 Aug will be streamed only. The announcement does say the detail of the Autumn 2020 season will come in a few weeks so perhaps a combination of stream and audience? (But wouldn't hold my breath on the live audience part)

[Jan McNulty]

5 hours ago, LinMM said:

I was interested to read about the theatre in Bath. How will they manage intervals etc? Or will people stay in seats? (I often do anyway unless meeting friends etc.).  Will the loos be open? can you take mask off once in seat? 
 

 

Don't know about Bath but at B'ham Rep in October it already states that we have to wear masks at all times in the theatre building.

[Buddy]

6 hours ago, oncnp said:

 

The two programs announced on 24 Aug will be streamed only. The announcement does say the detail of the Autumn 2020 season will come in a few weeks so perhaps a combination of stream and audience? (But wouldn't hold my breath on the live audience part)

 

The Mariinsky will be resuming "galas" (one or two dancers at a time) this weekend, with checkerboard seating. A week later it will have a full performance, Romeo and Juliet. A week after that, closely dated full performances will begin. All of September will be checkerboard seating. 

 

The Bolshoi will begin full performances the beginning of this month with two seats together, then a space.

 

I think the performing arts world will be paying close attention.

 

The Bath guidelines posted above seem to be quite good and will probably be the norm for a while. 

 

On a personal note, I like Galas and think that they are a very good idea for now. There's also a lot of flexibility with this format.

 

One step at a time. Maybe a very good idea.

Edited September 3, 2020 by Buddy

[LinMM]

How are they going to manage the intervals and loos in Birmingham? 

[Jan McNulty]

1 hour ago, LinMM said:

How are they going to manage the intervals and loos in Birmingham? 

 

Don't know about loos but the performance is only due to last an hour with no interval.

 

I'm more worried about motorway pitstops!

[li tai po]

Dutch National Ballet are presenting seven performances in September of Dancing Apart Together, a programme of new choreography.  They are performing in their Opera House with a socially distanced audience - and no interval.  According to their website, all performances are sold out.

 

They have posted one of their excellent videos as a trailer, showing all 8 choreographers presenting their works - with fascinating explanations by Hans Van Manen, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Ernst Meisner, Juanjo Arquez and of course Ted Brandsen himself.

 

The programme appears mouth watering - and it is heart-warming to see everyone from Ted Brandsen down, so clearly enjoying themselves back in the studio.

 

Sadly they have no plans to stream this programme, but I thoroughly recommend the 10-minute trailer video - First ballet after Covid19 lock 

 

 

[Jan McNulty]

I’ve just seen on IG that Paris Opera is reopening in October (via Dance Europe).

 

 

[Buddy]

2 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

I’ve just seen on IG that Paris Opera is reopening in October (via Dance Europe).

 

 

 

L' Opéra National de Paris 

 

https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/services-and-practical-info/booking-opening-on-8-september?utm_campaign=social-organic&utm_medium=instagram&utm_source=reseaux-sociaux&utm_term=ouverture-8-septembre

 

Edited September 4, 2020 by Buddy

[Buddy]

It might be worth noting that the Paris Opera is also starting with the two or three dancers on stage at time format. The Mariinsky began like this in July and is doing it again with its reopening this weekend. It may well become part of the new startup norm. I don't know yet what audience spacing the Paris Opera will use.

[bridiem]

I hope the Mariinsky dancers who were hospitalised have recovered? I wonder what further measures are being taken to protect the dancers this time round, since the last reopening had serious consequences. 

 

[LinMM]

I had no idea what was going on at the Mariinsky re this Covid outbreak. 
Some staff and one dancer were hospitalised but the dancer was more seriously ill 😢  Unfortunately the latest on this was August 20th so don’t know what the update now on these people is. 
However it does seem as if the Company was rather ambitious putting on a larger group ballet and going on tour 🤔
They had safety measures in place but obviously not quite enough. 

I hope they have all fully recovered anyway. 

 

[SheilaC]

Slipped Disk today claims that 3 of the ballet coaches at the Mariinsky are seriously ill in hospital. No details were given.

[Buddy]

2 hours ago, SheilaC said:

Slipped Disk today claims that 3 of the ballet coaches at the Mariinsky are seriously ill in hospital. No details were given.

 

They are probably the most vulnerable because many are elderly. I've briefly chatted with a few over the years and they are lovely and devoted individuals deserving much better than this. Let's hope for the best.

 

"Daily Testing"

 

This is something that I wrote at Ballet Alert! that might have some interest now. It's based on two New York Times articles about practical and reliable daily testing. It seems promising to me but I've not seen much written about it since. 

 

New York Times — Gia Kourlas — July 24, 2020

 

“There’s No Social Distancing for Dancers. How Can the Show Go On?”

 

As I contemplate how on earth dance can return to the stage, I often turn to the podcast “This Week in Virology,” ….

 

They talk about testing. Daily testing....By nature, dancers push through. And they want to be dancing. Apart from a vaccine, daily testing — from home, before leaving for the studio — seems like the only feasible solution for safe rehearsal. Even though paper-strip tests are less sensitive than nasal swab tests, their speed and ease would be a game changer.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/arts/dance/safety-protocols-dance-coronavirus.html

 

Gia Kurlas refers to another New York Times article. 

 

[Note this article is from the "Opinions" section. It's written by "Laurence J. Kotlikoff and Michael Mina. Mr. Kotlikoff is a professor of economics at Boston University and Dr. Mina is an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.] 

 

“A Cheap, Simple Way to Control the Coronavirus” July 3, 2020

 

With easy-to-use tests, everyone can check themselves every day.

One variety, paper-strip tests, are inexpensive and easy enough to make that Americans could test themselves every day. You would simply spit into a tube of saline solution and insert a small piece of paper embedded with a strip of protein. If you are infected with enough of the virus, the strip will change color within 15 minutes.

 

The strips could be mass produced in a matter of weeks and freely supplied by the government to everyone in the country. The price per person would be from $1 to $5 a day, a considerable sum for the entire population, but remarkably cost effective.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/03/opinion/coronavirus-tests.html

[LinMM]

There was a new saliva based test being developed by Southampton University in UK a couple of months ago nearly ready for roll out trial but not heard anything since but this would be great if proves accurate etc

[MJW]

An interesting read. I'm not sure that having intervals and keeping the bar open is a good idea!

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/09/06/nervous-bolshoi-prima-ballerinas-prepare-post-covid-return-amid/

 

(The Telegraph has removed its paywall over this weekend due to the Extinction Rebellion protest yesterday)

[Jan McNulty]

2 hours ago, MJW said:

(The Telegraph has removed its paywall over this weekend due to the Extinction Rebellion protest yesterday)

 

You can register and read a couple of articles a month.  That's how we can keep including Telegraph articles in Links.  That is also the case with The Stage, The Times and the FT as well as some American papers.

[alison]

Yes, but it's good to know that if people want to catch up on articles from the Links pages they've missed (because 2 per month isn't exactly generous) they can binge on them today.  Wonder if the other papers which were hit are doing the same?

[MJW]

Possibly a bit of a shift up a gear from Government? 

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/government-finally-waking-london-will-feel-like-morgue-theatres/

 

Having been up to London today to a watercolour exhibition at the Mall Galleries I went on a detour round the South Bank Centre up to Covent Garden through Leicester Square and then down to Pall Mall - possibly a bit more traffic than when I last went in July but still so few people about. Not a surprise - but just shows how quiet central London still is.

[Jan McNulty]

That is good news but it will be interesting to see how, in the nearer future, the Mariinsky and the Bolshoi get on with their re-openings.  I know that there are some live shows in New Zealand but RNZB have taken the decision to cancel their upcoming tour as the number of C-19 cases is rising.

[DD Driver]

7 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

That is good news but it will be interesting to see how, in the nearer future, the Mariinsky and the Bolshoi get on with their re-openings.  I know that there are some live shows in New Zealand but RNZB have taken the decision to cancel their upcoming tour as the number of C-19 cases is rising.

 

Yes -  RNZB had to cancel their tour as the latest lockdown in NZ made it illegal.

[Rob S]

Further to my previous post, tickets went on sale at Bath Theatre Royal for the three plays they are staging as part of their reopening, at this point there is no change following recent changes to advise by the government but this is what the seat plan looks like at the moment for a typical day....pleased to see my usual aisle stalls seat is there all on its own🙂

[alison]

Hmm, not a lot of choice for singletons, is there?  That was what I'd feared - that single seats would have to be given the lowest priority, from a financial point of view.  And presumably you have to buy the entire group of seats if buying anything more.

[alison]

It does occur to me, though, that if something similar is to happen at, say, the Royal Opera House, a lot of the problems with sightlines due to heads in front of you will disappear.

[Lizbie1]

19 minutes ago, alison said:

Hmm, not a lot of choice for singletons, is there?  That was what I'd feared - that single seats would have to be given the lowest priority, from a financial point of view.  And presumably you have to buy the entire group of seats if buying anything more.

 

As it happens, I bought a couple of cheap singleton seats this morning. The choice seemed pretty good, even after a week of Friends booking.

 

What you can't see in the picture above is the bench seats at the back of the Grand Circle, which go for £10 (plus £1.75 booking fee for online) and are normally only put on sale on the day of the performance. There appear to be two of these available for each date, and they are currently available online in advance. So from my point of view - speaking as one who would normally wait for these day tickets - it's actually an improvement.

 

Edited to add: if you're at all interested, please have a look. I think it's a very well put together plan and season that the Theatre Royal has come up with and there's plenty of choice of seats.

Edited September 11, 2020 by Lizbie1

[JohnS]

16 minutes ago, alison said:

It does occur to me, though, that if something similar is to happen at, say, the Royal Opera House, a lot of the problems with sightlines due to heads in front of you will disappear.

Perhaps the ROH would revisit its pricing and whether seats would still be ‘restricted’.

[alison]

That would probably rule me out of going once and for all, come to think of it

[Jeannette]

34 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

As it happens, I bought a couple of cheap singleton seats this morning. The choice seemed pretty good, even after a week of Friends booking.

 

What you can't see in the picture above is the bench seats at the back of the Grand Circle, which go for £10 (plus £1.75 booking fee for online) and are normally only put on sale on the day of the performance. There appear to be two of these available for each date, and they are currently available online in advance. So from my point of view - speaking as one who would normally wait for these day tickets - it's actually an improvement.

 

Edited to add: if you're at all interested, please have a look. I think it's a very well put together plan and season that the Theatre Royal has come up with and there's plenty of choice of seats.

 

Hhmm... maybe now is the time for single friends (who know each other ahead of time, of course) to form trusted groups for this purpose? One can be the purchaser & the other(s) reimburse...agreed ahead of time. We all have friends who’ve met at intermissions to chat about the show. 

[Rob S]

1 hour ago, alison said:

Hmm, not a lot of choice for singletons, is there?  That was what I'd feared - that single seats would have to be given the lowest priority, from a financial point of view.  And presumably you have to buy the entire group of seats if buying anything more.

 

I wondered that but I have just tried booking one of a group of two seats and it let me even though there were individual seats nearby

Edited September 11, 2020 by Rob S

[Bluebird]

Not possible on the Sadler’s Wells website. The following message is on the site for the BRB performances next month.

 

This performance adheres to Social Distancing guidelines and seats are allocated in singles and pairs, please note that, a single seat cannot be selected for purchase where it would leave a single seat for sale.

[capybara]

9 minutes ago, Bluebird said:

Not possible on the Sadler’s Wells website. The following message is on the site for the BRB performances next month.

 

This performance adheres to Social Distancing guidelines and seats are allocated in singles and pairs, please note that, a single seat cannot be selected for purchase where it would leave a single seat for sale.

 

And all the single seats seem to have gone now! 

There were booking problems for SW Members using Chrome as their browser this morning and, with no telephone box office available, the possibility of getting a single seat was disappearing before one's eyes.

 

[JohnS]

Are people able to form theatre ‘bubbles’ in light of the difficulties of booking single seats - I do appreciate that some singles may not be wishing to take such risks?