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Northern Ballet have issued End of Season announcement


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Northern Ballet has issued an End of Season announcement.  The dancers leaving the company have been listed but they have stated there will be no promotions due to the C-19 pandemic and new dancers cannot yet be announced.

 

https://northernballet.com/blogs/northern-ballet/20-07-01/2020-leavers

 

I feel so sad for the dancers who have retired having missed their valedictory performances due to the pandemic.  Of course this has affected many dancers in many companies.

 

The leavers are Hannah Bateman (retiring), Nicola Gervasi (retiring), Nina Querioz da Silva, Abigail Cockerell, Ayça Anil and Ommaira Kanga Perez.  I send them all my best wishes for the future.

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12 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

........and new dancers cannot yet be announced.


Agree that the situation is very sad for the leavers and for dancers who might otherwise have been promoted. But the phrase quoted, while not unexpected and very understandable,  sends a real shiver down my spine in terms of employment prospects in ballet generally.

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1 hour ago, FionaE said:

Really concerning for employment prospects.  And so sad for delayed promotions, dancers’ careers are so short.  
 

Silence from other UK companies is worrying.  Defeatist even.

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 !

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1 hour ago, Sadielou said:

 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 ?

 

just in case you have difficulty with basic math, 1% fatality rate would mean 660,000 deaths in the UK. Are you OK with that? Not to mention the survivors who have long term health difficulties.

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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.

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2 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

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.

 

 

 

 

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.

 

Not according to Prof Carl Heneghan of Oxford 

 

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

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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:

 

"Disclaimerthe 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?).

 

 

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That's a pretty standard disclaimer. I think most of these are not peer reviewed (as you say one person's opinion). 

 

The total number of cases have gone up certainly. That's to be expected because of the increase in testing (i.e. the harder you look the more you're going to find). Only time will tell if this is clinically significant leading to increased illness and death. His argument for standardized data makes sense to me. 

 

"I think it unfair to expect people to perform for me if they think there is any (my emphasis) risk to them let alone other members of the audience. "  Risk cannot be eliminated, only mitigated. Even the mythical vaccine won't eliminate risk entirely.  COVID's not going away. We are going to have to learn to live with it. If we wait for zero risk we will never go back to the theatre and there will be no where to go back to because they will all have gone bankrupt, even those with deep pockets like the ROH.  Everyone will have to decide what their own risk tolerance is while doing the utmost to protect others. Perhaps some of the new rapid tests may help although I've not seen any efficacy reports on these yet. 

 

On a somewhat related topic - the Stage today had an op/ed about the need to change ticket policy to allow for refunds/rescheduling to increase confidence so audiences will start buying tickets again when theatres reopen. 

 

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1 hour ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

 

The final paragraph of the linked report stating:

 

"Disclaimerthe 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?).

 

 

 

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. 

 

 

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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.

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