The following is a guest blog by San Francisco Ballet principal Yuan Yuan Tan, currently on tour with the company in Copenhagen, Denmark. Stay tuned for more posts from Yuan Yuan!
Things are going very well here on our tour to Copenhagen, but there was a bit of drama on our way to the residence of Laurie Fulton, US ambassador to Denmark, for a reception Monday night. As one of our two buses left the hotel, the second bus got a flat tire. Luckily, I was able to fit into one of four extra seats on the first bus—which I was very happy about, especially since it was raining pretty hard!
By the time we got the reception, the rain had stopped, and we had a lovely time. Ambassador Fulton gave a very warm speech and Helgi [Tomasson] presented her with our 75th anniversary book. Since I was performing for the opening night of our second program on Tuesday, I stayed in my room and rested once I got back from the event.
Yesterday was a long day with the dress rehearsal and opening of Program 2. The opening proved how warm and gracious the Copenhagen audiences really are. On stage, we could 100% feel their energy and we were very appreciative of all the curtain calls! I also saw an old colleague from SFB, Peter Brandenhoff, and it was really nice to catch up with him. We're in the home stretch now, with only three shows to go!
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Aug 12, 2020
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What's Ahead for Ballet Companies in the Age of COVID-19?
Let's be frank: No one knows what's ahead for the performing arts in the U.S. With COVID-19 forcing the cancellation of nearly a year of performances so far, including many Nutcrackers, ballet companies face a daunting path ahead with no roadmap for how to survive. While schools can offer classes online or in small groups, what does the future hold for companies when it's not safe to gather large audiences or corps de ballet?
"We are in for a very hard set of months," says Michael M. Kaiser, chairman of the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the University of Maryland. "Nothing will change until there's a vaccine."
Pointe set out to find out what the new normal looks like while the virus is with us.
Online Content and Digital Seasons
<p>When COVID-19 hit, it seemed everything moved online that could, from galas to company class. In a recent <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWxHvH5zMxo" target="_blank">online panel</a>, American Ballet Theatre artistic director Kevin McKenzie said the company's May online gala, which did not include much dancing, was well-received but not a financial success. The Washington Ballet's gala centered on livestreamed performances and was financially successful. But afterwards, artistic director Julie Kent, a company dancer and a gala chairwoman became ill with COVID-19, despite social distancing and other safety precautions.</p><p>Can online platforms be a safe, longer-term source of income and artistic outlet for ballet companies?</p><p>Marc Kirschner, a founder of the paid performing arts streaming service <a href="https://www.marquee.tv/" target="_blank">Marquee TV</a>, says this moment is a line in the sand for companies' survival.</p><p>"Whether or not companies can figure out how to incorporate digital into their strategy is going to decide which will fold," says Kirschner. "Linking digital programming to data, marketing and operations is a long-term necessity. COVID has only made this more clear."</p><p>He says that rather than put up old footage with rudimentary filming, companies can use this moment to make high-quality captures of live contemporary works. "No one needs to film another <em>Swan Lake</em>. Dance companies need to focus on what makes them different," he says. "New works are in demand on Marquee TV, and those can be made with smaller casts and filmed in front of a house with 20 percent capacity."</p><p>Kirschner acknowledges that filming can be prohibitively expensive, but stresses that an innovative digital strategy is key for companies to develop and keep audiences now and in the future—and that it's a mistake for companies to give content away for free.</p>
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Louisville Ballet dancers Mark Krieger and Natalia Ashikhmina
Sam English, Courtesy Louisville Ballet
<p>Louisville Ballet is trying a paid approach, with a 2020–21 <a href="https://www.louisvilleballet.org/" target="_blank">digital season subscription</a> starting at $125. Artistic director <a href="https://www.pointemagazine.com/robert-curran-louisville-ballet-2412851155.html" target="_blank">Robert Curran</a> is planning a series of dance-art films, works created specifically for digital, rather than presenting filmed live performances. He's betting that this will expand the company's artistic horizon in a way that can carry it through the pandemic.</p><p>"I've wanted to explore this for some time, but we were never able to with all of our other programming," says Curran. "We hope this will not only engage our subscribers but show the dance world that Louisville is a place where new ideas about ballet are happening."</p><p>Funding this digital season is still something Curran is figuring out, and he's unsure how much work will be produced. He's also planning to keep dancers in small pods in hopes of preventing the spread of the virus, but acknowledges illness could derail his plans, as keeping dancers safe is the main priority.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU1MjI1NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NzYyNzc5MX0.2aHqSn6WuDdDYzk7UjSVXEAsKRyaVD5mdVUtqoWATOI/img.jpg?width=980" id="85aeb" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5977f134d97d37c2297df3d817de055e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="A female dancer with long blonde hair and wearing a black long-sleeved leotard, does a d\u00e9velopp\u00e9 devant with her right leg while pulling off pointe." />
City Ballet of San Diego's Chelsey Kuhn in Geoffrey Gonzalez's Dark Room Series
Jaroslav Richter Photography, Courtesy City Ballet of San Diego
<p>Geoffrey Gonzalez, a dancer and resident choreographer with City Ballet of San Diego, found a way to create new digital work without much risk of spreading the virus with his <a href="https://vimeo.com/430940339" target="_blank">Dark Room Series</a>. He <a href="https://vimeo.com/430957092" target="_blank">transformed</a> the company's studio into a black box and filmed solos that he edited into a 15-minute work, where the dancers sometimes appear to be dancing together. The purpose was to have a touchpoint with the audience but also to nurture artistry.</p><p>"Quarantine was like my feet were caked in cement," Gonzalez says. "I had to find a way to work, and so did the dancers. It was about fulfilling physical and spiritual needs as artists."</p><p>He offered the film for free. He says it's succeeded in keeping the audience interested, and has since managed to receive $10,000 in support from donors to make these socially distant pieces. "People can see we're still working, we're not going away," says Gonzalez. "If we ask for financial help, we need to show there's new things to support, in whatever form."</p><p>Kaiser believes online content is a good tool for audience development, but cautions against companies investing in it too heavily right now at the expense of longer-term planning. "What's critical is not putting another performance online, but getting audiences excited about what the company will be doing when they come back," says Kaiser. "There's a ceiling for how excited people will get about online content."</p><div style="padding: 20px 0 40px;">
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Reimagining Live Performances
<p>Small venues might be the best, and only, option for in-person shows. Gonzalez says the company is scaling back plans in an attempt to keep operating, with a 2020–21 budget of half a million dollars, down from $1.2 million. They are hoping to perform in smaller spaces with fewer dancers on contract, and focus on producing a new <em>Nutcracker</em> they have planned for 2021.</p><p>This strategy worked for some European companies, as Europe is ahead of the U.S. in containing the virus. Norwegian National Ballet split its dancers into small groups and performed in locations across Norway, mostly schools and elder homes. This kept the dancers working and expanded the company's audience.</p><p>"Many of those we met said this was their first encounter with ballet," says Maria Børja, a spokesperson for the company.<strong></strong></p><p>Jean Grand-Maître, artistic director of Alberta Ballet, is planning a similar season for the remainder of 2020. He plans to break the company into groups of eight and have them all rehearse the same program of solos and duets. To keep the dancers safe, casting them in duets or small group work will only happen if they can dance with someone they live with, such as a spouse or roommate.</p><p>"It's an artistic challenge, to strip our work of production values and big groups of dancers," says Grand-Maître. "But performing on a raised stage in a hospital parking lot is a way of bringing hope to people and a way for us to stay relevant."</p>
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</div></blockquote></div><p><span style="background-color: initial;">Grand-Maître says the board is committed to keeping the dancers employed through this period, even though the company will be without performance income for the remainder of 2020 (including a </span><em>Nutcracker </em><span style="background-color: initial;">season that usually earns over $2 million). T</span>he crucial support of the Canadian government's wage-subsidy program helps make this possible.</p><p>"We are better off staying open than shutting down and starting from scratch," he says.</p><p>Kaiser says spending on reduced programming that creates or worsens a deficit can work for larger companies with board support, or foreign companies with strong state support. But he cautions that surviving the pandemic is most important, even if it means laying off dancers and staff.</p><p>"What companies need to do right now is hoard cash," he says. "Spending just to be seen isn't as important as being ready for reopening, when the competition of everything coming back at once will be intense."</p>
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A New Daily Life
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f9e72860853301b696babcb425d9ee3b"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TMlreh-p40c?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>Hong Kong Ballet spent much of the spring rehearsing in small groups, wearing masks and conducting temperature checks. Company member Amber Lewis says it was challenging to come back to the studio under these conditions. "In the first few weeks, everyone was kind of afraid to touch each other," she says. "We'd be sanitizing our hands constantly, struggling to breathe in the mask." But as Hong Kong's infection numbers dropped, she says the fear went away.</p><p>However, in mid-July, there was a new wave of infections and theaters had to close once again. Dancers resumed classes on Zoom, followed by a gradual return to the studio starting August 10.</p><p>Hong Kong Ballet's artistic director <a href="https://www.pointemagazine.com/hong-kong-ballet-septime-webre-2638918632.html" target="_blank">Septime Webre</a> says he encourages dancers and directors to find creative opportunities in challenging circumstances. Webre used the time rehearsing in small groups to workshop material for his new version of <em>Romeo & Juliet</em>, which he was able to finish choreographing before the mid-July shutdown. He also moved the company's outdoor pop-up performance series online.</p><p>"The lessons of this time are that we need to keep thinking about new ways to reach our audience and provide them with art. That's not going away," he says. "But it's also that every plan A needs a B and C behind it."</p>
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Aug 12, 2020
Revisiting Pointe's Past Cover Stars: Polina Semionova (December 2008/January 2009)
We revisited some of Pointe's past cover stars for their take on how life—and ballet—has changed.
Polina Semionova, December 2008/January 2009
<p><strong></strong><strong>Then:</strong> Principal dancer, Staatsballett Berlin</p><p><strong>Now: </strong>Principal guest dancer, Staatsballett Berlin; guest artist, Mikhailovsky Ballet and La Scala Ballet; principal guest, American Ballet Theatre, 2012–16</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUwMjMyOC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5ODMzMTMxOH0.4ID13PCiJ-YD3Nd_kTuNFoSPSqwHYY4d6zwtXUbpuKk/img.jpg?width=980" id="c4bc0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="dd25691d4eda29c29ff58745db735315" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Semionova in a burgundy gown, posing in a back attitude and holding her skirt on a bright purple cover of Pointe with hot pink text." /><p><strong>On being a <em>Pointe</em></strong><strong> cover star:</strong> "The stage is the biggest reward in my career, but being on <em>Pointe</em>'s cover was a big support too. In 2008, it was just the beginning for me. It was a time of constant dancing and little sleep. The encouragement gave me strength."</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUwMjMyOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MjY0MTI0MX0.DaXemhOlgCL0_YsYQuY-lQUChqJRY0SQEKfoEOk8_w0/img.jpg?width=980" id="d1c26" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c0595d252b49206c520815928423574f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Semionova in a pink and gold outfit and crown, in a deep pli\u00e9 onstage with one leg behind her and her arms framing her face." />
Polina Semionova in La Bayadère
Yan Revazov, Courtesy Staatsballett Berlin
<p><strong></strong><strong>What's changed since then: </strong>"Dancers are their own promoters these days. I see pluses and minuses. A bigger audience can enter your world, but nothing can replace live performance. I also see a greater focus on athleticism in dance training today. This is helpful in the time of quarantine; we can still train our bodies. But we shouldn't forget the artistry. A well-prepared body is strong, but developing the mind and soul is just as important."</p><p><strong>Advice for dancers:</strong> "It took me time to realize that every break is for a reason, whether for an injury or a pandemic. It's not always bad to take a rest—use the time to recover when you have it. Invest in learning and developing in other things. Being a dancer doesn't have to mean being physically active all day. And if you have children one day and have no time for breaks, enjoy that time as well. The daily routine always comes back."</p><div style="padding: 20px 0 40px;">
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Aug 11, 2020
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Ask Amy: How to Find the Right Pointe Shoes if One Foot is More Flexible Than the Other
I'm 14, and I feel totally stable and on my box on my right foot on pointe. But my left foot? Not so much. How can I fix the problem of being on one box and not all the way on the other? —Summer
<p>I spoke with Judy Weiss, master pointe shoe fitter for Grishko USA, about how best to address your problem. What you most likely need, she says, is a softer shank on the left shoe so that you can more easily rise onto pointe. Consider trying a shoe model that offers different shank strengths; buy one pair that feels comfortable on your right foot and another with a lighter shank to accommodate your stiffer left ankle. (You'll need to buy two pairs at the same time.) "Do not wear two different brands, or even two different styles within the same brand, because the feeling will be too different," says Weiss.</p><p>If your current shoe brand doesn't offer varying strength options, bend and flex the left shank with your hands to make it more pliable, or remove the nail in the heel. Alternatively, you could special-order shoes with one regular shank and one softer shank, but this often requires a lot of trial and error and may take weeks or months for delivery.</p>
<p>Dancers often have one foot that's a little stronger or more flexible. But since you seem to have such a big difference—and especially if you're experiencing pain or discomfort—consider talking to a podiatrist to see whether the problem stems from ankle tightness or a more structural issue, such as an extra bone, or <a href="https://www.pointemagazine.com/common-ballet-foot-ankle-injuries-2644291376.html?rebelltitem=2#rebelltitem2" target="_blank">os trigonum</a>. </p><p><em>Have a question? </em><em>Send it to </em>Pointe<em> editor in chief and former dancer Amy Brandt at <a href="mailto:askamy@dancemedia.com" target="_blank">askamy@dancemedia.com</a>.</em></p>
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