Haglund's Heel

observations 7/10

Tonight at 8pm Lincoln Center at Home begins streaming its wonderful staged production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel with the New York Philharmonic. The performance features dancers Tiler Peck and Robert Fairchild and stars Kelli O'Hara, Nathan Gunn, Stephanie Blythe, Jessie Mueller and Kate Burton. The dancers are, of course, superb but, honestly, Stephanie Blythe steals the show as Nettie singing You'll Never Walk Alone.

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SAB's Workshop digital performance continues until Monday July 13th at 7pm.

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Only $13 on Etsy.

observations 7/8

We may not ever see a celebratory PR release from ABT about this, but yesterday's data dump by the SBA & Treasury shows that the company received between $5 million and $10 million in forgivable loan funds from the federal government's Payroll Protection Plan to retain 226 jobs.

The School of American Ballet received between $1 million and $2 million to retain zero jobs. That's right -- zippo jobs. If they don't spend 75% of the money on payroll but opt to spend it on other eligible expenses, the portion of the loan forgivable will be reduced. Haglund's 2013 1.4 GHz Apple processor loudly labored through the 26 MB 661,219 lines of .csv data dump but could not find any mention of NYCB, although it was reported somewhere yesterday that the company did receive funds. Maybe someone out there with a faster processor can glean more from the spreadsheet which can be downloaded here. [Edited to add: We found a much better, more easily searchable database here. Plug in the state and all or part of the name for results. This database shows N/A when # of jobs retained is zero.]

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater received between $2 million and $5 million to retain 419 jobs.

Ballet Hispanico received between $350,000 and $1 million to retain 29 jobs.

NY Phil received between $5 million and $10 million to retain 250 jobs.

NY City Center received between $2 million and $5 million to retain 194 jobs.

Even the New York City Opera received between $350,000 and $1 million to retain zero jobs. That's right--zippo jobs.

The shows will go on...maybe.

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An HH PSA:

WE

ARE

SERIOUS.

 

 

observations 7/1

Thank goodness there will be no spitting on the baseball field or in the dugout during the abbreviated MLB season this summer. Banned due to coronavirus concerns. Nor will the pitchers be allowed to lick their fingers before grasping the ball. Banned. How will they ever get their spit on the ball, you ask? Luckily, the commissioner didn’t think to ban actually licking the baseball; so perhaps we’ll see some of that. You know when the pitcher pauses before his wind-up and puts the glove right next to his face? Watch for a little tongue action this summer. But seriously, won’t it be great to see this little bit of recovery get going? We need some baseball relief from all these ballet videos.

It seems that more relief could be on the way just in time for mid-summer sales. Governor Cuomo found some special HEPA filters that he wants shopping malls to install in their HVAC systems to filter out coronavirus while thousands of customers wander around the malls leisurely shopping. That sounds like a good idea that could be adapted to theaters. Let’s hope NYCB was watching the Governor’s briefing the other day when he was talking about the filters, because his eyes really lit up. Surely NYCB could swipe a few bucks from its endowment cash pile of $220 million to purchase some HEPA filters for the theater’s ventilating system. They’re about $11 for a 2-pak for a Kirby sweeper. Listen, this would be the perfect excuse to raise those Facility Fees to $10 per ticket.

 

Wear a mask.

 

We're just foolin' with y'all.

 

 

observations 6/29

Lincoln Center at Home will stream the Live from Lincoln Center Tribute to Balanchine at 8pm tonight.  The 1983 program is comprised of Vienna Waltzes, Mozartiana, and Who Cares? It will be available through July 14th.

http://lincolncenter.org/lincoln-center-at-home/show/tribute-to-balanchine-1983-926

Available on Etsy.

observations 6/23

The delayed All Balanchine Program from Lincoln Center at Home's Dance Week is now available. It features New York City Ballet's performances of the fourth movement of Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet, Concerto Barocco excerpt, The Man I Love from PdD from Who Cares, and Act III from Coppelia:

http://lincolncenter.org/lincoln-center-at-home/show/coppeacutelia-858

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pFz5e2XufM

No begging for money in this video.

 

observations 6/18

New York City Ballet announced today that it has cancelled the fall and Nutcracker seasons in the face of COVID-19. Not good news, but expected. More digital programing is in the works. That's good news, and expected.

We can do this, People. It is but six months until January. Look, few people have money to spend on ballet tickets now anyway. New York City has lost 851,000 private sector jobs since last year. Job loss was on the rise even before COVID-19 hit. Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers are on unemployment, can't pay rent, are food insecure -- going to the ballet doesn't make their list of needs. Also, we don't need tourists coming to Lincoln Center from any of those states that are not being as careful as New York and bringing along new virus.

So let's chill. Take whatever NYCB can provide in the way of digital performances. Stay home and don't get sick. Hang loose and be ready to dash out the door to get in line for the first approved COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available. Wear a mask.

Wear a mask.

 

When the rich cry poor

It seems that NYCB may have decided that it doesn't want to dance tonight, either, on Lincoln Center Dance Week. So, we can watch "Turnout with Tiler" with NYCB's Tiler Peck or we can watch the Met Opera's Orfeo. But what we should also do is pour over this recent article which describes how flush with cash some of these arts organizations are while they are begging with sad puppy eyes for the proletariat patrons' last pennies.

According to this article about arts organizations dipping into their endowments, the NYCB normally dips into their endowment each year about 5% to help with their operating expenses. An annual 5% dip is basically the rule of thumb for nonprofits. This year NYCB planned to take its normal 5% which amounts to about $11,000,000. But because of the COVID-19 crisis and all of the extra expenses of paying all the dancers and staff their full top-of-the-line salaries with benefits for not working while the rest of New York goes onto Unemployment, the NYCB will have to dip into its endowment and take out $19,000,000 instead of just $11,000,000.  Are you keeping up with the zeros?

$19,000,000 sounds like a lot of money. It's hard to wrap the head around the reason for all the begging NYCB is doing for people to send it money during this pandemic when people are starving and dying and jobless and homeless. The dancers are getting paid full salary just to sit home and doodle on Instagram, and maybe even pick up a few extra bucks (on top of their full top-of-the-line salaries) by selling private virtual classes. Many of them love showing off their living rooms and kitchens on Instagram which look to be pretty tony, spacious, and swank. Some dancers love to show off their privilege.

$19,000,000 sounds like a lot money. But you'll see that it's a drop in the bucket compared to what NYCB is drawing from in its endowment. According to the 2018 Form 990, which is the last one available, NYCB had $190,000,000 stashed away in its endowment. Are you keeping up with the zeros? Between 2017 and 2018, their endowment increased by $22,000,000. And NYCB is begging all the little fans for donations during a pandemic?

So, ask yourself: How's your own endowment? How swanky and spacious is your place? Is your boss paying you full salary and benefits to sit home and doodle on Instagram? Some aren't just doodling. Some are screeching and preaching to their choirs about how their choirs aren't doing enough to rid society of racism. Of course, preaching to one's own choir has always been an effective method for changing anything. Right.

Why don't the screeching preaching ballerinas demand that NYCB take $50,000,000 out of its endowment (a mere 25%) and give it to Dance Theatre of Harlem to further the legacies of Arthur Mitchell and George Balanchine? They should consider investing in their own community to further support people of color in the arts. And stop begging the poor, the sick, the unemployed, who simply want to see lovely dance on video to help ease the pains of the times, for more money for NYCB.

 

Right here, right now

A Midsummer Night's Dream 1986

http://lincolncenter.org/lincoln-center-at-home/show/a-midsummer-nightrsquos-dream-1986-244

observations 5/29

NYCB stages its final performance of the Digital Spring Season tonight at 8PM. The program features works from its 21st Century Choreographers bills including Peck's Easy and excerpts from dances by Tanowitz, Ratmansky, Reisen, Abraham, Peck, and Bigonzetti. Watching so many excerpts together should provide for an opportunity to generalize what's wrong with so much of today's new choreography. On the other hand, the excerpt from Peck's The Times Are Racing might look to a lot of my fellow wrinkled geezers like it was ripped straight from the 1960's TV shows Hullabaloo and Shindig -- only not as good.

You can watch on the NYCB website, YouTube channel or Facebook. (Give these platforms a minute or two after 8PM to get the curtain up. Just keep refreshing. As we know, nothing happens until 8:05 or 7:35 on real performance nights in the theater.)

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Meanwhile, the artistic director of Lincoln Center, Jane Moss, is waltzing out the door on August 1st after 27 years. She directs Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series, Mostly Mozart Festival, White Light Festival, American Songbook, Midsummer Night Swing and Lincoln Center Out of Doors. Recall that she assumed the responsibility for everything when Debora Spar quit and the decision was made to ax the Lincoln Center Festival. With the new management, whoever that may be, let's hope we get some new thinking on the value of LCF. We need the Paris Opera Ballet, Mariinsky, Royal, and Bolshoi back here ASAP.

YIKES! And don't forget that tomorrow is the beginning of Lincoln Center's Dance Week of archived Live from Lincoln Center Performances. Refresh yourself concerning the upcoming rep here.

Watch it on the LC website here or on FB.

 

Reopening

As we already wrote somewhere in the comments, the Brooklyn Nets are dipping their toes back into training.

They are conducting training sessions at the new HSS Training Center in Sunset Park. The Hospital for Special Surgery created the 70,000 square foot facility atop a warehouse. It has all the requisite equipment plus a basketball court.

The first rule is that only four players are allowed in the building at one time. No coaches permitted. No scrimmages. No practice games. AND players are strictly forbidden from using non-team facilities such as health clubs or gyms.

(Rules courtesy of https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2020/05/26/a-return-to-normalcy-under-new-guidelines-nets-return-to-sunset-park-practice-facility/ )

One toe at a time back in the pool.

Let's hope NYCB and ABT are working on reopening plans. With regard to NYCB, starting with classes three or four days per week would be reasonable. Four or five dancers could be assigned to each of the many studios available at the Koch Theater and at SAB. One of those studios could include a teacher and pianist who would be transmitted via internet to the other studios. That's all very workable provided precautions are taken and the dancers remain disciplined with regard to social distancing and quarantining when not on site.

Let's assume -- because we're pessimists -- that there will be no fall season. Let's think ahead to Nutcracker season. What can be done to preserve that tradition and some of the income and also ignite the crazy joy that comes with the season?

How about 50 video streams of a shortened Nutcracker Suite of dances at $5 a swig? But these 50 video streams would have a different Sugarplum Fairy, Cavalier, Dewdrop, Tea, Coffee every time. That's right, every time. In fact, every single dancer in the company, right down to the newest apprentice, could run a principal role on some night thereby insuring plenty of repeat customers willing to slap a five down on the bar for another swig of Nutcracker. Everyone remembers how disappointing last year's Nutcrackers were with the same veteran dancers hogging the spotlight with fingernails dug into their tutus while side-eyeing all the talented up & comers. Enough of that!

But you also need a narrator to pull this hodgepodge of dances together. Let's say upfront -- not SJP, please. Someone like Tom Hanks or Nathan Lane or Elsa, Princess of Arendelle would fit the bill. Princess Elsa would be perfect, wouldn't she? Let it go. Let it go. It's time to see what I can do. To test the limits and break through.

Hopefully, NYCB is thinking outside the box. There could be a lot of excitement and instant focusing among corps dancers preparing their principal roles for a digital stream.

We're also noticing how the MariinskyTV is running some fabulous concerts of ballet music. Just today, they launched Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 2 with Gergiev, Denis Matsuev and the Mariinsky Orchestra. Isn't it time for our NYCB Orchestra to be on stage playing and streaming some of their fantastic music? There were rumblings some time ago about recording possibilities, but we're in the streaming age now. Time to step up the game.

Let's go let's go let's go.