Throughout the past year, dancers and US-based theatre companies have been experiencing delays and denials in attempts to obtain approvals for performances in the US. In late March, the Joyce Theater's annual gala performance had to include a last-minute substitution after two Paris Opéra Ballet dancers were unable to obtain visas.  "It was a shock," Linda Shelton, executive director at The Joyce Theater, tells Dance Magazine. "In all 25 of my years here, I think we'd only been turned down once before. That was ages ago and we already had a feeling that dancer wouldn't be approved anyway, because of an issue with their passport. This was just a big, big surprise." Then, less than a month later, visa petitions for Bolshoi Ballet stars Olga Smirnova and Jacopo Tissi to perform at the Youth America Grand Prix gala were denied. Last year, South Korea's Bereishit Dance Company had to cancel a performance because of similar issues.