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Veronika Part


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This is a sad end to things.  Her linked interview indicates some long term sadness. And the "Not a team player" comment is interesting.

 

I wonder what Kevin McKenzie's response would be?  Too many prolonged injuries to justify her salary?  Too little box office compared to other Russian imports?   Too much negative energy when the AD brought in all those guests? 

 

Maybe she can find a place in Munich at Bavarian State Ballet with the other Mariinsky expats? 

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19 minutes ago, Helene said:

Appalling news.  Part is a treasure.  I only got to see her dance twice, but both times were a privilege. :flowers: Ms. Part.

Reading sentiments like these is helping me cope with this situation! It's also been good to hear from those who aren't particularly Part fans, but still feel for her.

 

I've been a Part devotee since around 2005 and have seen all of her Swan Lakes at the Met since then (in addition to all other roles she took on). I knew saying farewell would be hard, but these circumstances are making it much, much harder.

Edited by fondoffouettes
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1 hour ago, vipa said:

Totally different and off topic but in terms of the company I wonder about Kochetkova

 

Now that would be interesting:  Two Russians out; two Americans promoted. "America First" program. (Of course, for all we know, Part & Kochetkova may be US citizens by now or at least permanent residents. They've both been here for a long time.)

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I don't know if Part is married, but I'm pretty sure Kochetkova's husband, Edward King, is American, and it generally doesn't take that long to get permanent residency -> citizenship through a spouse, unless the bureaucracy is down, like after 9/11.  (If that's what she wanted.)

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A petition to continue Part's tenure at ABT:

 

https://www.change.org/p/abt-american-ballet-theater-let-abt-know-that-we-want-veronika-part-to-continue-dancing-with-the-company?recruiter=194536246&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_for_starters_page

 

I have mixed feelings about this, but I'd like others to be aware that it exists.

Edited by fondoffouettes
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2 hours ago, Helene said:

I don't know if Part is married, but I'm pretty sure Kochetkova's husband, Edward King, is American, and it generally doesn't take that long to get permanent residency -> citizenship through a spouse, unless the bureaucracy is down, like after 9/11.  (If that's what she wanted.)

 

Edward King is British.  

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22 minutes ago, Josette said:

 

Edward King is British.  

Thank you for the info.  I thought I heard him speak once, and he didn't sound British, but I was clearly mistaken about hearing him.  There goes that theory...

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1 hour ago, fondoffouettes said:

 

I have mixed feelings too--fans shouldn't be in charge of company policies....but, I broke down and signed it anyway. I figure one day someone may tell Part how many people signed and I'd like it to be a decent number. (Right now, it isn't.)

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Agreed, I'm not sure 100 people (or 200, or even 300) signing a petition would be able to sway a decision that has, apparently, already been made. I'll sign it just to show my support but I doubt it will do much. If anything, it might possibly cause some additional beef between the two parties involved. I don't think ABT would appreciate the controversy or drama. But I agree with Drew, hopefully Part sees the petition as people supporting her and letting her know they're there for her.

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4 hours ago, lmspear said:

Was Ashley Tuttle the first to ABT ballerina to be treated this shamefully?

I believe that back in the day, long time principal dancer Eleonor D'Antuono was treated pretty shabbily at the end. (If I'm misremembering please let me know). D'Antuono had her detractors, but she carried a lot of rep for a lot of years and was cast in pretty much everything.

 

I think there was a special performance for Cynthia Gregory's retirement from ABT (her 2nd/permanent retirement not her first). I don't remember how Martine Van Hamel left.

 

This year it's amazing to compare Vishneva's send off from ABT with Part's. 

 

 

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1 hour ago, naomikage said:

ABT couldn't even muster a nice official statement praising Part's time at the company, nor have they posted a press release on their website. They are just trying to brush this acrimonious split under the rug. 

 

I hope there is a Gia Kourlas interview with Part at some point, though now that ABT's season is coming to a close, the NYT may see no need to focus coverage on a retiring dancer.

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Isn't this unprecedented, to have the truth come out about a forced retirement and make it into the papers before the farewell performance? What will the atmosphere be like Saturday afternoon presuming many in the audience will know? Will McKenzie dare to come out on stage to present Part with a bouquet?

 

This is so wrong. And, after spending the last several weeks excited over all of the soloist debuts, scheduled and last minute subbing, I'm now losing the pride I was starting to feel again for the company after years of watching them mostly ignore their homegrown talent.

 

Also, this can't be good for company morale. If so many of us felt the excitement of so many dancers gettting chances this year, for the dancers that has to be tenfold. Same goes for what they're doing to Part.

Edited by ABT Fan
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Playing devil's advocate here.  We never know exactly what has taken place behind the scenes, how long she has known that her contract would not be renewed, and what the offer was in terms of non-contract renewal.  One other observation is that some dancers prefer not to have a send-off.  Possibly my favorite ballerina ever, Larissa Ponomarenko, who was a Principal with Boston, decided it was time to retire.  They offered a send-off (a la Yury Yanowsky two years ago), but she preferred to go quietly.  

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2 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

Will McKenzie dare to come out on stage to present Part with a bouquet?

 

This is so wrong. And, after spending the last several weeks excited over all of the soloist debuts, scheduled and last minute subbing, I'm now losing the pride I was starting to feel again for the company after years of watching them mostly ignore their homegrown talent.

 

I would be surprised if he does, especially when the article says quite directly, "her contract has not been renewed." I know I, for one, would feel severely hard-pressed not to shout out some boos. The only thing that would stop me is the desire to avoid putting Veronika in an even more uncomfortable situation.

 

And I completely share those feelings you describe. In particular, this whole thing has completely killed the excitement I was feeling leading up to any impending announcement of promotions. I feel disgusted.

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17 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

Isn't this unprecedented, to have the truth come out about a forced retirement and make it into the papers before the farewell performance? What will the atmosphere be like Saturday afternoon presuming many in the audience will know? Will McKenzie dare to come out on stage to present Part with a bouquet?

 

This is so wrong. And, after spending the last several weeks excited over all of the soloist debuts, scheduled and last minute subbing, I'm now losing the pride I was starting to feel again for the company after years of watching them mostly ignore their homegrown talent.

Hmm...well the NYT doesn't make it clear that it was forced, and the headline even makes Part seem like the she's the one who's actively announcing her departure. Many casual ballet fans may not realize it's a forced retirement.

 

It does seem somewhat unprecedented (at least in my 13 years of going to ABT). Herrera, Reyes and Corella all got official statements about their retirements and real farewells, even if all three were "encouraged" to retire. And then there have been those like Wiles, who seems to have left of her own volition, simply because her assignments were dwindling. I didn't get the sense that the fiscal year was coming to an end and they were told, "Sorry, no contract renewal for you." Part's forced retirement seems to have come as a mid-season surprise. We don't know the whole story, but the last-minute switching of the program order on Saturday seems to imply that this farewell was a surprise at least to the artist. If Kevin had talked about it with her in advance, I'm sure she would have asked to go out with Swan Lake.  But they simply don't seem to care about what Part wants.

Edited by fondoffouettes
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Just now, fondoffouettes said:

Hmm...well the NYT doesn't make it clear that it was forced, and the headline even makes Part seem like the she's the one who's actively announcing her departure. Many casual ballet fans may not realize it's a forced retirement.

 

The headline reads, "Veronika Part to Retire from American Ballet Theater [sic]." And reread the first paragraph:

 

Veronika Part, the Russian-born ballerina who has been a principal dancer with American Ballet Theater since 2009, will retire from the company at the end of this season because her contract was not renewed for another year.

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Just now, nanushka said:

 

The headline reads, "Veronika Part to Retire from American Ballet Theater [sic]." And reread the first paragraph:

 

Veronika Part, the Russian-born ballerina who has been a principal dancer with American Ballet Theater since 2009, will retire from the company at the end of this season because her contract was not renewed for another year.

I think it was edited after I first read it. The original headline said something like "Veronika Part Announces Her Retirement from American Ballet Theater." And I could have sworn the bit about her contract not being renewed was not in the original version. Or maybe I'm just losing it...

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