271 replies to this topic

[Jack Reed]

With regard to the size of the development staff, I counted names in the program recently and found one development-department name for every three dancers. I don't know, but I wonder whether this is a low ratio.

But I do want to thank checkwriter and Helene for the depth of the discussion here. Plausible speculation is one thing, but facts are what count.

[Amy Reusch]

Yes, I totally agree, thank you for hunting down all the info!

If development people bring in more money than the cost of their salary, it would seem the salary is insignificant, until all sources of funding have been tapped, and the limits reached....?

[checkwriter]

What seems strange to me is that Villella is taking the fall for this... it's not like he just came on board and pushed this budget on the company...

Well at the time he held the title of "Founding Artistic Director/Chief Executive Officer" (this according to the Internet Archive's various captures of the administration screen from the MCB website during the 2010-2011 time period). He is now listed only as "Founding Artistic Director." I don't know that he's 'taking the fall' so much as sharing the responsibility consistent with his leadership position. There's no doubt that artistically the company is in great shape. But you have to keep the lights on or nobody's going to see all that talent.

[Helene]

For a while it was the rage to pay development people a percentage of the money they brought in. I'm not sure whether the pendulum or the percentages have shifted, but 25% doesn't seem out of line.

[Jack Reed]

a percentage of the money they brought in

Logical to have lots of them if they more than pay for their presence, as Amy suggests, but how can anyone tell what each brings in?

[Helene]

I just saw this article in the Miami Herald:

"An MCB spokesperson confirmed that [Jennifer] Kronenberg and [Lourdes] Lopez were the final candidates but said the troupe would not comment."

http://www.miamihera...to-replace.html

According to the article Kronenberg is Villella's choice.

Unlike at PNB, which publicized its five finalists, this news appears to have been leaked. It could be awkward to be known as the runner-up for a top position.

Has there ever been a woman who hasn't been a founder or co-founder and who was chosen to run a major US ballet company? Karen Kain is AD of National Ballet of Canada. If Lopez is chosen, I think she'd be the first to not have had a career with the company in question.

[lmspear]

Has there ever been a woman who hasn't been a founder or co-founder and who was chosen to run a major US ballet company? Karen Kain is AD of National Ballet of Canada. If Lopez is chosen, I think she'd be the first to not have had a career with the company in question.

If I remember correctly Violette Verdy directed the Boston Ballet for a short period of time not long after her retirement.

[sandik]

a percentage of the money they brought in

Logical to have lots of them if they more than pay for their presence, as Amy suggests, but how can anyone tell what each brings in?

These kind of specialists will bring contacts and techniques with them that the company likely has not been using -- it's not an exact science, but you can usually identify specific grants or other gifts that are the direct result of a particular person or campaign.

[sandik]

Unlike at PNB, which publicized its five finalists, this news appears to have been leaked. It could be awkward to be known as the runner-up for a top position.

And there was considerable controversy about making that short list visible at the time, for that reason.

[Helene]

These kind of specialists will bring contacts and techniques with them that the company likely has not been using -- it's not an exact science, but you can usually identify specific grants or other gifts that are the direct result of a particular person or campaign.

Even the most rudimentary tracking for grants list the applications, who worked on them, what was given in the past, if anything, and the result. For mailings and direct appeals, organizations can track which offer working to which segment.

The trickier ones come from large personal and non-foundation corporate donations, since it can take years to cultivate the right connection and network, and there can be unacknowledged groundwork or the right set of circumstances that aren't person-specific or replicable.

Has there ever been a woman who hasn't been a founder or co-founder and who was chosen to run a major US ballet company? Karen Kain is AD of National Ballet of Canada. If Lopez is chosen, I think she'd be the first to not have had a career with the company in question.

If I remember correctly Violette Verdy directed the Boston Ballet for a short period of time not long after her retirement.

Yes, she was. Thank you!

[checkwriter]

Gee, I can't imagine who would have leaked it. Wait, the article quotes "A company staffer who did not want to be named." (Different from the "MCB spokesperson" who confirmed the leak.) So it makes sense to assume that the leak originated with someone with the company. Now note that Villella is reported to have been promoting Kronenborg for the position. You do the math.

[Helene]

Gee, I can't imagine who would have leaked it. Wait, the article quotes "A company staffer who did not want to be named." (Different from the "MCB spokesperson" who confirmed the leak.) So it makes sense to assume that the leak originated with someone with the company. Now note that Villella is reported to have been promoting Kronenborg for the position. You do the math.

"A company staffer who did not want to be named said the troupe’s dancers were torn." This staffer is then quoted as given the pros of both women, and didn't take sides. There's nothing in the article to suggest that this staffer was the source of the leak.

Since according to the article, the company is divided on whom they prefer, Villella has promoted Kronenborg, and Lopez is "favored by some executive board members and advisors", it seems that there are lots of people who might feel it is in their side's best interest to leak this. Of course, it could have been leaked by someone to whom any person knowing of the situation confided, and there are a lot of stakeholders in this. The math could go either way.

And there was considerable controversy about making that short list visible at the time, for that reason.

It seemed so odd at the time, but perhaps they thought, in addition to the typical Seattle bias towards transparency, a leak would be inevitable.

Boal has told the story several times that he hand-delivered his application on the deadline day, and he was spotted by one of his former students. The company knew immediately why he was there.

[sandik]

And there was considerable controversy about making that short list visible at the time, for that reason.

It seemed so odd at the time, but perhaps they thought, in addition to the typical Seattle bias towards transparency, a leak would be inevitable.

And that's what I told colleagues, who were calling from all kinds of places, in various states of disbelief.

[California]

The New York Times is reporting that Lourdes Lopez is close to being named the next director:
http://artsbeat.blog...mi-city-ballet/

Two people with knowledge of the search, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid alienating company officials, said on Monday the committee was in favor of Ms. Lopez, 54. And as late as Thursday, the executive director, Nicholas T. Goldsborough, said in an internal email that it was clear "The board is set to choose Lourdes." But a company spokesman, Roberto Santiago, cautioned against anointing Ms. Lopez. "She may be the odds-on favorite, but don't count Jennifer out yet." Company officials said some opinions on the search committee could still be swayed, and the entire board could overrule the committee.

[Ray]

If Lopez is good at her job, then it sounds like a great fit: a Latina--a Cuban emigree, no less!--a Balanchine pedigree, and experience outside of the NYCB bubble. And she doesn't seem to have the urge to choreograph.