Peter Martins Sexual Harassment Allegations

[Helene]

A lot of websites remove links, but don't delete the underlying page(s) that can be found in searches.

 

[Kellyaire]

I'm sorry that she's not teaching at SAB any longer.   The daughter of a good friend of mine was looking forward to studying with her this winter.

 

[nanushka]

According to the Times, Peter Martins remains an unwelcome presence at NYCB:

https://nyti.ms/2NiDDUT

Quote

Peter Martins was supposed to have bowed out of New York City Ballet, the company he ran for 35 years.

But more than a year after he left amid allegations of sexual harassment and physical and verbal abuse, he continues to make his presence felt in ways both big and small — including by ordering last-minute cast changes in performances of his ballets and showing up backstage after a show.

...

The abrupt change was jarring to Jonathan Stafford, the company’s interim leader, who said he had thought the casting was “locked in.” He said he was also upset when Mr. Martins defied his instructions to wait until the dancers had exited before going backstage after the first performance of “The Sleeping Beauty” last week.

Bouder had some particularly harsh words for him:

Quote

In an interview, Ms. Bouder emphasized that she continues to support City Ballet and remains “very much a part of” the company. “Dealing with somebody like Peter — who could be mean and could be a tyrant,” she said, “how do you change that reality when it’s been that way for so long?”

“I wish every woman could stand up and say, ‘That isn’t right,’” Ms. Bouder added. “Women, in particular, have been silenced for too long.”

 

Edited February 22, 2019 by nanushka

[abatt]

I saw both Hyltin's first performance and Bouder's first performance of SB during this run.  I can say with absolute certainty that Bouder was thrilling and excellent, while Hyltin was weak and clearly having difficulty.  I cannot imagine any reason for putting Hyltin in as first cast instead of Bouder other than to retaliate against Bouder.   However, the company gave Martins that right as the choreographer, so even if his motives for the cast change was not ethical, they are nevertheless stuck with his decisions and control.  

I am pleased to learn that Martins will stage Balanchine ballets around the world.  Love him or hate him, he has extensive knowledge which should be passed on to others.

[Helene]

29 minutes ago, abatt said:

However, the company gave Martins that right as the choreographer, so even if his motives for the cast change was not ethical, they are nevertheless stuck with his decisions and control.  

They might also decide not to perform his work in future seasons.

[abatt]

They have too much money invested in SB, and it is a box office sell out for every show.  I don't think they will dump this SB.

[nanushka]

35 minutes ago, abatt said:

They have too much money invested in SB, and it is a box office sell out for every show.  I don't think they will dump this SB.

Still, they could easily send a strong message (if "they" = new leadership inclined to do so) by dropping those works that aren't so essential, and thus demonstrating that Martins' actions have consequences. As a result, they may not in fact be stuck with his decisions and control. If it means his works (other than a few box-office necessities) get dropped from the repertoire, he might change his behavior. If he doesn't, his power and presence will be diminished.

[atm711]

1 hour ago, abatt said:

 

I am pleased to learn that Martins will stage Balanchine ballets around the world.  Love him or hate him, he has extensive knowledge which should be passed on to others.

Hardly pleased!! ----a better choice would be Farrell or Vilella😇

[abatt]

Mariinsky asked specifically for Peter Martins, not for the  Farrell or Vilella.

[atm711]

3 minutes ago, abatt said:

Mariinsky asked specifically for Peter Martins, not for the  Farrell or Vilella.

I am sure Horgan had a lot to do with that.

[FPF]

21 minutes ago, nanushka said:

Still, they could easily send a strong message (if "they" = new leadership inclined to do so) by dropping those works that aren't so essential, and thus demonstrating that Martins' actions have consequences. As a result, they may not in fact be stuck with his decisions and control. If it means his works (other than a few box-office necessities) get dropped from the repertoire, he might change his behavior. If he doesn't, his power and presence will be diminished.

Other than Sleeping Beauty, they could dump every other one of his works and I would not miss them at all.  And they could acquire/rechoreograph a different version (even including the Balanchine Garland Dance).

It doesn't seem that punitive to my (non-dancer) point of view to be cast, but not first cast.   I respect Bouder for not backing down from her previous statement, but I wonder if she will continue to be cast at all in Martins' works after this statement: “Dealing with somebody like Peter — who could be mean and could be a tyrant,” she said, “how do you change that reality when it’s been that way for so long?” 

[Balletwannabe]

Sad that frustrations have to printed publicly.  He sounds like a possessive person.  Hope they can get over this hump and drop all of his ballets.  No reason they can't do a new version of SB (but that's me being selfish- I didn't enjoy most of his SB). 

Edited February 22, 2019 by Balletwannabe

[abatt]

37 minutes ago, FPF said:

 I respect Bouder for not backing down from her previous statement, but I wonder if she will continue to be cast at all in Martins' works after this statement: “Dealing with somebody like Peter — who could be mean and could be a tyrant,” she said, “how do you change that reality when it’s been that way for so long?” 

It is likely that Bouder has never worked anywhere other than NYCB.  If she did, she would know that the working world is full of bosses who are tyrannical and unpleasant.  This is not unique to NYCB.

[Balletwannabe]

Just now, abatt said:

It is likely that Bouder has never worked anywhere other than NYCB.  If she did, she would know that the working world is full of bosses who are tyrannical and unpleasant.  This is not unique to NYCB.

Tyrannical?  In US companies?  Do you have first hand knowledge of this?  I'll certainly believe you if you do. 

[Kathleen O'Connell]

34 minutes ago, FPF said:

I respect Bouder for not backing down from her previous statement, but I wonder if she will continue to be cast at all in Martins' works after this statement: “Dealing with somebody like Peter — who could be mean and could be a tyrant,” she said, “how do you change that reality when it’s been that way for so long?” 

Eh. There are plenty of non-Martins ballets in the NYCB rep that are worthy of Bouder's particular talents. Is she regularly cast in any Martins ballet other than Sleeping Beauty and Barber Violin Concerto? 

It's time for the Board to do their job and select — and fully empower — a new AD. And in the interim, someone needs to have Jonathan Stafford's back. Putting Martins' ballets in mothballs for a while, as Nanushka suggested above, would indeed be an excellent brush-back pitch. 

[nanushka]

16 minutes ago, abatt said:

It is likely that Bouder has never worked anywhere other than NYCB.  If she did, she would know that the working world is full of bosses who are tyrannical and unpleasant.  This is not unique to NYCB.

In what way do her words suggest that she is naive to that fact? She didn't say or suggest that NYCB, as a workplace, was unique in being led by a tyrant (her word, not necessarily mine), so far as I can see.

From the fact that there are multiple tyrants it doesn't necessarily follow that a person shouldn't call someone out for being one of them.

Edited February 22, 2019 by nanushka

[abatt]

12 minutes ago, nanushka said:

In what way do her words suggest that she is naive to that fact? She didn't say or suggest that NYCB, as a workplace, was unique in being led by a tyrant (her word, not necessarily mine), so far as I can see.

From the fact that there are multiple tyrants it doesn't necessarily follow that a person shouldn't call someone out for being one of them.

I guess the unique thing is that people who  deal with unpleasant bosses daily generally don't get a chance to complain about it in a published article in the New York Times.  Poor Jon Stafford.  He's caught in the middle of all this.

Edited February 22, 2019 by abatt

[vipa]

I'll go ahead and say that the article bothered me. Who knows who at the NYTimes, such that while the art of ballet gets little coverage, we get an article about "unfair" casting of Sleeping Beauty, that brings up yet again accusations against Martins, Ramasar etc. Choreographers get to cast their ballets. IMO that's the way is should be. Martins changed casting before it was announced. He didn't take Bouder out of the ballet or reduce the number of performances she had, he merely decided she wouldn't be first cast. In the article she trashed a colleague indirectly be saying that the only possible reason for the change was because of her own outspokenness. Stirling Hyltin is an established principal who has been doing the ballet for a while, and many think is a more natural Aurora than Bouder. In the past I've preferred Hyltin, but I saw neither of them this season, so can't speak to their most recent performances of the role. However, isn't it possible that Martins figured he wouldn't have many more chances to cast the thing, and went with his preference rather than seniority? 

Hyltin, in some ways, flies under the radar in that she doesn't seem to have a big social media presence. I think she was wise to not comment for this article. Bouder put her in a terrible position. 

[abatt]

Vipa, I completely agree with you.  SB has been running for two weeks without any review by the NYTimes.  Instead, they decide to publish Bouder's complaints about getting third cast.  While I do believe Bouder was  switched as a result of retaliation from Martins, I'm also lacking in sympathy for her.  She did, after all, get cast and has performed the role several times during the run of SB.  She thoughtlessly put Hyltin in an awful position.  For someone who purports to care about the health and well being of her fellow dancers, she had no problem throwing Hyltin under the bus. 

 

Hasn't this company had enough of its dirty laundry aired in public already?  Do we really want to see a NY Times article every time a dancer feels she was undervalued and switched to third cast instead of first cast?

Edited February 22, 2019 by abatt

[nanushka]

9 minutes ago, vipa said:

Choreographers get to cast their ballets. IMO that's the way is should be. Martins changed casting before it was announced.

Certainly, but that's not all that apparently happened. Also from the article:

Quote

The abrupt change was jarring to Jonathan Stafford, the company’s interim leader, who said he had thought the casting was “locked in.” He said he was also upset when Mr. Martins defied his instructions to wait until the dancers had exited before going backstage after the first performance of “The Sleeping Beauty” last week.

“Unfortunately, he did not respect my wishes, even though I was crystal clear,” said Mr. Stafford, a ballet master and former principal dancer. “I was as surprised as anybody,” he added. “One dancer complained to me directly.”

These sensitivities stem from the circumstances surrounding Mr. Martins’s departure. 

I'm not necessarily disputing your broader point about the article—but the problem was apparently not quite as simple or minor as how you've characterized it.

Bouder is not the only one who's outspoken in the article; so is Stafford.

Edited February 22, 2019 by nanushka

[ABT Fan]

6 minutes ago, vipa said:

In the article she {Bouder} trashed a colleague indirectly be saying that the only possible reason for the change was because of her own outspokenness. Stirling Hyltin is an established principal who has been doing the ballet for a while, and many think is a more natural Aurora than Bouder. In the past I've preferred Hyltin, but I saw neither of them this season, so can't speak to their most recent performances of the role. However, isn't it possible that Martins figured he wouldn't have many more chances to cast the thing, and went with his preference rather than seniority? 

Hyltin, in some ways, flies under the radar in that she doesn't seem to have a big social media presence. I think she was wise to not comment for this article. Bouder put her in a terrible position. 

It wasn't the best idea for Bouder to say such a thing about Hyltin, a fellow dancer/principal. Agree, it was smart of her not to comment. Stafford is caught in a terrible position, but I think he too should not have commented.

The article in general wasn't necessary. I wish the Times would give it rest and stop rehashing the drama. Let it go until there's a new AD to announce and let it be at that.

[dirac]

17 minutes ago, vipa said:

I'll go ahead and say that the article bothered me. Who knows who at the NYTimes, such that while the art of ballet gets little coverage, we get an article about "unfair" casting of Sleeping Beauty, that brings up yet again accusations against Martins, Ramasar etc. Choreographers get to cast their ballets. IMO that's the way is should be. Martins changed casting before it was announced. He didn't take Bouder out of the ballet or reduce the number of performances she had, he merely decided she wouldn't be first cast. In the article she trashed a colleague indirectly be saying that the only possible reason for the change was because of her own outspokenness. Stirling Hyltin is an established principal who has been doing the ballet for a while, and many think is a more natural Aurora than Bouder. In the past I've preferred Hyltin, but I saw neither of them this season, so can't speak to their most recent performances of the role. However, isn't it possible that Martins figured he wouldn't have many more chances to cast the thing, and went with his preference rather than seniority? 

Hyltin, in some ways, flies under the radar in that she doesn't seem to have a big social media presence. I think she was wise to not comment for this article. Bouder put her in a terrible position. 

This.

My takeaway is that Board needs to make its long-overdue decision about the leadership pronto. This is inside baseball of the worst kind and it's unfortunate that Stafford decided to fan the flames. I certainly can’t imagine any responsible company leader whining to the press about such a matter. 

Good to hear that Martins will be working for the Trust. I expect that will also give him something to do and get him out of town for long stretches, which will likely be beneficial for all concerned until things have settled.

I'm sorry for Hyltin. 

 

 

[Kathleen O'Connell]

22 minutes ago, vipa said:

Hyltin, in some ways, flies under the radar in that she doesn't seem to have a big social media presence. 

Hyltin doesn't post to Instagram very often, but her post wishing Indiana Woodward every success in her debut as Aurora is an example of how it should be done. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BuKH1ZHgZiw/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

[abatt]

28 minutes ago, dirac said:

This.

My takeaway is that Board needs to make its long-overdue decision about the leadership pronto. This is inside baseball of the worst kind and it's unfortunate that Stafford decided to fan the flames. I certainly can’t imagine any responsible company leader whining to the press about such a matter. 

Good to hear that Martins will be working for the Trust. I expect that will also give him something to do and get him out of town for long stretches, which will likely be beneficial for all concerned until things have settled.

I'm sorry for Hyltin. 

 

 

Stafford should have given a simple "no comment" to the NY Times.

 

25 minutes ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

Hyltin doesn't post to Instagram very often, but her post wishing Indiana Woodward every success in her debut as Aurora is an example of how it should be done. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BuKH1ZHgZiw/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Class and integrity personified.

Edited February 22, 2019 by abatt

[canbelto]

I'm confused. Bouder wasnt given opening night but she was given three performances including the first Friday performance which is often the most well sold performance. What she said about Hyltin was graceless.