Gomes and ABT

[Pique Arabesque]

13 minutes ago, abatt said:

He may still be getting jobs here and there, but the main source of his employment  and income are gone, and his reputation has been permanently and  damaged.

I agree with your first point, but men have a (maybe not so) surprising capacity to persevere and rebuild despite the various dings that their reputation has taken. Mel Gibson comes to mind. The allegations against Casey Affleck did not prevent him from winning an Oscar, and James Franco recently won a Golden Globe despite the whispers surrounding him. 

[cubanmiamiboy]

Whereas there are certainly truth and good intentions behind many of the current array of public figures sexual harrassment cases there is also, I am sure, those no so honorable people willing to jump on the "when in doubt, sue" wagon, foaming at the perspective of a big monetary retribution from a big pocket.  We don't Marcelo's case deep in details, but he might very well be on either group. In any case,  " ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat "

[aurora]

7 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

I don't think Bell is too tall as he's seen in clips partnering Lane and Brandt (who are both very short) and he's a good fit for both (not hovering over them when they're on pointe, but just enough of a height difference). I'd say he's no more than 5'9 ish. He'd be great as Bluebird and I'd like to see him to take on a peasant pas or the equivalent. He's not ready for a princely role yet (his first "big" role is coming up in Thirteen Diversions in D.C.).

I'd say closer to 6' He is a lot taller than Bocca:

 

 

[AB'sMom]

I don’t know Aran Bell’s exact height, but he is quite tall. Definitely not 5’9”. I saw him at the Nutcracker cast party and I’d say he’s in the 6’ range.  

[Fraildove]

Aran grew a great deal and from standing next to him, I would guess at least 6’, maybe even 6’1. My husband is 5’11 and Aran was taller than him. It was one of the reasons his progress slowed as a teen. He had an enormous growth spurt that caused him to have to relearn where his center was as well as how to turn and jump given his new height. He has improved greatly and I hope he can finally reach the potential everyone saw in him as an 11 and 12 year old very petit young dancer. And such a nice person!

[Helene]

He looks about a foot taller than Ferri even with her head titled, and I thought she was at least 5'2".

That's a huge growth spurt, but I'm so glad he came through it.  Tall men are at a premium as partners, and he was always so elegant, even very young.

[California]

I so enjoyed those little clips last year of Aran Bell rehearsing, after seeing him years ago when he was young. I think ABT has a winner and I just hope they nurture him well, with good coaching and roles. He's somebody I'd buy a ticket to see in a good role, unlike many of their current principals. I suspect I'm not alone in this.

[dirac]

22 hours ago, abatt said:

I would be careful to separate out people who are trained  journalists and those who are editors or operators of trade publications regarding dance.  It's become clear to me that simply being editor or writer of a trade publication does not mean that the person has any actual background in journalism, or the standards applicable to formal journalism.

A good point, abatt, but Perron describes herself as a journalist and Scherr as a writer for newspapers and other general interest publications qualifies as one as well. Regardless, their comments here weren't appropriate, however well-intentioned.

[Helene]

Scherr writes for the Financial Times, which adheres to journalistic standards.

[ABT Fan]

I think the ballet gods must have read this thread, because Bell is now cast in the Leaves of Fading pas (replacing Gomes) with Abrera on Feb 24 in Chicago!

http://www.abt.org/calendar.aspx?startdate=2/1/2018

Edited January 12, 2018 by ABT Fan
Added link

[AB'sMom]

2 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

I think the ballet gods must have read this thread, because Bell is now cast in the Leaves of Fading pas (replacing Gomes) with Abrera on Feb 24 in Chicago!

http://www.abt.org/calendar.aspx?startdate=2/1/2018

Amazing!

[jessa_sissonne]

Has anyone seen Marcelo’s movie? I see it’s playing at Film Forum in New York. 

[Barbara]

I saw it last week and made one mention of it in a previous thread. That comment had to do with how deeply sad it was to see Marcelo and Veronika dancing together and looking ravishing. It was truly hard to watch the doc through the lens of his resignation. Also, the footage is very old, it seemed from many years ago. For example there's one shot of David Hallberg looking so young and unlike his current appearance that it was jarring. Also a shot of his family showed his niece as a small child, and she must now be close to teenage going by Marcelo's more recent (pre-resignation) social media posts. Yet if you didn't know you would think these shots were more current. There is no timeline, which I felt was a detriment. In addition, the film makers clearly had no access to shoot ABT company rehearsals or performances so Marcelo dancing with his home company is absent. That being said, though it was bitter, it was also sweet to see him again. My favorite sequence was Marcelo teaching partnering skills to students with the help of Luciana Voltolini (also no longer with ABT) that was fascinating. 

[California]

29 minutes ago, Barbara said:

I saw it last week and made one mention of it in a previous thread. That comment had to do with how deeply sad it was to see Marcelo and Veronika dancing together and looking ravishing. It was truly hard to watch the doc through the lens of his resignation. Also, the footage is very old, it seemed from many years ago. For example there's one shot of David Hallberg looking so young and unlike his current appearance that it was jarring. Also a shot of his family showed his niece as a small child, and she must now be close to teenage going by Marcelo's more recent (pre-resignation) social media posts. Yet if you didn't know you would think these shots were more current. There is no timeline, which I felt was a detriment. In addition, the film makers clearly had no access to shoot ABT company rehearsals or performances so Marcelo dancing with his home company is absent. That being said, though it was bitter, it was also sweet to see him again. My favorite sequence was Marcelo teaching partnering skills to students with the help of Luciana Voltolini (also no longer with ABT) that was fascinating. 

The film has a long history. The producers were trying to raise money through GoFundMe back in 2010. In periodic e-mail updates they said that rights to filming were very expensive and they were glad to be able to film his Bayadere in Japan and something else in Brazil, as I vaguely remember. Then they had trouble getting post-production funding. So I'm glad they were able to release something at long last.  I hope to see it someday. Donors got to watch a rough cut a couple of years ago that was available for just a few days on-line. So little of his dancing is available, this will be appreciated.

[Helene]

The film started with Kickstarter, which is an all-or-nothing proposition: you either make your goal, or you get nothing.  It was the early days, and campaign strategizing was in its infancy.

[California]

9 hours ago, Helene said:

The film started with Kickstarter, which is an all-or-nothing proposition: you either make your goal, or you get nothing.  It was the early days, and campaign strategizing was in its infancy.

Yes. My mistake -- Kickstarter not GoFundMe. But years after they were pleased they got enough to go into production, they were sending out e-mails that they didn't have enough money for post-production at that juncture, so that delayed things even more. 

[altongrimes]

On 12/21/2017 at 10:36 AM, abatt said:

This is horrible.  I have no idea what Marcelo did that led to this result.  However, if someone does something bad that has nothing to do with his employment or any former or present employee of the company, why does ABT feel that it needs to be the enforcer of Marcelo's punishment for this purported bad act.  If there was criminality, then the criminal justice system should be utilized.  If it was a civil wrong, then the person(s_ involved should bring a civil suit against him.   Who appointed ABT judge and jury of wrongs unrelated to his employment?

What a sad day for Marcelo and ABT.

 

I add my wholehearted agreement to your train of thought. Why are mere allegations sufficient to elicit such a response from ABT? I find this news deeply troubling. Why and by whom has society now been given license to ruin reputations and lives by mere words? I am repulsed by this rush to judgement. 

[nanushka]

37 minutes ago, altongrimes said:

I add my wholehearted agreement to your train of thought. Why are mere allegations sufficient to elicit such a response from ABT? I find this news deeply troubling. Why and by whom has society now been given license to ruin reputations and lives by mere words? I am repulsed by this rush to judgement. 

When and how was there a rush to judgment? There may have been one behind the closed doors of ABT's administrative offices, but we simply don't know. All we do know is that ABT "was made aware of a highly concerning allegation" (which may have been "mere words," but also may have been accompanied by substantial harder evidence) and "initiated an independent investigation," during which Marcelo resigned. No judgment was passed down — at least not so far as the public has been made aware. Furthermore, Marcelo has made no public statement in defense of himself. (It's a silence that is increasingly troubling to me.)

Edited January 18, 2018 by nanushka

[altongrimes]

Well, I stand corrected in this matter. Thank you for your illuminating response. I suppose at the root of my flawed response is a sense of profound disappointment at the loss of an artist so heavily gifted. I will never forget the power of his onstage presence. A magnificent performer capable of attracting "the lightning". And so he did. Many times.

[nanushka]

56 minutes ago, altongrimes said:

Well, I stand corrected in this matter. Thank you for your illuminating response. I suppose at the root of my flawed response is a sense of profound disappointment at the loss of an artist so heavily gifted. I will never forget the power of his onstage presence. A magnificent performer capable of attracting "the lightning". And so he did. Many times.

I completely share your feelings, and I truly hope it emerges that Marcelo is completely innocent.

And beyond that disappointment, the nearly total lack of publicly available information is a big part of what makes this situation so difficult and unsettling for me and I think many others.

[ABT Fan]

4 hours ago, nanushka said:

I completely share your feelings, and I truly hope it emerges that Marcelo is completely innocent.

And beyond that disappointment, the nearly total lack of publicly available information is a big part of what makes this situation so difficult and unsettling for me and I think many others.

Same here.

I've been checking ABT's site ("ABT News" for a press release) and Gomes' Instagram and personal website nearly everyday hoping for a statement of some kind. I'm dumbfounded that nothing else has been said and at this point I have a feeling nothing ever will be.

[canbelto]

I really hope Gomes releases some type of statement to his fans. He does not have to divulge details but some sort of statement and explanation would be appreciated for his fanbase who have followed him for more than 20 years.

[ABT Fan]

We were discussing Aran Bell upthread and trying to figure out how tall he is. ABT posted a photo from last night's cast of Thirteen Diversions on their Instagram which clearly shows Bell as the tallest one of the bunch, taller than Stearns (though Stearns looks to be slouching just a little). So, he's got to be over 6', much taller than I thought, which is great! 

 

[fondoffouettes]

On 1/11/2018 at 5:27 PM, ABT Fan said:

I don't think Bell is too tall as he's seen in clips partnering Lane and Brandt (who are both very short) and he's a good fit for both (not hovering over them when they're on pointe, but just enough of a height difference). I'd say he's no more than 5'9 ish. He'd be great as Bluebird and I'd like to see him to take on a peasant pas or the equivalent. He's not ready for a princely role yet (his first "big" role is coming up in Thirteen Diversions in D.C.).

Same for Whiteley: he's talented but he's yet to even take on a demi-soloist role, so in no way would they give him a leading role yet. His upper body is gorgeous but his feet are frequently sloppy. He has a lot of potential. But, he needs to tackle a demi- or soloist role before diving into Siegfried, etc.

I didn't think Bell was too tall either, but then I was surprised to see how tall he looks in this recent pic on Instagram. He looks at least as tall if not taller than Stearns, who has partnered some of the tallest women in the company. And he's standing next to April Giangeruso, who I believe is on the tall side. (I know height can be tricky to determine based on photos, though.)

 

 

 

[California]

Gomes will perform with Misty Copeland at a Gala for the Sarasota Ballet April 7:

https://www.sarasotaballet.org/events/sarasota-ballets-27th-season-gala