nanushka

In the U.S., at least, a romantic relationship between a supervisor and a subordinate can lead to legal liability for the company. The possibilities for abuse of power in such relationships, not to mention plenty of other potential workplace problems, should be obvious. Employers absolutely have a right—in the U.S., at least—to require disclosure of or even prohibit such relationships.

Right, same in the U.S. But my question was whether employers in the UK have the right to (if they choose) require disclosure of relationships, or to prohibit relationships between supervisors and subordinates, as they do here. In other words, is it true that, as was stated above, relationships between employees are, legally, "absolutely...none of their [i.e. employers'] business" in the UK? That's what would surprise me.

It seems pretty reasonable and understandable to me that an employer would not release detailed allegations against a terminated employee.

In the UK, do employers not have the right to prohibit (or require disclosure of) romantic/sexual relationships between employees (even supervisors and subordinates)? I would be very surprised to learn that that is in fact true.

I don't know very much about the Scarlett case in particular, so I don't know if/how this would apply, but as a general matter employers do certainly have a justifiable interest in some cases of "sexual behavior out of the workplace," particularly if it involves a relationship between a supervisor and one of their reports. I would think that a sexual relationship between a choreographer and a dancer might be of concern for some of the same reasons — i.e. to avoid issues of potential "pay to play" sexual harassment cases and to avoid any of the other problems that often arise from sexual/romantic supervisory relationships. Again, this isn't a comment on the Scarlett case in particular, but just about the general claim that sexual behavior outside the workplace is "none of their business."

NYCB has posted the opening night performance of "Waltz of the Flowers" on YouTube. I wasn't there, and it sounded like an odd insertion when I heard about it. But watching the video now, I have to say it strikes me as a very spirited and moving performance. The ensemble sounds great, and I can imagine it having been exciting for both performers and audience, especially given the circumstances.

Same, thanks @Barbara!

There were 18 wilis onstage Saturday night (not counting Myrtha, Moyna, Zulma and Giselle), which is the same number ABT typically uses (according to my programs from past Met seasons). Once the cottages and ramps were gone, I thought the stage looked less crowded in Act II.

Ohh thank you so much for sharing all those details, @California!

The Met actually offers tours like that to the public, for a fee. I took one once and was pretty satisfied with how much we got to see, for the price.

It seems like costume restoration would be a great thing to target some donors with — along with an agreement for program credit on any future performances in which restored costumes are used. It just seems too specific yet vague a thing to tack on to all ticket sales. (I imagine people thinking, "Why am I paying a restoration fee for unspecified costumes that are probably not even going to be used in the performance I'm paying to see?") It was such a pleasant relief to purchase 4 Met Opera tickets recently and have only a single $10 fee added at check-out. A much better way to treat ticket buyers.

They may not do a full week of every ballet or program — particularly since they've been doing some shorter runs of select works (not just mixed bills) in the past several Met seasons, and since they only have 5 weeks now.

There's a lovely article in the Times on Tom Forster's New York debut in Giselle, and his broader career trajectory. I'm not seeing Friday's performance, but I'm really hoping to see his Albrecht (among other new roles) at the Met next summer, if they do it again. I hope anyone who sees Friday's performance will report on how he does.

That's Stephanie Petersen, formerly Williams. She has not danced Myrta before, but she has danced Zulma, according to her bio. Also, Swan Lake PDT, Gold and Fleur de farine in Sleeping Beauty, Lady Capulet, Summer in Cinderella, and a few others. But nothing as big as Myrta before, no.

I am not a historian, but my understanding of the history of pandemics is that pandemics change history.

Yes, and “always” is an unwise word to use, I think, when considering world-historical events — especially those that get highly polarized by partisan politics.

I agree, @vipa. As annoying as I often find Macaulay, and as clueless and self-serving as the piece was at times, I think it did raise some good questions — ones that I've found myself thinking about in the past and ones that could be further considered by critics and critical viewers.

Ah, the cast sheet must have been wrong then, as they both had stars for "first time in role."

Before I even clicked on them, I just knew the comments would be warm and lovely! That story from Whelan about Apollo was no surprise, given Kowroski's stage presence.

I'd love to hear how LaFreniere and Danchig-Waring do in their Chaconne debuts tonight, if anyone's there! I'll be seeing the same program and mostly same casts tomorrow night.

Yes, it'd be nice if they included this info elsewhere for program listings. I always look up the times and note them before performances.

Timings are listed on the repertory pages. For La Valse, it says 29 min.

I wasn't there, but according to the cast list... AGON: Kowroski, Ramasar, Huxley, Adams, Hod, LeCrone, Zuniga, Villarini-Velez

Personally, I think Philadelphia Ballet does sound less provincial — not inherently, perhaps, but by association and tradition. The Cleveland Orchestra is not the Ohio Orchestra; the BSO is not the MSO; Houston Grand Opera is not Texas Grand Opera; Lyric Opera of Chicago is not Lyric Opera of Illinois; San Francisco Ballet is not California Ballet, or even Bay Area Ballet. Major performing arts organizations in major cities tend to be named for the city they're in, not the state or region. (Perhaps it's a way of signaling something about the prominence of the city and, by extension, the organization. I'm not sure.) Those that aren't are often more regional companies/ensembles, with less prominent profiles. There are probably exceptions, but I think there are far more examples that fit the "rule."

Yes. That too. The two work together. (My previous comment was description, not criticism.)