ABT Fan

I took that to mean both, as in the dancers AND Peter Martins, not the number of dancers specifically. ...."both the dancers who are accusing Mr. Martins, and Mr. Martins himself...."

This just came out in the Times. Scroll down to the last "To the Editor" submission. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/14/opinion/sexual-harassment.html

I finished this today, reluctantly. I wish it kept going. Very engrossing book, though at times I didn't like his writing style (he's not a "writer" so the contents far outweighed his style, for me). I really admire his willingness to lay bare his internal world, especially during his injury and long, arduous recovery. He was frank about his depression, anxiety, and unhealthy coping mechanisms. Hallberg is such an emotional person, and at times was so internally tortured, that I wished I could have given him a hug and somehow make it all better. He says nothing about the end of his Bolshoi tenure, so I assume he's hoping he can return there some day. He's very thankful to so many people who helped him along the way, whether during his early years or during his recovery. A very grateful and humble guy.

I didn’t, which is why I don’t have an opinion on it.

Agree. I wish the article had given more detail about how these four individuals will lead. Separately, even though NYCB does not forbid an AD to have family in their charge (unlike romantic/spousal relationships) I still think that's never a great idea. To me, spouses, boyfriends/girlfriends, dating partners, family, all run the risk of perceived favoritism even if there isn't any, and I think perception is important. Though spouses seem to garner the most wariness, understandably. But, by my saying that I am in no way accusing or assuming that Stafford will favor his sister in any casting decisions (if he will even have any say in casting, because that isn't known yet). Martins got plenty of flack over casting his son, Nilas, in certain roles. I'm not saying those decisions were based on favoritism, I don't know. But, again its perception. I also find it odd that NYCB has yet to issue a press release announcing Martins' LoA and now the intermediary team. If they have, there's nothing on their website.

I predict Martin's temporary leave of absence is going to turn into a resignation very quickly. There's no coming back from this and the board will want to send the right message to the dancers, the company at large and the public. Having him on leave for weeks on end will prevent the company from focusing on the work and moving forward. Finish their investigation, but based on what we know so far, I'm thinking that won't take very long. Appoint an interim director, then search for the right replacement.

Copeland is the only principal who sells out the house w/ her "star" power. SL sells with other casts, but she sells it out.

Oh boy. I don't remember any such grief or upheaval when Stiefel took over.

First, it's been challenging to keep up with this fast and furious thread. What a sad situation! I agree with Kathleen that it's time for a new generation of leadership, although, I'd love to see Farrell, Villella, and others from the Mr. B generation brought in as coaches for Balanchine rep. It's a shame that they've not been utilized. I do think Lourdes Lopez would be a good candidate, though she's from the "older" generation, but it would be a shame if she left Miami after only 5 years and while she's making, what seems to me, like great progress. That said, if Justin Peck were named AD anytime soon I'd be appalled; and worried. He's way too young and has no experience leading an organization, small or large. And, at least for now he's purely focused on his choreography. I don't think Millepied is a good choice either. Yikes. It's too bad Woetzel is already committed to Julliard because IMO I think he could do great things. But, I can't imagine he'd want to wrangle himself out of a prestigious and much-publicized appointment. That aside, I can't imagine who else they could consider when the time comes (sooner rather later?). Separately, the dance world IS a very touchy, feely environment and the ability to teach and coach would be severely impacted if touching were banned or restricted. I never felt uncomfortable whenever any teacher/coach/director, male or female, would poke or prod me in class or rehearsal. Words aren't always enough to fully explain choreography or a correction. And, dancing with others, partnering and otherwise, requires a lot of very close touching. So, dancers become immune to it (not immune to say someone grabbing your crotch or your breast, for example, because that would never be necessary for a correction. If a choreographer puts that in dance, though, well I'm not going to go into that...). That is why you can watch rehearsals and see dancers "not responding" or not seemed fazed by a director or another dancer touching them whether it's during notes, while they're talking, just standing around, etc. Regarding Martins, I don't really know what else to say other than that I'm appalled this is happening and I hope the investigation is thorough and unsparing (whatever the results). I think a few others have already said that even if he's cleared, it's hard to see how he'd come out of this smelling like roses. Lastly, I feel really bad for the dancers who are in the beginning of their Nutcracker run and have to go out on stage every night during this. They're professionals obviously, but they're human too and this has to be a huge distraction. I hope they can focus as best as they can and still dance their hearts out.

The Met knew about this for a year. I'm wonder if any management heads will roll.

That's true. The point I was making though, and not very clearly, is regardless that no one else wanted the job, McKenzie was hired without experience. So, the precedent has been set for someone without management experience to be able to come in and successfully run the company, turning them around financially and keeping them afloat during subsequently difficult financial times (despite what many of us may think about his casting decisions....). If down the road, some on the board wanted to hire someone like Gomes (assuming he obtained no management experience in the meantime), they could turn to the naysayers and say "Look, McKenzie did it, and during extremely difficult times, and we believe Gomes can too (or Joe or Jane Smoe)....". I agree that Julie Kent should be considered as well. From what I see, she's doing wonderful things over at Washington.

I don't know about realistic, but the board would be weighing his star power, which is huge and bigger than Steifel's and Gomes', plus his schmoozing/fund-raising ability against all he's done at PA ( the good, bad, and ugly) and at his own company prior to that. IMO that resume has some extraordinary achievements peppered with several low-class/unprofessional bullet points. But, let's say for a moment he does go to ABT, if he's truly honest with himself (and I think he would be) I don't think there'd be much purging to make room for PA dancers; the talent across corps, soloist and principal between the two companies is not comparable. Baca was in the corps before going to PA as a principal (though he seemed on the verge of getting promoted). If he brought over his principals to be principals at ABT, I think he'd lose a lot of balletomanes and donors and be skewered by the critics and he wouldn't last. He's made some (many?) bad judgment calls in how he's handled some things in PA, but I think in terms of recognizing talent he's very smart so I can't imagine he'd bring over scores of dancers; maybe a few but they'd come in at a lower level. And, how many would be willing to do that anyway? However, though Gomes has had no management experience as California mentioned, McKenzie didn't either (unless you count his one year as an artistic assoc at Washington, whatever that meant). I'm not saying that's a good formula, I'd rather see someone with experience like Steifel or Bocca. But, I think McKenzie has another decade or so left anyway.

This is exactly what has been on my mind especially with the creation of the NY Friends assoc. It's a two-for-one: getting some much needed cash for now while potentially lining up future donors.

I also wanted to go this year, but decided I just can't stomach the prices. It's a bit much!

They look like students, probably from an area school. Thank heavens they weren't wearing pointe shoes because that floor looked about as slick as an ice-skating rink.

Do you know who her partner will be? Their website doesn't list any other casting.

Within 30 minutes of each other?? Who made that decision, a fifth-grader?

Glancing at Nutcracker availability, it looks to be selling better than their Sleeping Beauty and other Fall programs did, but that's to be expected (one would hope anyway). Let's see if they have any Nut flash sales. That would be ominous.

I'm on chapter 8 and it's a fascinating read. Very sad to read about the awful and persistent bullying he went through. Wonderful that his parents have been so extremely supportive of him in every area of his life. He writes in such a descriptive way that I feel like I'm witnessing everything he went through. The re-counting of his teacher, Mr. Han, saying to his parents "How's Mommy and Daddy doing?" made me laugh out loud!

Is Philly-area donor-ship really down that much that they're courting NY? Do they figure NY isn't as disgruntled as Philly over the slash-and-burn tactics (and continuous re-hashing in the news) that Angel has displayed so they'll be more likely to support them? Or, is there an ulterior motive hidden somewhere?

Thank you for posting this. I hadn't seen this one. Just gorgeous.

James Whiteside will not be dancing in Nutcracker due to hernia surgery. Hope he recovers well! He was scheduled for 3 performances with Gillian Murphy. ABT's site hasn't been updated yet but SCFTA's states that Gomes will take his first performance and Blaine Hoven will take the other two. Great opportunity for Hoven!

Yeah, strangely no mention of that.

I couldn't even finish this article. Time to move on, dude.