Rick

2 minutes ago, KayDenmark said:

I'm still not convinced that the New York City Ballet is responsible for what happened to her, however. Perhaps new evidence will emerge that will convince me that it is. I just haven't seen it yet. 

It's indeed tricky to pin liability on the New York City Ballet, but surely NYCB would identified the other participants in the emails in the course of its investigation. Why were there only two suspensions and one resignation? That doesn't support NYCB's assertion that "appropriate action" had been taken and that the matter's closed as far as the organization is concerned.

7 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

The worst is yet to come I fear. 

The scandal extends far beyond Finlay, Catazaro, and Ramasar. There were several unnamed male dancers and at least one donor who participated in the emails, according to the complaint.

1 minute ago, Helene said:

The Company's stance, related by the Board President, (paraphased) is, We looked at the allegations, we determined that we weren't liable, we treated it as an isolated incident among individuals, we punished the dancers who didn't resign with the appropriate punishment, and we are not responsible for anything beyond that.

Here's the official statement from the Gothamist:

NYC Ballet released a statement, "New York City Ballet is confident that there is no basis for this lawsuit, and vehemently denies the allegations that the Company has condoned, encouraged, or fostered the kind of activity that Mr. Finlay and the others named have participated in, which were off-hours activities that were not known, approved, or facilitated by NYCB. Despite that, once NYCB was made aware of the allegations we investigated them and found that the actions had violated the Company’s norms of conduct, and immediate and appropriate action was taken. NYCB learned of this matter directly from the plaintiff’s attorney, Jordan Merson, in June of this year. Merson had contacted NYCB to try to negotiate a payment from the Company to settle the matter to avoid adverse publicity, but NYCB refused the demand. NYCB has no liability for the actions specified in the complaint and has taken the appropriate disciplinary actions for the dancers involved."

I can't help wondering what Ashley Bouder will say about this eventually. She's the much admired, and vocal, feminist among the female principals, as profiled in the
New York Times.

9 minutes ago, tutu said:

Many members of the company also expressed support on Ramasar’s (public) social media in the days following the suspension announcement. If that’s the first response to these kinds of allegations, it makes me sick.

The last few comments on Ramasar's most recent IG post are not so supportive.

What's confusing is that the exact same "half a kilo" quote is attributed to a donor (paragraph 27, in reference to "ABT girls"), and another NYCB male principal (paragraph 55, in reference to NYCB female dancers).

6 minutes ago, Fraildove said:

The fact that the board had the complaint and felt that all three only deserved a small suspension makes me sick on a whole other level. They clearly have shown that every bit has been lip service and that the safety and respect of the women this involved is worth nothing. I just don’t understand how a board can continue and continue to cover up, hide, downplay, and deny and then expect everything to be ok and wonder why their organization is being targeted. 😢😱🤔

I agree. The morale among NYCB's female dancers must be at a low point.

12 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

Ramasar has never exactly been a boy scout.  Lest we forget:

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/ballet-dancer-pleads-guilty-cocaine-charges-article-1.237922

The link was about Nilas Martins, not Amar - or did I miss something?

2 minutes ago, mille-feuille said:

I'm glad that Amar (and Zachary for that matter) doesn't seem to have engaged in behavior nearly as heinous as Chase's, but I doubt I'll be able to watch Amar's dancing with the same rapture as before. 😕 This is just so disappointing all around.

On the contrary, according to paragraphs 52-54 of the complaint, Amar sent Finlay the photo of a bare chested female ballet dancer, and "the two continued to exchange several sexual and naked photographs of female Ballet members on that day and at one point, Mr. Finlay noted how he had 'Already seen that one. l know you have more'."

If this is true, then Amar's behavior is equally reprehensible.

5 minutes ago, mille-feuille said:

Item 57 of the court document names Craig Hall as someone who was part of the text/ email chain and voiced his enjoyment of the images/ video(s). But he's identified as a former student at SAB rather than a member of the interim team. Are there two Craig Halls? To think that a member of the interim team might be involved in this... It makes me sick.

I assumed it's a different Craig Hall in the email chain since there were no other suspensions or resignations. Catazaro and Ramasar were specifically named as recipients of the emails and photos from Finlay.

14 minutes ago, fondoffouettes said:

How old is Waterbury? The story mentions she's a teenager.

Waterbury is 19, according to the Daily News article.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny-metro-ballerina-lawsuit-nude-photos-20180905-story.html

Plaintiff Alexandra Waterbury, 19, detailed how top male performers and other men affiliated with the group surreptitiously snapped sexually explicit photos of ballerinas or secretly shot video of sexual acts with co-workers — and freely shared them in a group chat.

That's what makes the lawsuit so disturbing, that this type of behavior is considered normal at the New York City Ballet, that even donors expected this stuff from the male principals.

Here are some details about Chase Finlay.

NY Post: Ex-NYC Ballet dancer joked about abusing ballerinas like ‘farm animals’: suit

The ABT also offers same day rush tickets in the mid to rear orchestra for $35.

https://www.metopera.org/Season/Tickets/Rush-Page/

"ABT is offering a limited number of $35 Rush tickets for every ABT performance of the Met Season to be purchased online on a first come, first served basis. Rush ticket purchases will require registering in advance."

12 hours ago, canbelto said:

I'm very tired but I was there tonight and it was just one of those performances where everyone was on. I thought Katherine Williams made a wonderful debut as Queen of the Dryads. This role brings out the best in Isabella Boylston -- her jumps and balances were amazing. Fouettes good -- singles with doubles mixed in, little traveling. Simkin was spectacular. I lost count of how many 540's and 9-pirouettes in a row and saut de basques and whatever else he did. Stella Abrera and Calvin Royal were a really handsome Mercedes and Espada. Cate Hurlin and Cassandra Trenary also excellent as Kitri's friends. 

A superb evening indeed. I've been lukewarm about Boylston in the past but she definitely won me over last night. Those fouettes - gosh, so effortless. And Simkin was phenomenal. Abrera and Royal too. My last Don Quixote was with Osipova/Vasiliev a few years ago. I think I enjoyed last night's performance even more.

Thanks everyone for your replies. I bought a ticket for Saturday evening, November 3.

The Mariinsky Ballet Apollo (Stravinsky)
The Royal Ballet Tarantella (Gottschalk)
Paris Opera Ballet Pas de Deux from Agon (Stravinsky)
American Ballet Theatre Symphonie Concertante (Mozart)

Apologies if this is the wrong forum but does anyone recall a recent ABT performance of Balanchine's Symphonie Concertante (Mozart)? I'm just trying to anticipate possible casting for November 3 and 4. Thank you.

https://www.nycitycenter.org/pdps/2018-2019/Balanchine/?utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DEV18BalanchineAnnounceMEM&utm_content=version_A

Edit: oops, never mind, the photo shows Gillian Murphy and Stella Abrera.

21 minutes ago, abatt said:

Isn't Hallberg doing something with Mariinsky in the near future? 

Yes, Hallberg is dancing in "Giselle" with the Mariinsky next month with Alina Somova.

Is there a reason why there are no female guest artists from the Mariinsky and Bolshoi this season? They were usually dependable for Swan Lake.

Oh that's unfortunate that Cirio is leaving ABT but his tastes appear to lean towards new choreography rather than the classics. I wonder if he will continue the Cirio Collective.

Please forgive my ignorance, but is ENB on the same level or a step up from ABT?

I plan to see Bell on Friday. After his astounding debut in R&J I'm really curious to see him in an *evil* role. Should be fun!

Devon’s upper body flexibility was fine. What was lacking was a sense of abandon, or surrender. I mean, her Romeo was this tall, dashing Aran Bell who seemed completely in love her, and yet she seemed to feel nothing.   She went through the movements without expressing emotion. I think it’s her first time dancing Juliet so hopefully her interpretation will be more convincing next time. 

Aran Bell was amazing. Such command of the stage. Born to play Romeo I thought. Devon was bland as Juliet, not feeling the role at all, though her technique was above reproach. 

15 minutes ago, NinaFan said:

 I wasn’t able to stay for the third act, so I don’t know how Gorak did as the Bronze Idol.  Did anyone see it?  

Gorak was wonderful as the Bronze Idol. And I agree that Kimin Kim was incredible. He seemed suspended in midair for most of the ballet. Such a noble, ardent partner for Hee Seo and Gillian Murphy as well. Wow. Same cast on Friday night - definitely worth seeing again.