its the mom

Very happy to see Ponomarenko staging "Giselle."  She will bring excellence to that ballet.  And Elo's "Carmen" is one of his best, in my opinion.  I am glad to see it make a comeback.  

According to their Facebook page, through an announcement by Nicholas Ade, Marcia Dale Weary has passed away.  It is a sad day for many, as she was responsible for so many having a career in the ballet world:

It is with enormous love and sadness that I share that our Founding Artistic Director, Marcia Dale Weary has passed. She built a legacy through the best in classical ballet training. Her legacy will continue through all of us at CPYB who share the same values and love for what she stood for. Marcia will be missed as she is loved by so many. We thank you Marcia for the beauty you brought to this world. Memorial services and tributes for Marcia with further information will be forthcoming.

Have enjoyed this ballet now several times both in Liverpool and Chicago. I have to say my favorite cast is Rojo, Streeter, and Cirio. I also love the understated, yet powerful performances of Takahashi. I still find the second act of the ballet to be somewhat weak choreographically, but it is certainly not a ballet to be missed. I am hoping ENB will do more of Khan’s work. I thought “Dust” was other-worldly, and wished they had brought it to Chicago also. 

I read a while back that English National Ballet also partnered with a cruise line.  A sign of the times?

https://thetravelingballerina.com/english-national-ballet-will-dance-the-atlantic-on-cunard-cruise-line/

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/3528/

1 hour ago, ABT Fan said:

Casting re-shuffling continues.

Hoven has replaced Cornejo in all three of his performances. He's still dancing w/ Lane, so Hoven is doing five (!) Nuts.

Yikes, that's a lot of torch lifting in one week.

Unfortunately, Cirio will not be dancing in this at the Guggenheim.  He is dancing with Sarah Lane in the Dance St. Louis Evening of Ballet Stars that same evening.

https://www.dancestlouis.org/balletstars

13 hours ago, JuliaJ said:

I might be in the minority here, but I liked AfterRite in the spring... it's a shame that it seems to be bringing down ticket sales (I actually look forward to seeing it again!). The choreography is interesting, and that Stravinsky music never gets old. To be honest I preferred the piece to Ratmansky's Firebird, which was in the same program.

Part of the problem is that it's sooooo off-brand for ABT (and ballet audiences generally do not go in expecting such dark subject matter). If NYCB or another more modernist-leaning company did it, I doubt the response would be as negative, let alone financially disastrous!

I am with you.  I really liked AfterRite and was happy to see the company take on a McGregor work.  My problem is much like everyone else's in that between casting and the works chosen, I do not have the desire to go see any of the shows.  I would like to see Hoven in Symphonie Concertante and one of his performances is paired with AfterRite, but on a night I can't be there.  There are not any other works I really have the desire to see. 

Not in any way defending Finlay or any of the other guys.  However:

Revenge porn is more common than we think:

https://fightthenewdrug.org/need-to-know-facts-about-revenge-porn/

And sexting:

http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-sexting-sexual-satisfaction-20150807-story.html

Why would we think this has not been happening in the ballet world prior to this time, that it is somehow new to this world?  They just got caught.

8 minutes ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

Oh, I quite agree that partnering may be an issue! I just wanted to point out that there are other issues as well. Men might be troubled by the behavior and women employees who aren't dancers — and therefore wouldn't be partnered — could as well. It's important to remember that not every dancer is a woman and that there are plenty of women working at NYCB who aren't dancers.

Ok, I see.  I misunderstood.  Thanks for the clarification.  And, yes, I agree.  A violation of trust and community standards is certainly at play here.

2 minutes ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

I don't think partnering is necessarily the issue. I don't even think being a woman is the issue. If a company member knowingly shares explicit photos of another company member without consent, I think it is reasonable for anyone else in the company — man or woman — to believe that it is a violation of trust and community standards. 

I guess I feel differently, knowing some of the young girls at SAB.  As a parent, I would not want my daughter near any of them at this point.  

1 minute ago, On Pointe said:

Being liked or disliked,  respected or admired by the other dancers should have nothing to do with it.  They have no capacity to hire or fire.  Ramasar and Catazaro did not sign contracts with the other dancers,  they signed them with NYCB Inc.  The company undercut their own position by trying to include the other dancers in their actions.  

Performers have a long storied tradition of working well with people they do not like,  or whose views are opposite their own.  For example Betty White and Bea Arthur on The Golden Girls,  whose hatred of each other was legendary.  Or closer to home for NYCB,  Zero Mostel creating the role of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof,  conceived,  choreographed and directed by Jerome Robbins,  who outed him to HUAC and destroyed his career during the McCarthy era.

It is a bit different.  The women of the company have to be partnered by those men.  Would you be comfortable with that if it were your daughter?  

Resigned because he’s guilty; resigned before he could be investigated .... All our assumptions. Perhaps the company gave him a choice ... resign or we let you go. We do not know, and we may never know. 

2 hours ago, Drew said:

I don't think a link to this little feature from Dance Magazine has been posted--but perhaps I missed it. 

"When news about the lawsuit against New York City Ballet and Chase Finlay emerged last week, plaintiff Alexandra Waterbury, a former School of American Ballet student, told the New York Times:

'Every time I see a little girl in a tutu or with her hair in a bun on her way to ballet class, all I can think is that she should run in the other direction,' she said, 'because no one will protect her, like no one protected me.' [...]

"We reached out to a variety of authorities in the field to hear their reactions to her statement:"

A range of quotes follows from various figures in the ballet world including one from Jenifer Ringer--here is the link:

https://www.dancemagazine.com/alexandra-waterbury-2602545003.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1

Perhaps this should be the beginning of a different topic? Wasn't sure...but the content of one or two of the quotes made me think maybe just put it here.

Skybetter was on target:  "Waterbury's story and sentiment abundantly rhyme with the pattern of ballet history. Feminist critic Deirdre Kelly, scholar Brenda Dixon Gottschild and historian Jennifer Homans (among others) have abundantly demonstrated how ballet sits at the historical intersection of structures of race, gender, power, sex and violence. Arguably, one outcome of this history is that institutions like NYCB have become adroit at the management of legal protections and tactical public relations required to contain discourse on abuse."

And this from Harss:  "We all know that the behavior alleged in this case is wrong, but what we need to know is whether it's systemic and widespread so that real steps can be taken to make it less likely to happen again."

1 hour ago, FauxPas said:

Another thing, I don't religiously follow the social media of dancers on Instagram.  I didn't know that Finlay and Lovette were no longer a couple or engaged - it seems that until a year ago they were.   

Finlay and Lovette have not been a couple for quite awhile.  She has been dating Barton Cowperthwaite for at least two years now.  (according to instagram)

On September 8, 2018 at 10:44 AM, ABT Fan said:

The Oct 27 TBA pas de deux is now the Nutcracker pas with Copeland and Bell.

How unimaginative.  But it will certainly sell tickets, especially with the release of "The Nutcracker and the Four Realms" shortly thereafter.  They will capitalize on it, I am sure.

1 minute ago, Rick said:

Ashley Bouder is implying that the culture of sexual harassment definitely exists at NYCB, as Waterbury claims.

And she is implying that it festered in the absence of Martins.  Should we assume that Finlay would not have acted in this manner had Martins still been in charge?   Sorry, I don't buy that.  

Just now, rkoretzky said:

Ashley states  “I do not condone this behavior”. To me this is her personal statement and she is saying this as a member of NYCB, but not speaking for the organization. 

There is a world of difference between “condone” and “encourage”. I don’t believe there has been any mention of this reprehensible behavior being encouraged. Please point out if I’ve missed that.

NYCB is not, in fact, leaderless. There is an executive director. Other than her signature on the recent email, along with Jon Stafford, where is Kathy brown? 

"It was allowed to fester in our current leaderless state."  Leaderless?  Does she/do we actually believe Finlay's behavior would be different had Martins still been at the helm?  Is that what she is implying?

1 hour ago, Drew said:

Fair warning? There is no evidence she knew or could have known he was sending around nude or semi-unclothed photos of her without her consent or that she knew he videotaped her in intimate situations (not just photographing her). Though I suppose his lawyer may try to make that case....But, taking the case as it has been presented in the complaint: how is she responsible for having known ahead of time what he was capable of? Plenty of substance abusers —even kinky ones — do NOT do what Finlay is charged with doing. And plenty of people older and more experienced than Waterbury have found themselves abused and taken advantage of by boyfriends/girlfriends... Waterbury does not have "to take responsibility" for being the victim of improper and probably illegal action.  For that matter, she may consider her suit precisely a way of taking responsibility for the situation as it emerged in the spring, by seizing initiative and fighting on her own behalf.

It may well be the case that a judge will agree with you that NYCB is not legally liable and not let the suit against the company go forward.  I suppose it's also possible a judge may decide that determination of the company's responsibility can’t be made without more evidence being presented concerning allegations about the company and company "culture" made in the complaint--and that the case can go forward. That would mean depositions etc. However a judge rules, it doesn’t mean Waterbury does not sincerely believe the company played a role in her ordeal--after all three principal dancers are named, and a donor and other NYCB employees alluded to as well.  But I don't think her motives should be an issue here anyway unless one could show she was not being truthful. She has the right to try to deploy the law to her full advantage.

(It occurs to me, too, that the company must be aware that even if a suit against them does not go forward, further information about NYCB might come out in a case against Finlay alone.) 

 Legalities aside: does one believe the company has thoroughly looked into things mentioned in the complaint that do have a bearing on workplace issues for all the dancers? I hope so, and I know I should say high-mindedly that, at the least, I am suspending judgment on that question. But truthfully I am skeptical -- partly for the reason mentioned in earlier posts that the statements of company leaderhips on these issues have sometimes seemed to me weak and/or problematic.

I agree.  I read nothing about a warning.  Substance abusers and other types of relational abusers can hide their problems.  How many times have we read about domestic abuse surfacing well into a relationship?  (Do not hear what I am not saying. I am not accusing anyone of domestic abuse.) What I am saying is that when first entering a relationship, one is not aware of any issues their partner may have.  Those are revealed in time.  What does it say about Lauren Lovette for dating Finlay and being engaged to him (if we throw jabs at Waterbury.)  So, until his side of the story is revealed and the hearing/trial takes place, I hope we can refrain from any victim shaming.  Because, in reality, that's what it is.  

11 minutes ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

In addition, I suspect many of them may still be grappling with their own conflicting thoughts and emotions. It's easy to express disgust at something in the abstract, or at things that have taken place somewhere else involving no one that you know. It's quite a different matter when you learn that a friend, colleague, or loved one has done something reprehensible. In that situation, one's anger and disgust is doing battle with one's loyalty and affection. (Trust me, I've been there.)

I think we can and should grant the dancers some space to come to grips with the situation, sort out their own feelings — which may be some complicated tangle of anger, shock, sorrow, resentment, self-reproach, denial, and even forgiveness — and decide what they need to do as individuals, a community, and a company. 

ETA: and the same goes for all of the other people who work at NYCB, e.g., the musicians, the technical staff, the backstage crew, the costume shop, whoever. Company leadership of course needs to speak out publicly and clearly. 

10 minutes ago, AB'sMom said:

The silence from the dance community outside of NYCB is deafening as well, though. People who posted during the first wave of the #metoo movement seem oddly quiet now. 

Having spoken to a number of dancers outside of the NYCB community, I know many are grappling with the situation at hand.  Remember that the dance community is a small one.  Many of these dancers grew up together, going to summer programs together, auditioning together, etc.  So, while many of them are appalled by the alleged behavior, they are conflicted in their feelings.  Additionally, some of the silence may be a respect for the families of the dancers mentioned, as parents of dancers also become friends.  As Kathleen has said, people both inside and outside of the company are trying to come to grips with their feelings.

I would say more like “resigned.”  

Such sad news.  He had such a wonderful impact on so many students.

1 hour ago, abatt said:

I don't think they owe a thing to the public except to give their best performances when they are on stage.  Additionally, if the conduct at issue was so awful, hand it over to the police department. If it was a civil infraction like libel or slander, let the person complaining bring a lawsuit. If it is merely unsavory conduct that does not rise to the level of being a felony or even a misdemeanor, why is NYCB the enforcer of promoting civil behavior. What gives NYCB the right to monitor speech or punish speech that occurs on a personal device?  These are very troubling questions, in my opinion.

We can speculate all we want.  We do not know that a lawsuit has not been brought.  We do not know if the texts or emails included other recipients or if they were slanderous.  Just like the Gomes incident - we do not know what really took place, but it had to be serious enough for Gomes to resign and for Finlay to resign in this situation.  We can speculate that perhaps each of them had planned to do so anyway, but again, all of it is speculation.  If it was only speech on a personal device between the three of them, that might be a different story.  

15 minutes ago, cobweb said:

I wonder if Finlay was ready to move on from ballet. He's had a hard time. Lots of early hype and pressure/expectations, followed by injuries and tons of criticism about his stamina, technique, and partnering skills. Despite those deficiencies, I will miss him. The nobility of his carriage is second to none, and when his technique was on, he was beautiful. Now that his bio is down, I can't check on how long he's been with NYCB. Anyone know roughly what is his age and how long was he a principal?

Apprentice 2008, Corps 2009, Soloist 2011, Principal 2013

20 hours ago, FPF said:

I think as the head of the interim team, Stafford has got to be considered a candidate, and may even have the inside edge, as he is already doing much of the job. 

Having never seen the Ashley Bouder Project myself, my impression has been that although people like the idea behind it, the choreography hasn't received very positive reviews. And as an audience member, I  hope she keeps dancing for a while more (I also enjoy Ulbricht's dancing, but my sense is that he is not used nearly as much).  I agree that she could be a good/interesting choice, but the Board may not appreciate her outspokenness, both with respect to Martins as well as politically.

I believe Stafford would be a great choice, someone above reproach, or so it would seem. With Bouder’s controversial political posts, especially the latest Instagram, I would hate to see her at the helm and cause even more controversy for the company.

Not too many people can handle a dual contract successfully.  I would imagine it is difficult on the body, as well as a challenge in some instances for AD's to plan accordingly.