its the mom

On January 30, 2018 at 2:34 PM, Balletwannabe said:

I'm only one parent and this is only my personal opinion, but I think it's enough that Martins is gone.  My daughter auditioned at SAB this year and I wouldn't think twice about sending her.  I would however be concerned if he were still there.   Other parents may feel differently.

If there were those who were complicit by looking the other way, I would not trust them for the future either.  They could be looking the other way about many things or simply other people.  This is what bothers me.  I agree with abatt's post above that an investigation needs to be done for the safety of all.

pherank - I am not sure about other companies, but Boston Ballet has an English as a second language teacher for their dancers from other countries.  She also helps them with everyday tasks, like apartment finding, shopping, etc., if need be.  I know her personally, so I do know this for a fact.  I hope that other companies do the same.

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Bay-Area-Ballet-Instructor-Arrested-on-Child-Molestation-Charges-471693464.html

11 hours ago, pherank said:

Wow, that's a long day, PeggyR - I think that would have left me in a lump on the floor.  ;)

I agree with many of your general observations. I think we'll have to remind ourselves that Scheller isn't practiced in traditional story ballets like SB [though she did apparently dance in NYCB's (Peter Martins) Sleeping Beauty and enjoyed the experience]. But that's about as far as it goes. I'm pretty sure that one of the reasons she came to SFB was to learn how to dance in that manner (and learn some mime acting). But that doesn't mean she's figured it out yet. I'm not surprised that she needs time.

The Rose Adagio can be ruinous for a ballerina, so I was worried about Froustey having to train and perform for that in particular. You mentioned that she visibly finds her spot (I'm paraphrasing) but I have to wonder is there any other way for someone with a chronic foot issue? Such a dancer can never really be anything but careful (and that's going to have a visible effect on how they dance particular steps/variations). I think Tomasson gave her the role as a gift to her, but if things go awry this early in the season, I would rather Froustey had skipped SB completely and danced in the mixed rep programs - and had a season. This is why there's a place for Justin Peck sneaker ballets.  ;)

Thanks for the feedback about Luke Ingham. He's a fairly big man (as danseurs go). And he's got the strength for lifts that we don't always see in the younger men. I would agree that in the traditional danseur roles he can sometimes seem a bit sloppy or not fine-tuned enough. But I still remember his excellent portrayal of Tybalt in R & J. Tomasson used to pair Froustey with Helimets, and Di Lanno but he's been changing things up quite a bit lately regarding partnering. This doesn't strike me a s a perfect fit.

Glad to hear that Weeks and Parks looked great - I think Weeks is near the front of the line to be made a soloist.

I still remember when I first saw WanTing Zhao in the Corps and thought she had great lines and nice finish. She's being given a lot of opportunities now too. If she has real acting talent then Tomasson will be very, very happy.

Please know that I am always grateful to read the reviews from the west coast, as I am not able to travel there just for ballet.  First, I would like to say that I am glad to hear Weeks is doing well.  I watched him as a younger dancer and was impressed then.  I know he had a setback with an injury, so it is such good news to hear that he has made a comeback.  About Ana Sophia - she has had numerous opportunities to dance full-lengths as a guest artist.  She also has performed classical pas in numerous galas, so she is not unaccustomed to these roles.  I very seldom post in NYC Ballet's thread because I do not watch their performances as much as I do other companies, so I do not feel qualified to comment.  However, the few times I have seen her dance, I felt a coldness from her.  I was struck during World Ballet Day at her rehearsal of SB with Greco.  She did not look happy at all, and seemed to be annoyed with him.  I agree that her technique is impeccable, but I would not purposely pay to watch her dance, as I feel nothing when I watch her.  But, hopefully she will improve in the acting area as time goes on.

I may have missed it, but in relation to the pictures above with Hernandez and Sheehan, did anyone see them?  I love his dancing!  

Graham Watts shared the following on his Facebook page:

I read today's news story about discontent at ENB in The Times with considerable dismay and increasing annoyance. 

So, apparently there are some disgruntled ex-ENB dancers (perhaps even some current ones) who are unhappy with Tamara Rojo's leadership. Let's leave aside the fact that people can take pot-shots on the front pages of a national newspaper without the courage to say who they are but I'm guessing that you could ask ten former or current dancers of any ballet company in the world and you'll find a fair bit of disgruntlement in the mix. 

Let's also just consider the state of ENB now and how it was five years' ago prior to Rojo's appointment. If anyone tells me it was better then....well, let's say I would be surprised. 

Rojo's artistic choices have built a deserved reputation, each programme enhancing the repertoire - from the outstanding bill that marked the centenary of WW1 to 'She Said'; from Kylian, Petit, van Manen, Forsythe and MacMillan through to Lopez Ochoa; from Corsaire to Sylphide - I would say it is a rollercoaster ride but that isn't true since the only way has been UP! 

The recent programmes at the Coliseum got not one but two five ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reviews from Clement Crisp, not the easiest of people to please. 

Some dancers have left. One exceptional male dancer at the beginning; another just recently. They have been and will be missed but such is life in the face of career choices. On the other hand, many dancers who were already experienced long before Rojo came are still in the company and still performing (Takahashi, Oliveira, Cao, McWhinney, Streeter, Reimar etc - and all had leading roles in the recent season). So, one assumes that there are plenty of dancers who are actually not that disgruntled! 

I mean no disrespect to the dancers who have left ENB in recent times but the quality of those who have replaced them has been high - Rojo deserves praise from attracting Aaron Robinson to his home country's national ballet and her other recruits - Dronina, Tamayo, Khaniukova, Corrales, Cirio, Adams, Kundi (and not forgetting Isaac Hernandez) and many, many more have been superb additions to the company. And let's not forget the coup that kept Alina Cojocaru dancing in the UK. For that alone, she deserves a medal. If it was a premiership football team I would argue that this manager is doing pretty well on the transfer market. 

One particular point that needs to be noted is that Rojo has made ENB a more diverse and inclusive company. There's a long way to go but she is moving steadily in the right direction both in terms of diversity in the dance ensemble and as the only UK director I know to have programmed a full main stage evening of work by women.

And as to encouraging dancers to dance while injured, all I can say is that I've known many dancers at ENB who have been injured and they have been off. Rojo drives herself harder than most - combining two tough, tough jobs - and she would not be who she is without being forceful but it is what has driven the company's successes. 

So, let's come to the central allegation, which suggests a conflict of interest due to the relationship between Rojo and Hernandez. Granted that it is an unusual situation, in business, for a director to be romantically linked with an employee; but as the article makes plain, it is not at all uncommon in the arts. 

To Rojo's credit - and to my certain knowledge - she has never hidden the relationship in any way. If Hernandez was a new, young untested dancer gaining surprise lead roles then perhaps I could understand these "sources' " concerns but, let's not forget that the guy was on his way to Paris Opera Ballet when Rojo brought him to ENB! 

He has been chosen by the British Dance Critics as one of the five most outstanding dancers in the UK in 2017 and so far as I can see he deserves every role he has been given. Does he dance with Rojo all the time - No! Does he get every opening night - No! 

So far as I can see he gets the roles and prominence that he deserves and nothing more. I doubt any other director would treat him differently. 

As ballets so often show us, you really cannot help with whom you fall in love! If either Rojo or Hernandez were to leave ENB for this perceived "conflict of interests" who would be better off? Certainly not the audiences at ENB. 

And, finally let's not forget Glastonbury, publicity that an ENB of former years could only dream of and a slew of awards that I can't count. 

My name is Graham Watts - many people will not agree with me. I ask the "sources", who are you? If you had an ounce of the courage that Ms Rojo has to stand up and be counted then I might respect your views.

38 minutes ago, abatt said:

Cornejo was always a bit too old to be playing the young boy.  Probably best to leave that role behind.  Simkin was perfection, and his "boyish" qualities perfectly suited the role.

I agree.  I was just wondering if some of the principals (Hallberg and Cornejo) decided it was just not something they wanted to do.  As ABT Fan said it may have been Cornejo's choice, maybe Hallberg decided after the season started that he just didn't want to do it after all.  

1 minute ago, fondoffouettes said:

I'm not totally sure about the injury, but he sort of transformed himself physically and technically within the past two or three years (I guess this could have been post-injury). He slimmed down, toned up, and just sort of seemed to have a new fire and finesse in his dancing. I wish I could have seen his debut as Aminta to see how he fared in a full-length. Ditto for Nutcracker.

I looked back at the casting spreadsheets posted earlier in this thread, and I don't think he was ever cast in it for the Met season. Or was he supposed to perform it in D.C.?

I thought he was cast in DC, but I could be wrong.  But he did perform it last year.  

20 hours ago, abatt said:

He's also indebted to ABT, but that factor doesn't seem to matter.  I can understand why he might retire the role of Solor, but Whipped Cream?  It's an easyish, short role.  The only explanation seems to be another gig.

I also noticed that Cornejo is no longer cast in Whipped Cream.

Agreed with everything you said above, abatt.

33 minutes ago, fondoffouettes said:

On stage he does't read childlike, as Simkin did/does, nor does he appear as short as Cornejo (though maybe he is), so I'm surprised management hasn't given him a few more opportunities. Also, there have been no reports of him being an inconsistent partner, at least from his time in Boston. 

It's been sad to see Gorak somewhat sidelined. The quality of his dancing is exceptional. I wonder if the partnering ended up being too much of an issue; he's spoken in interviews how he's a ball of nerves before going on stage, and there was a sweet anecdote about Xiomara Reyes reassuring him before a performance of Cinderella.

Hoven was thrown soloist roles for years when he was in the corps. I'd like to see him and Forster given a shot a principal role. Can it pan out any worse than Hammoudi?

Didn't Hoven suffer an injury which sidelined him for a bit?  I love his dancing and am hoping for more for him also.  I agree that Forster is another dancer who has been underutilized.  I would hate to see any of the openings go to a guest.  I know someone said that the audience "deserves" it, but I think the dancers deserve a chance to develop.  

20 hours ago, abatt said:

Clearly Cirio worked with Papadakis and Cizeron on their free dance.  However, he is not officially given any credit.  The choreography is credited to Marie France Dubreuil.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriella_Papadakis

 

Yes, most articles point to this fact:

http://www.insideskating.net/2017/11/09/events/2017-finlandia-trophy-the-blue-dance-the-blue-dream

https://europeonice.com/2017/12/05/papadakis-and-cizeron-reaching-perfection/

If you haven't yet had a chance to see it, it is a gorgeous program:

I would love to see this shown here in the US in cinemas:

https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/English-National-Ballets-Akram-Khans-GISELLE-Comes-to-Cinemas-20180122

47 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

Hallberg is only performing in three full lengths - 1 Giselle and 2 R&J's. That's it.

So, we have.....

- Bolle: dancing in one Giselle and nothing else. (What is that, one less than last year?)

- Cirio: underutilized and barely dancing. Three full lengths incl. one DQ and two in W.C.

- Cornejo: brilliant but quite injury-prone. Scheduled for 5 full lengths. Fingers crossed for no injuries.

- Lendorf: a good addition to the roster but also quite injury-prone. Also scheduled for 5 full lengths.

- Simkin: also underutilized and heading to Berlin after this season, so future # of perf's w/ ABT is unknown. Scheduled for 5 full lengths (incl two in W.C.).

- Stearns: new MVP, scheduled for 10 full lengths, but not well liked by balletomanes.

- Whiteside: Scheduled for 5 shows; ditto not being well liked...

The principal male roster situation just keeps getting more and more depressing.

It is a crime that Simkin and Cirio are so underutilized with small girls like Lane, Trenary, and Brandt fully capable.  Both Simkin and Cirio have done all or almost all of those full-lengths elsewhere.  Is Lendorf back yet from his injury?  And, yes, start using Hoven.  

The instagram account is run by the dancers. It says it at the top of the account. 

I find it sad that people are more upset about the picture used in the article than the content of the article and what it means to the dancers.

As an aside, from Instagram posts and stories, the dancers were apparently in contract negotiations until right around 2:00 a.m. last night.  Let's hope they got their contract ironed out, as they are right now working on an expired one.  

41 minutes ago, abatt said:

http://www.dancemagazine.com/open-letter-new-york-city-ballet-2524021433.html

 

Well, terminated dancer Sophie Flack has decided throw her two cents into the mix.  She doesn't report on any abuse she endured, but concludes that Martins is guilty and should have been terminated back when Darci called the police on him in the 1990s.

Thank you, Ms. Flack.  

19 hours ago, FauxPas said:

I think one thing about Marshall Whiteley is that he is very tall and long limbed which gives him more weight and length to move around when turning and jumping.   He is more the danseur noble type than the high jumping, quick turning demi-caractère like Herman Cornejo.  However, the refinement won't happen until he is given the roles and the coaching and training that go with them.  Also, he has mentioned on his social media that he has acting training which means that story ballets are something that he should gravitate towards artistically and he is quite handsome which never hurts when dancing the Prince or cavalier.   He is young but not too young to be cast and they can start him learning Siegfried, Albrecht, Solor, Espada and Nutcracker Prince NOW.  

Why would they do that when they don't even use all of their principals and soloists in these roles?  

44 minutes ago, nanushka said:

Why do Martins' accomplishments — considerable as they may be — constitute "context" for any acts of sexual misconduct that he may be guilty of?

The implication here seems to be that those accomplishments should be viewed as mitigating factors in any judgment of him — or that any judgment of him has to be made with constant reference back to the accomplishments. Should the misconduct of a man with many accomplishments be viewed differently from that of a man with fewer?

Why can't one instead consider these two things separately — the misconduct and the accomplishments? In discussing the former, why should one have to keep acknowledging the latter? Aren't Martins' accomplishments in fact a separate issue? In judging his alleged misconduct, is one really judging "his entire body of work"? Personally, I can't recall having heard or read any suggestion that Martins' accomplishments are rendered null by any alleged acts of sexual misconduct he may have committed.

Thank you!  People can be wonderful at their jobs and still commit heinous acts.  I have an acquaintance whose son graduated from the Naval Academy, was a Navy Seal, and an upstanding, accomplished young man.  He killed his wife's ex-husband (and, may I add, I probably would have done the same as it involved sexual abuse of their daughters).  He is spending his life in prison for this act.  His amazing accomplishments did not diminish the fact that he committed a crime.  

I understand that right now much of what we are hearing may just be accusations, however if those "ten-minute" periods are what they are truly purported to be, Martins deserves to be judged for them.  Actions have consequences, or at least they should.  The fact that he is/was a great director, the fact that Gomes is a great dancer, the fact that Weinstein is an amazing producer, Spacey is a great actor, etc., does not excuse their actions!

Thanks for sharing, Helene!  Ivonne is a delight and a wonderful teacher to boot!

25 minutes ago, Stage Right said:

Very interesting post just above by its the mom. I won't quote it because it's so long, but this verifies what I was talking about in my first post on the this whole Peter Martins situation. I mentioned that I once had a long discussion with a dance colleague (a highly regarded teacher in NYC) about the dance world as a kind of dysfunctional family. It certainly sounds as if both Darci and Peter came from families that could be described as dysfunctional, and what often happens is that children, both male and female, in such families unwittingly recreate aspects of that dysfunction in their own adult environments, choices and partners.

Also, both parties were following a pattern already in place at NYCB, that of the "revered director" (first Balanchine) choosing a much younger dancer as a romantic interest and later partner/wife. This does not excuse illegal behavior, of course, but it does shed light on how such things might have been perceived at the time. I recall reading that Suzanne Farrell's mother REALLY wanted her to marry Balanchine, but Suzanne didn't want to....so we can hardly know for sure what it is that all mothers might want, or not, for their daughters. 

As for Darci, dear reader, she married him! And has stayed with him. 

And this is my final comment also!

Just for the record, I in no way shared the article above to excuse Martins' behavior.  I just believe it sheds light on the situation.  Yes, dysfunction is the name of the game here in this instance and across the ballet world.  In fact, I believe that both the Martins' and the Gomes' accusations bring much needed focus on the ballet culture's ills.

Two very telling paragraphs in this article, most of which we have already mentioned or surmised.  http://articles.latimes.com/1992-12-06/magazine/tm-3085_1_city-ballet

Quote

 

Kistler is steadfastly standing by Martins. At 28, she is one of the company's two top ballerinas (the other is Kyra Nichols) and as crucial to its success as Martins himself. She was Balanchine's last discovery. Kistler had triumphed over a difficult childhood in Riverside, during which her father, she says, angrily disparaged her pursuit of ballet and often struck her mother and her.

Now, seeming to fit a pattern experts say is common among women who have lived through such incidents, she speaks almost as though Martins was the victim. 'I feel so upset for Peter and for us that anything like this happened,' she says a few days after her husband's lunchtime interview. 'It's awful that everybody found out about this. I'm behind Peter in everything he's doing."

 

24 minutes ago, Anthony_NYC said:

I'm sure lots of us know (or are) individuals who serve on boards--hard-working, dedicated, generous people, every single one of them. But then they get together to form boards, and what happens with this kind of thing? On the one side, you have the boards of NYCB and the Met whitewashing over complaints for years. On the other, you have ABT suddenly letting one of their greatest dancers resign over a complaint about something that happened outside the company. Whether ignoring or overreacting, it's all just feckless, it seems to me. In ABT's case, it's seat-of-their pants stuff masquerading as being tough and principled. I'm sure these smart people know it, but they need to come up with a real plan to deal with sexual misconduct. Right now! Way past due. I'm just sorry, and kind of angry (in the to my mind ridiculous case of Gomes), that they hadn't done so previously. What a mess.

The press never said "happened outside the company."  The words used were, “does not involve any current or former members of the ABT community, aside from Mr. Gomes, and did not occur in relation to his employment duties with the Company.”  This language is vague. I am not speculating anything, however, as Sandik says, did I miss something further?  Do we know more details?  Do you know that ABT overreacted?  One has to assume it was a serious enough situation for Gomes to resign.  

An often overlooked team that might work well:

Margaret Tracey:  https://www.bostonballet.org/Home/Global/Profiles/Education-Faculty/Margaret-Tracey.aspx

Russell Kaiser:  https://www.bostonballet.org/Home/Global/Profiles/Artistic-Staff/Assistant-Artistic-Director/Russell-Kaiser.aspx (Mikko Nissinen depends very heavily on Kaiser.)

16 hours ago, Ashton Fan said:

Another change at ENB. Cesar Corrales has announced his resignation from the company saying that his performances at the Coliseum in January 2018 will be some of his last as a company member. Kevin O'Hare has announced that Corrales will be joining the RB as a First Soloist from the beginning of next season. Tamara Rojo has issued a rather terse statement in connection with his departure which does not mention him by name.The RB announcement makes it clear that the sequence of events was Corrales' resignation followed by him approaching the RB and being offered a job. There is no indication what Corrales will be doing in the interim.

The ENB is a company in transition with recently appointed senior dancers settling in and learning new repertory and a couple of very talented dancers working in Munich. The problem for ENB is that while it offers the young dancer plenty of opportunities to dance, to learn stagecraft, to build up stamina and learn the core classical repertory in the early stage of a career, it performs a very limited repertory. In any one season it will dance three full length ballets one of which is invariably Nutcracker. After a time these limitations, which may be beneficial in the early years of a career, must come to be be a cause of some frustration when compared with what a company like the RB has to offer. Each year the RB performs six or seven full lengths apart from the Nutcracker, dips into its back catalogue and also offers the possibility of working on new ballets with one of the three choreographers who regularly work with the company.

Corrales' imminent arrival will make the career paths of several of the talented young men currently at First Soloist and Soloist level in the RB somewhat less certain. Up until now they may quite reasonably have seen themselves as being in the running for promotion to principal  when Watson and Bonelli retire. Now who can say?

While I agree that RB offers more for dancers in terms of full-length, I think it's quite sad that he didn't even give ENB a year as a principal dancer.  ENB gave him so much opportunity and moved him along the ranks very quickly.  Nothing wrong with a little respect and gratitude in this business.