BalanchineFan

I thought Sophie Flack's open letter was really beautiful and well considered. It's clear she's talking to specific NYCB dancers who have been posting on social media, and she really speaks to their experience as dancers in the company, an experience she shared for many years. In some ways (not all) it reminds me of Robbie Fairchild's instagram post where he said he was sorry that not everyone had had the supportive, professional experience with Peter that he (Fairchild) had.

2 hours ago, kfw said:

I'm sorry Balanchine sunk that low, and I'm sorry both for Farrell and Mejia, but I don't think a spurned would-be husband's taking his emotions out on the actual husband professionally falls into the same category as sexual harassment, which involves demanding sex.

The harassment isn't only in the demand for sex, or a "romantic" relationship or marriage, but in the negative consequences of saying no. Farrell said no and Mejia suffered the retaliation. Dancers should be cast on their dancing ability, not their ability to get out of the AD's way with the ladies. There is both a carrot and a stick to harassment.

2 hours ago, Quiggin said:

Sidenote: The Times' reports, towards the end of the article, that Deneuve also made a strong statement last March defending Roman Polanski. “It’s a case that has been dealt with, it’s a case that has been judged. There have been agreements between Roman Polanski and this woman.” 

I was more interested in the fact that France has no age below which a person cannot be deemed to consent. There is no statutory rape.  A 33 year old man (not Polanski) recently had sex with an 11 year old and the French system did NOT, could NOT prosecute. That’s certainly different from the US  

Also, Some of the subtleties of the Deneuve letter have been lost here. She/they support stopping the Harvey Weinsteins and violent assaults, rapes, criminal activity, etc. The letter may simply be a reaction to women accusing men of misconduct online or other developments that are more common in France. 

There is such a cultural aspect to how people relate to each other. I hope that going forward the rules of conduct and the consequences are clear and enforceable in ballet and dance companies, in fact eveeywhere. I hope NYCB develops a system of checks and balances and accountability on each person’s behavior. I’ve read that Anne Bass resigned from the board in 2006 because there was no such accountability. 

On 1/9/2018 at 1:31 PM, dirac said:

Be that as it may, we know to date of no specifics that any sexual harassment occurred at NYCB and the preliminary results of the SAB investigation have revealed no wrongdoing, according to statements. What we do know is that Martins resigned while denying the accusations and the investigation is ongoing. And of course we may never know the results of the investigation since those are not commonly made public.

BalanchineFan writes: 

I’m not sure why you would assume that a visiting choreographer would do that.  I should think it more likely that a visiting choreographer would probably try to avoid the issue as none of his or her business, and select the dancers best suited to make his/her ballet look good.

My reasoning is that NYCB dancers and staff, having been through the Martins case, will have a better understanding of abuses of AD power and the consequences.  This understanding might be lacking in someone unconnected to the company. With this experience fresh in memory, the interim directors would be unlikely (in my opinion) to commit similar misconduct. 

On 1/8/2018 at 10:44 AM, Amy Reusch said:

Agreed, but remember it was Farrell giving Balanchine  an ultimatum over roles for her husband that clinched the departure.... one can certainly understand why she felt she had to make a stand, but dancers do not give ultimatums to artistic directors.

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/1990/10/11/dancing-for-balanchine/

"Finally one evening when Mejia was not given a role that he felt was his due—Symphony in C, third movement—Farrell issued an ultimatum: if Mejia didn’t dance in Symphony in C that night, they would both quit. To her utter astonishment, Balanchine took her up on it."   

 

I am not defending anyone's shameful actions here, but let's not lose the fine lines of history.

If we’re looking at the fine lines, Balanchine removing Mejia from performances is widely viewed as retaliation for Suzanne Farrell rebuffing Balanchine by marrying Mejia. That fits with the sexual harassment argument. 

14 hours ago, sandik said:

Watch out -- this is cued to the beginning of the third movement -- rewind to see it from the top.

Thanks! I didn't realize it would do that.

Deborah Koolish was listed as Peter Martins' assistant. She was dancing when I first saw NYCB in the late 1970's so she would have a lot of knowlege of repertory and programming, along with whatever she learned as an assistant. Is that what you were asking?

6 hours ago, kfw said:

I'm not sure I understand. Are you saying that the interim directors or the next director of NYCB might retard the careers of any NYCB dancer who publicly, or just to the director/s's knowledge, accuses Martins? Because the interim directors might be loyal to Martins? Because the next director . . .what? Or are you talking primarily about dancers in other companies, suggesting that Martins is not the only 21st AD to abuse his power in this way?

There's a great interview with Trisha in Joyce Morgenroth's book, Speaking of Dance: twelve contemporary choreographers on their craft. I used it in a dance history class.

So sorry to hear about this. I did see Karin von Aroldingen dance in person many times. I think the world of her now, but I'm sorry to say I did not appreciate her dancing that much at the time. I never saw her in Who Cares? Union Jack, Davidsbundlertanze or Liebeslieder. This might sound strange, but I think she was like lemon, or vinegar, too much for my adolescent palette, but adding a sharpness that brought more dimension to whatever you were watching... more depth.  That was my feeling about Stravinsky Violin Concerto and Kammermusik in any case.

When I think of the women dancing during the last Balanchine years they were all so individual and distinct from each other. Karin, Suzanne, Merrill, Kyra Nichols, Maria Calegari, Lourdes Lopez, young Darci. You would never sit in the audience and wonder who was who. 

I've seen many of the videos of her coaching and teaching. I'm glad she's there dancing on film, too. It's a great loss.

I went to a symposium on the Ballet Masters in the past few years. You're right about Rosemary Dunleavy.

Glenn Keenan also works with the corps.

Jean-Pierre Frohlich is focused on Jerome Robbins repertory.

Craig Hall is focused on Justin Peck's ballets, at least prior to the new quad leadership. Albert Evans also worked with Peck in his day. They've got a bunch of experienced ballet masters, they didn't all come to the event. Now I wish I'd taken better notes.

On January 5, 2018 at 12:07 AM, Helene said:

What ballets do you mean?  Most of the dancers who owned the rights at least gave them to the Trust for administration, and one of the great worries after Balanchine died was that the rights owners (and later the Trust) would pull those rights from NYCB, since the company didn't own them.  Leclercq was given many, so that she had a reasonable living, but she wasn't doing the day-to-day decision-making.  Farrell was given very few.  Symphony in C was given to someone on Balanchine's staff -- I think it was Betty Cage -- who gave the rights to John Taras as a living trust.  He insisted on a version that NYCB no longer did.  Francia Russell said that Peter Martins told Taras he would stop programming the ballet if Taras insisted on his version.  Taras might have folded on that -- I can't remember the ending of the story -- but I know PNB got to perform a different version, because Taras died and the rights reverted back.

I was thinking of Suzanne Farrell and Tzigane, or Meditations. I've also been curious to see the full length Don Quixote. If I remember correctly, she has rights to those three. It would be interesting to view Don Q without all the media heat of Balanchine's Farrell obsession. Somehow I assumed that she wasn't letting NYCB perform them after her "break" with Martins, but I have absolutely no proof.

After I posted above, I read a bit about the way the Trust works and I'm not sure it's possible for the rights to be denied to NYCB. Can anyone explain how it works?

How is the PNB Symphony in C different? I've never seen it. I saw a youtube clip of Paris Opera Ballet performing it and they use very different choreography. I think they also use the original title, Palais de Cristal.  The adagio doesn't have the big balance a la seconde and the choppy steps on pointe in the last act aren't there.  Overall there are fewer steps per minute.

Since Natalie Portman is married to Benjamin Millepied, who danced and choreographed for NYC, and  has been mentioned as being in the running for NYCB AD, I'm going to say that this is on topic.

Portman's one and only social media account is on Instagram and it's devoted to supporting people in all fields who have been subjected to sexual harassment, misconduct, expliotation, etc particularly in service workplaces (hotel maids, agricultural workers, etc). 

On 1/3/2018 at 3:07 PM, vipa said:

I guess what I'm trying to say is that we are living in a climate in which every statement is being given the most extreme interpretation possible. The LA Times saying they were publicly dating does not for me, immediately translate to predatory behavior.  I was in a ballet company when I was 17 (not world class like NYCB or ABT) and if I went to the ballet and out to eat with a fellow company member who was much older, I didn't look at it a predatory - I still don't.  I'm not saying that's true of everyone in every case, just that I don't want to make an assumption in one direction or another.

 I feel we have be careful how we categorize things and maintain some sense of proportion. 

As a separate but related note.  NYCB sometimes has company members as young as 15. These young people have co-workers that are older. They form friendships & date.  Should the company not be able to hire dancers under 18?

 

NYCB no longer hires 15 year olds. Dancers now have to be 17 and have a high school diploma to be hired as apprentices. Look at the interview with Unity Phelan.

On 1/3/2018 at 6:12 PM, pherank said:

A very good point, Amy Reusch. A choreographer A.D. has an extra tool in the bag to shape a company aesthetic (and create a native dance style/approach), while the 'curator' A.D. must show great instincts for assembling disparate pieces together in an exciting, eclectic fashion. NYCB and ABT are pretty good examples of the two different approaches.

Imo, the problem with a choreographer AD is that the position automatically competes with Balanchine. The NYCB needs to keep his repertory alive, and you need a choreographer that is somehow part of that aesthetic tradition, taking it further, but not contradicting it or obliterating it. When I imagine the board looking for someone to "shape a company aesthetic and create a native dance style or approach" it worries me that Balanchine would get lost. NYCB already has an aesthetic -Balanchine's- and there are hundreds of very experienced former Balanchine dancers with experience running ballet companies that can teach to that aesthetic. NYCB also has some good choreographers (Peck, Wheeldon, and I'd include the young Lauren Lovette) and good programs like the NY Choreographic Institute in place to nurture more.

It might also be helpful at this juncture if they avoided the choreographer-muse dynamic.

I loved Kyra Nichols dancing and I'm glad to hear that she's been working in a prominent university. I hope this change in leadership allows NYCB to perform Balanchine ballets that have been missing from the rep due to Martins' bad relations with the various women who own the rights. Or maybe I'm confused about how the Balanchine Trust works.

Here's the link to Alastair Macauley's article

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/02/arts/dance/peter-martins-city-ballet-balanchine.html?_r=0

On 1/3/2018 at 11:09 AM, balletforme said:

I agree that he is a strong candidate but he isn't really a choreographer. .  is he? And that appears to be part of the NYCB tradition/

I don't think the next AD needs to be a choreographer, as long as the AD continues to promote good new choreographers. Alastair Mcauley wrote a NYT piece saying it could be a good time to divide up the AD duties.

NYCB will be better off without Martins' choreography, for example.

5 hours ago, Helene said:

Gelsey Kirkland did: in "Dancing on My Grave," she described being a young dancer in the company and hearing that Balanchine, in exchange for gropes, would have appliances delivered to their apartments.  Imagine being a young teenager, and learning this about someone people considered to be god-like, your new boss.

The dancer world closed ranks and bombarded her with criticism, rage, and distain.  

Farrell actually did in her own way:  after a journalist asked if she was going to be Balanchine's fifth wife (after "Don Quixote," if I recall correctly), she balked, and her explanation has always been that she didn't want to be one in a line of others.

 

I would think the dancers that might have complained about Balanchine are the ones who left or who gave up ballet. Mostly we're familiar with dancers who stayed and had big careers.

2 minutes ago, vipa said:

Also there are many full length "story" ballets for which no one goes for the story. People go to be moved by the story of Romeo & Juliet but everyone  goes to Corsaire to see dancers do tricks. 

LOL! Yes, we go for the dancing. I think I'd seen Corsaire PPD 100 times before I realized there was a story.

1 minute ago, vipa said:

I thing Giselle speaks to the redemptive power of love. Giselle ultimately has the power to save the man she loves. Personally I always felt bad for Hilarion but that's another matter.

Ah yes, the redemptive power of love. Giselle and the White Swan are still dead. Both caddish princes live on in most versions of the ballets. I like that the Novice in the The Cage lives too, prevails. Women can be powerful and deadly, not just wispy sylphs floating on the wind. Ah! La Sylphide, another woman undone to death by a caddish prince!  The Cage just barely starts to balance things out.

I don't mean to be callous or disrespectful of other lines of thinking, but, fyi, when I was sexually assaulted while sleeping on a train in college, I got even with the guy before he left the train. I'd rather get even than die and forgive the guy. I guess my opinion comes from a deeply personal place.

On a less personal note, art should explore a wide range of behaviors. I don't think anyone should stop performing ballets that people want to see just because the gender roles are problematic. Life is richer and  more contradictory than that.

5 hours ago, Olga said:

Just as a point of information, Robbins did not understand why people were upset by The Cage. He viewed the plot as not too dissimiler from Giselle. I guess I would agree with that view of the plot/theme,  but Giselle is so bathed in beauty and so tragically romantic, with more character development, that it doesnt hit you in the face as much. I can hardly stand to watch The Cage but Giselle is another matter. 

Personally, I much prefer The Cage to Giselle. I think it speaks to womens' power and is a necessary antidote to all the romantic heroines withering away in desperation because some guy did them wrong (Swan Lake and Giselle come to mind).

I was wondering why Olivia is now listed in casting as O. MacKinnon! That explains it. 

On 12/14/2017 at 6:49 AM, canbelto said:

There have been a few. Indiana Woodward, Claire Kretzschmar and Miriam Miller are making their Dewdrop debuts. Roman Mejia just got accepted into the corps and is dancing Tea. Some Coffee debuts too. 

I was there last night. Mearns as SPF, Jared Angle as the Cavalier, Sterling Hyltin just resplendant as Dewdrop. Spartak Hoxha killed it as Tea, but I'm confident Roman Mejia will do the same. I don't see Isabelle LaFreniere listed anywhere, not even in the Snowflakes or in Waltz of the Flowers.

I was surprised they didn't do any curtain calls in front of the curtain, but it makes complete sense. The families aren't there for the adult casts.

On 12/13/2017 at 3:40 AM, On Pointe said:

Arlene Croce's treatment of Heather Watts struck me as downright abusive.  It was way over the top - I used to wonder how Watts managed to go out on stage sometimes.

I also remember that Watts was interviewed after Martins' arrest for attacking Kistler,  and she maintained that he had never physically abused her.  But I realize she may have been trying to save face.

There are statistics on domestic abuse that might help this conversation. Of the women who are killed by domestic partners, this says 75% are killed when they try to leave. During a domestic assault court case, I heard testimony that the % is actually higher, in the 90% range. My main point is that speaking out against an abuser can be physically dangerous and fatal. Just something to keep in mind as people are wondering about the cost of speaking out.

From http://www.domesticabuseshelter.org/infodomesticviolence.htm

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE STATISTICS

• One out of every three women will be abused at some point in her life.
• Battering is the single major cause of injury to women, exceeding rapes, muggings and auto accidents combined.
• A woman is more likely to be killed by a male partner (or former partner) than any other person.
• About 4,000 women die each year due to domestic violence.
• Of the total domestic violence homicides, about 75% of the victims were killed as they attempted to leave the relationship or after the relationship had ended.

On 12/8/2017 at 9:41 AM, fondoffouettes said:

Yes, between the NYT and WaPo, it seems that neither paper has been able to identify concrete, specific examples of  sexual abuse/harassment. The example you mention above seemed to really be reaching. Physical abuse is another matter, though.

I know I'm late posting, but according to NYTimes several dancers have said that Martins created a culture where he had affairs with dancers and those dancers then got better roles. That would go against the "preclude a reporting relationship" part of Lincoln Center policy, and justify the investigation of sexual harrassment even if the affairs were consensual. Because NYT said several dancers, and because these were affairs they can't be talking about Darci Kistler getting better roles after marrying Martins. The implication is that he cheated on her, and the women he cheated on her with got better roles. Also, these are not anonymous reports, just people who don't want their names in the newspaper.