Villette

I'm sorry, but it seems like this person's twitter username should probably be removed / hidden to prevent doxxing.

I'm sorry, but THIS COMMENT is what is racist. And suggesting anyone needs a psych eval, unless you're a mental health professional who has evaluated that person, is armchair psychology and very irresponsible. Alexandra Waterbury hasn't, in my opinion, handled herself in the best way on social media. But there are no perfect victims. Alexa Maxwell has my admiration for her bravery in making a statement. This has to be a difficult time for them both, and it is unfortunate that they men they are/were with put them in this position.

According to the complaint, Ramasar sent three pictures of Maxwell to Finlay without her knowledge: one topless, one naked, and one of her vagina.

The company has no obligation to cast Ramasar and no obligation to renew his contract after this season. They only have to reinstate him for the remainder of the season in name and pay.

He seems to tag Sarah Jessica Parker and Sarah Hay and others in the ballet world who have a lot of "buzz" or large followings of their own. Many times, tagging in this pattern is an attempt to gain more followers for one's own account. I don't personally find it creepy. It is a social media strategy and not uncommon.

They shared nude images of their coworkers without consent. That's illegal. People have been justifiably fired from jobs for far lesser reasons. Being tardy repeatedly, for example. Losing your job is not equal in harshness to being sent to jail. Even if you're an artist.

It is difficult for me to read people say Alexandra might be opportunistic, partly because I have experienced a situation similar to hers. A difference was that I was too young to legally consent to anything that happened, and the individual who took the images was legally an adult. Having a legal team and/or police officers look at nude images of you, listening to them discuss it, answering their questions, that is humiliating. It takes every once of strength. It is not an experience anyone would go through for any reason other than in an effort to keep it from happening to someone else. When all of this was going on, I became hyper-productive. Throwing myself into my school, my dancing, my writing, all of that became my escape. It was the only thing that kept me feeling like a real person. It may be the same for others.

The New York City Ballet did the right thing, in my opinion, and I am thankful. I am disappointed in the stance taken by AGMA. It is their duty to protect the interests of all the dancers in the Company, and right now, it seems like they are not protecting the women. It does not matter if the sharing of images occurred on work time or not. Challenging the dismissal of those who have engaged in the behavior alleged in the complaint could potentially allow those individuals further access to female dancers, and female dancers represent the population that was violated. In many careers, such as for teachers in schools, it is required to disclose whether you have ever been charged with inflicting harm upon anyone who represents the population with whom you would work. It doesn't matter if you were charged while working or while doing something completely unrelated. I hope AGMA will reconsider their stance and protect the female dancers.

I stand with Alexandra Waterbury. I condemn all of the behavior alleged in her complaint. I believe her and admire her bravery in coming forward. The actions alleged are violations of the body. Ballet involves touching the body of another in an intimate manner, and no one who is known to have violated the body of colleague should be allowed back in a job that requires intimate contact . If a top banker stole money, would he be hired back into his position so long as he offered a sincere apology? No. He would never be allowed to work there again. My comfort level watching these men dance is not a consideration. The well-being of the performers, and not my enjoyment of the performance, is what matters most. I appreciate Lauren Lovette and Ashley Bouder for their courage to address the situation via Instagram. They did not have to do so. I see comments in this thread asking for more women, principal dancers, to address these claims. Why isn't the same being asked of the men in the New York City Ballet? They, too, have an opportunity to reach of and address the situation, to stand as allies with their female colleagues. Yet the comments here only mention the women. I can't help but see the double standard.