Helene

I don't think it's admirable or not admirable. I don't think he has an obligation to do anything but run the company for the next year honestly until Lopez can take over, since the Board has made it clear what they think of the way he runs it. I think if the company fails to survive, unless Villella actively sabotages it, it will be a reflection on the Board. (It sounds like he wants to detach more than anything.) The Board thinks they can raise the funds to run the Company and create a more realistic budget to put it on more solid financial footing, and they've placed their bets where they see fit. If that bet fails to pay off -- ex: if Villella's supporters take their money and run and there's not enough to replace it, the company gets ho-hum reviews under Lopez, the Knight Foundation stops funding them, they have to downsize their personnel and/or rep and they public doesn't accept it, key dancers flock away -- I think the board will be the ones who will blamed, not Villella.