tutu

42 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

I haven't read this yet, but why was this amended now? Is this typical of complaints? Shouldn't all of the details been outlined in the original complaint? 

Not at all uncommon for complaints to be amended (including to add additional defendants, etc.).

My understanding is that Federal Rules of Civil Procedure permit the amendment of a complaint as a matter of course within 21 days of service, and NY CPLR permits amendment without leave of court within 20 days after service. (It’s not rare to see filing of an amended complaint beyond this time period, but the process of getting permission to amend gets a little more complex.)

4 hours ago, Longtimelurker said:

I think if she really believed there was a systemic issue that put her and her colleagues at risk as is alleged in the court documents and spoke out about it, then the public reaction would not be negative especially in this #metoo environment.

You and I have wildly different understandings of what happens to most women who take public stances, especially in the Internet age.

On 9/12/2018 at 6:35 AM, bcash said:

Which reminds me of the slightly curious case of Waterbury. She is of traditional college age, and she did not enter NYCB or any other professional dance company to pursue a dance career. Coming straight out of SAB and PCS, she seems an unusual candidate for (and student at) the GS, as it is known within Columbia.

I’m not sure why the topic is being raised as a point of concern here, except perhaps in an attempt to paint a particular portrait of Waterbury (positive or negative). Nonetheless, it’s an inaccurate perception of who’s “unusual” for GS purposes today.

At GS, there are many, many, many former SAB/PCS, SAB/PPAS, actor/PCS, model/PCS, musician/PCS, former SFB School students, UNCSA students and other conservatory students who did not immediately enter into a full-time career in their artistic field. This should not be unexpected. PCS, PPAS, and other academic programs that adapt to aspiring artists’ intense training schedules are nontraditional: they don’t generally reflect the experience at most American high schools or elite boarding schools, for reasons that should be easy to ascertain. 

There is a well-trod path between PCS and Columbia GS, and it would be more surprising to see a student with Waterbury’s background at Columbia College instead of GS. I can understand that that might be unexpected, but it reflects the current reality. 

9 minutes ago, KayDenmark said:

I also don't see much evidence of her working as a model, even though she is signed to a prestigious agency. 

From her social media, it appears that she has been on the cover of fashion magazines abroad, has shot for Danskin, industry publications, one of the Vogue entities, and unspecified MAC cosmetics projects in the last year. She might not be Naomi Campbell, but it’s clear that she’s doing at least some work in the modeling world, and may be concerned about her image for professional as well as personal reasons.

[edited to clarify timeline]

3 minutes ago, Longtimelurker said:

I ascribe to the theory posited by others above regarding a general culture throughout ballet where straight male dancers continually need to prove and advertise their sexual orientation.  I think that is a societal issue and not something the company can change.

So does that suggest that we should expect that this same behavior is occuring at other ballet companies? If no, why not?

48 minutes ago, KayDenmark said:

I'm just not sure that cutting a large check to Miss Waterbury (and her lawyer) is the best way to accomplish this. 

48 minutes ago, KayDenmark said:

Would NYCB have been just as motivated to change if Miss Waterbury had been given a private settlement?  

Negotiated private settlements can also include provisions on injunctive (i.e., non-monetary) relief. It is conceivable that the proposed (and rejected) settlement would include provisions for injunctive relief, especially given that that’s one of the remedies now sought in the complaint. If NYCB agreed to a private settlement agreeing to injunctive relief including changes in practices, etc., that would be a strong (and enforceable) motivation to change.

1 hour ago, Drew said:

If Waterbury has a right to sue--and by all indications she does--then why shouldn't she? and why wouldn't she? Likewise when it comes to reaching a financial agreement or "payoff" as you write. The fact is that if big organizations and, for that matter, individuals, don't suffer economical consequences--or face the possibility of suffering economical consequences--in situations like this, then they don't often change. 

I want to re-emphasize everything that Drew has drawn out, and also note that negotiated settlements can also include provisions on injunctive relief — which could include assurance that a behavior will no longer be tolerated or that it will be addressed. Indeed, Waterbury’s complaint requests a remedy of injunctive relief.

9 minutes ago, FITTB85 said:

I think there were more men involved who were not named in the complaint for various reasons; because Amar and Zach are being punished for something others may have been involved in I get the feeling Amar specifically is being treated as the guy taking the fall for some others.  

If that’s the case, how can such behavior be so widespread and tolerated? 

12 minutes ago, MarzipanShepherdess said:

would love to hear from any other City Ballet fans/supporters as to what they plan to do this upcoming season, or what you'd do in our shoes!

I’m not comfortable watching this company right now. I was rather troubled by this line in the New York Times article:

“After The New York Times reported last monththat Mr. Finlay had resigned and Mr. Ramasar and Mr. Catazaro had been suspended, she said, she had ‘received threats from random people telling me I had enemies now, and how I am a job-ruiner.’” 

Given that Ms. Waterbury’s name wasn’t public at the time of suspension, I have questions about how and why she was (fine, allegedly) targeted for threats.

Many members of the company also expressed support on Ramasar’s (public) social media in the days following the suspension announcement. If that’s the first response to these kinds of allegations, it makes me sick.

Dance Magazine profiled Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan:

https://www.dancemagazine.com/sarah-gabrielle-ryan-pnb-2585798051.html

On 6/25/2018 at 5:47 AM, its the mom said:

Yes, there is a stipend for Studio Company, but not for those in the school, at least as far as I know.  However, I am sure that with whatever stipend they get, it is still very financially difficult to live in NYC.  https://www.rentcafe.com/average-rent-market-trends/us/ny/manhattan/

Per ABT’s website, “some” of the Studio Company members are provided housing: https://www.abt.org/faq/abt-studio-company/

21 hours ago, Amicos said:

This is my first post at BA, though I have been reading posts here for quite sometime. Sadly, I am only able to make it to NYC for an ABT show once a year. I envy those of you that can go to several! This year I chose Swan Lake (it's literally been 30 years since I've seen it) with Teuscher, Stearns and Zhurbin/Forster at the helm. Here's what I thought...

I agree with EVERYTHING you’ve written here, Amicos, and I can’t wait to read more of your thoughts. 

Devon Teuscher’s Odette is wonderful. She’s still developing her Odile, and you can see moments she’s developed — I expect that in a couple more runs, we’ll get to see those moments add up to an sense of seduction and deceit that lasts through the entire Act III.  Would love to see her paired with a Siegfried who could carry some emotional weight. 

3 hours ago, aurora said:

She looked very solid last night (It sounds at least like yesterday was, overall, a more successful performance)

Echoing Aurora, Teuscher’s fouettés were solid last night, right up to either a triple or quadruple pirouette to finish. 

On 1/25/2018 at 3:07 AM, Drew said:

 ...  As it happens, whatever may have been the exiled Prokofiev's thoughts about the United States, the article linked to makes clear it was the (Soviet) Piotrovsky  working with Prokofiev who came up with a happy ending to Romeo and Juliet in one version of the libretto.

The NY Phil recently performed the R&J suite, and the program notes have a nice account of the happy ending controversy, as well as excerpts from an old interview with Galina Ulanova discussing the creation of the original production (and Prokofiev’s score). The information starts around page labeled 32 here: https://nyphil.org/~/media/pdfs/program-notes/1718/Prokofiev-Selections-from-Romeo-and-Juliet.pdf

4 hours ago, fondoffouettes said:

ABT engaged a law firm, which seems perfectly reasonable. They aren’t equipped to handle this on their own, and I can’t imagine this was part of some sort of vendetta against Gomes. He’s clearly loved by the company and I imagine they would have done anything possible to keep him. Why would they want to besmirch the reputation of an audience favorite? 

Agreed. It’s also worth noting that white-collar internal investigations are fundamentally different from litigation — when a law firm is engaged to perform an internal investigation, it’s about finding the facts on the ground and allowing the client to make a decision, not about getting into an adversarial legal situation. (An example for context: companies often hire law firms when they have reason to suspect there’s insider trading or FCPA violations within their ranks, because handling it internally is better than getting the company getting fined by, for example, the SEC.) The goal is to find out what happened, not to start a fight.

The ideal situation for everyone involved — including ABT management — would be an investigation revealing that allegations were meritless, with evidence from an investigation to refute anyone who claimed otherwise. It doesn’t look like that’s what will happen (or even, perhaps, that the investigation will be completed). That makes me sad and frustrated and disappointed, but it doesn’t make me say that ABT did something wrong in hiring a lawyer.

Well-deserved! Wonderful news.

Videos are starting to pop up on YouTube, especially under the user Leo Petit, who has uploaded Classical Symphony and Paquita in full. Really fantastic stuff.

The Today Show had a brief segment on the new production, with talking heads from Ratmansky, Jeffrey Cirio, and Stella Abrera. Watch it here. 

(Is it just me, or has ABT's PR machine gotten a lot stronger within the past year or two?)

I attended last night, and have mixed feelings. The production value is certainly over the top, and the whole thing may be worth seeing for the opulence of the sets and costumes alone -- there was clearly a lot of money to burn for this one. There are strokes of brilliance in the choreography, with standout performances from Sarah Lane, Joseph Gorak, and Catherine Hurlin, a devilish second-act solo for Daniil Simkin, and mostly excellent corps work from the whipped cream ladies. It was wonderful to see David Hallberg back onstage.

But there were some problems: a few bobbles in the corps (e.g., one member's accidental but quickly smoothed-over early start to a sequence; an individual's missing jump that appeared to result from "traffic" issues).

More broadly, the orchestra needed a few more rehearsals — the Strauss wasn't quite "tight," especially if you know the score — and it felt as if the work would have benefited from dancers performing with a City Ballet–style musicality, which lands on the front end of the beat, instead of in the middle. The latter works for certain composers, but the complexity of the Strauss score seems to require a crispness to the musicality in order to fully see the strains of the music highlighted by the choreography — this approach was part of the strength of Ms. Lane, Ms. Hurlin, and Mr. Gorak's performances, and the lack thereof was part of what made the always-excellent Stella Abrera's feel relatively underwhelming.

Overall, the production is worth the ticket price, but I'd advise going to a later performance, when some of the kinks may be worked out.

On 2/20/2017 at 9:00 PM, Birdwatcher said:

She always had an elegance and warmth in her movement quality that drew my eye to her dancing. 

Such a perfect description. Congratulations to Ms. Clark on these exciting next steps, even if it's a bittersweet goodbye.

Fabulous news! Especially happy to see Sara Adams -- sometimes it seems as if she's been rather underutilized in the corps, so it'll be great to see her with more opportunities. Also really happy to see Emilie Gerrity promoted -- while there's not as much "name recognition" as with Unity Phelan, Indiana Woodward, et al., she's really developed a lovely magnetism on stage within the past few years.

BalletontheRocks, I was a bit surprised as well, but there's such a depth of talent in the corps that it may take a few cycles to get all of the future soloists moved up. My guess is that Ashley Hod, Alexa Maxwell, and Claire Kretzschmar will be part of the next "batch" (perhaps with Miriam Miller as well, though perhaps she'll be moving on her own trajectory). What a great time to be in the City Ballet audience!

Not sure if this is the right place, but it looks like PNB's picked up a new corps dancer: Calista Ruat, formerly of POB. 

Still, somehow, hoping Chelsea Adomaitis will return from Paris, but at least the exchange is two ways, now!

On September 28, 2016 at 4:39 PM, sz said:

There were excellent moments, dancers, but I was very unhappy with how fast the tempi was for everything.  The dancers looked rushed or even behind the music, especially during VW. 

Tempo issues tonight for Jewels as well. Rubies was sadistically breakneck (you know it's too fast when Bouder looks rushed). Tempo was the least of the music issues, though: some sour notes in Emeralds gave way to complete disorder for Rubies' Stravinsky, with every section of the orchestra apparently following a different conductor. Enormous credit owed to the dancers, who stayed clean and calm and, God knows how, musical through the madness, but the genius of Balanchine choreographing Stravinsky was mostly lost -- you can't appreciate musicality of choreography when you can't hear the music.

Minus the music issues, Emeralds looked good, with Indiana Woodward a particular highlight in the pas de trois, Tiler Peck's bracelet solo looking lovely, and some fine work from the apprentice-filled corps. That Woodward promotion's got to be coming any day now.

Rubies corps also looked great, as did Teresa Reichlen's tall girl and Bouder's McBride, under the musical circumstances, though Andrew Veyette didn't quite measure up to the women.

Diamonds was a relief after Rubies. Demis were wonderful: I love the way Mary Elizabeth Sell's port de bras often seems to be based in her spine, giving this sense of breath for each of the balancés in the opening waltz. Sara Mearns and Tyler Angle are a favorite in the pas de deux, and they delivered, again. Mearns may have tweaked something either at the end of the pas or during the scherzo; though she finished the ballet with the strength, presence, technique, and consummate professionalism she always exhibits, it looked like she may have been in pain, especially during the curtain calls. Corps was once again excellent.

Attended today's matinee. Indiana Woodward shining in Divert, as was Unity Phelan in Episodes, aided in no small part by an impressive Preston Chamblee. Between Chamblee in Episodes and Harrison Ball and Joseph Gordon in Divert, a lot to celebrate from the men of the corps. 

Throughout this week, I've been marveling at the growth in the women's port de bras and use of épaulement -- is there a new ballet master or mistress working with them this season?

Taylor Stanley was subbed out, but I didn't catch the name of his replacement and left before Vienna Waltzes (I share many of cobweb's reservations and prefer to skip it these days). (EDIT: looks like it was Troy Schumacher. Thank you vipa!) Here's hoping that it's nothing serious and that he'll be back soon.

1 hour ago, Emma said:

Were the last promotions over a year ago?  Any thoughts on who's next?  Woodward seems to be making a great case for herself, dancing in two new ballets and subbing in Divert.

I also think she hasn't been in too many (if any) corps roles so far this season, which may be a sign of plans afoot (or so I hope!)

Company looked great in today's matinee -- lots of energy and everyone just felt more joyful. Maybe still feeding off the energy of last night's many debuts? It was particularly evident in Stravinsky Violin Concerto, where each and every dancer looked like they were having a ball.

Teresa Reichlen was MAGNIFICENT in Monumentum/Movements. I've never quite "gotten" the appeal of either piece, but with Reichlen at her full power (and partnered by Adrian Danchig-Waring, who seems to bring out the best in her), it finally clicked for me.

Megan Fairchild was really, really present in Duo Concertant, with a depth that I haven't always felt from her in previous performances of the role. She and Anthony Huxley have an intriguing dynamic, and they each are breathing new life into the work. 

Symphony in Three was probably the messiest on the program, but in more of an "everyone's dancing like a soloist" way than an "everyone's tired" way.

If the company continues to look as good as it has this week, it's going to be a really strong season.