vipa

Right now, rightly or wrongly, the company seems to be able to raise money for whatever Ratmansky wants to do. Results are very mixed IMO. Golden Cockerel, Tempest being the biggest failures. Personally I hated Sleeping Beauty, and will never go see it again, but I understand others admire it. In any event donor money flows to Ratmansky not to resurrecting pieces from ABT's past.

I was thinking of Allegra Kent when I read your post. Yes a short dancer can excel in the role if she has that mystic/inner life plus the right proportions plus the ability to be inside the music. Being tall and leggy doesn't make the role what it should be. I wish Hyltin was being given a chance to grow in it. After seeing her Swan Lake I think she could get there

Thanks you cobweb you stated two fine attributes that I didn't think to mention, but agree with.

Abi Stafford has been in the company for a long time (18 or 19 yrs). She became something of a Martins favorite when she joined and moved through the ranks quickly. Martins cast her in everything with very mixed results IMO (I saw a pretty awful Theme and Variations). Then she was out with injuries for a long time and at some point had a baby. She's probably around 36 at this point. The past few seasons, she's been healthy, and I've found her enjoyable in every role I've seen her in. She brings a certain intelligence and naturalness to the stage, and has a solid technique. I'm glad to see her being given more stage time.

I assume you are referring to Gomes. If not please correct me. Gomes resigned before we knew what he was accused of. ABT took no action to remove him, as far as we know. We can't assume anything about the seriousness of his actions.

I have intentionally stayed away from this thread for days. There is much to discuss in terms of ideas, opinions, thoughts etc but I was making myself crazy by following it with no new facts at my disposal. I haven't read through where I left off. However, I'm already rethinking something I said previously. I mentioned that I am usually a person that separates the artist from the art, but didn't think I could watch Ramasar partner women. I'm rethinking that position. Cobweb's statement helped me with that.

So agree about Gordon. I'm excited that I'll be seeing him in Diamonds with Mearns. Looking forward to everyone's reviews/comments when the season starts. I won't be there until the 22nd.

Yes cobweb that's right. That was a last minute ticket I purchased online. I got 4T's music while waiting!!

I had a funny experience with my subscription. I still hadn't received my tickets so I emailed on Friday, and received a reply that there was no record that I had a subscription. I called on Saturday, knowing I'd paid for the subscription via credit card. As always, I was dealt with in a polite, friendly & professional manner. It took at least 45 minutes on the phone, of giving information and being put on hold before the mystery was solved. My subscription and seats were accounted for, but somehow the tickets had never been printed and mailed. I requested that the tickets be held at the box office for pick up. About an hour later I received a follow-up phone call saying that my tickets had just been printed, and would be held at the box office as requested. The other subscriber materials would be mailed on Monday. Strange no? My DeLuz tickets came weeks ago! At least the music is nice when your on hold.

I agree cobweb, that Georgina Pazcogiun has been underused. I know she was out with a knee problem and don't know if she's returned to the company.

Ah yes, I remember. As a former dancer, I remember treasuring such moments with a director/teacher, so it is really hard for me to see something nefarious. Even as a married woman with a husband in the same company, such gestures were accepted with the positive intent that were meant. Perhaps this something of what Paglia was getting at. When you are in a performing artist context there are norms that must seem odd to others. From Peter Martins behavior, at those events, I would have no reason to believe he was anything other that an encouraging teacher.

Well - who is Abi Stafford reporting too?

Wow cobweb that is so interesting to me. I'm sure I was at the same event and didn't that same way at all. In fact I warmed to Peter Martins. You are a student who is nervous about dancing, for the for the first time, in front of a big audience and the director of the company touches/squeezes the back of your neck to show that you're doing OK. If Lordes Lopez squeezed the arm of a male student in a Miami City Ballet in a lecture-demo, would you feel the same way? I truly didn't find anything unusual or bad about it. I don't think he was going out of his way to reach for another dancer, he was merely showing his approval/encouragement.

Paglia is a controversial writer who always makes me think. I think I understand what she is describing. I have seen many tour romances/relationships, short term sexual relationships during summer jobs, and even (in a ballet company I belonged to) a decision to have a co-ed dressing room. We all got used to being naked in front of each other, even those of us who started out undressing behind screens. That is all fine. The issues comes when there is a big power inbalance and non-consent. So I can agree that there are times in the performing arts when regular workplace rules are dismissed, still power pressure and non-consent can not be accepted.

Carousel is scheduled to close September 16. Presumably Ramasar was going to return to NYCB for the fall and Nutcracker seasons

I be!ieve I misunderstood Alexa Maxwell's role as stated in the complaint. It seems to say that Finlay made an offer to Ramadan to share Alexandra with Ramasar and Maxwell. We don't know if Ramasar responded and it is doubtful that Maxwell knew of that exchange

I am usually a believer of separating the artist from the art. I do believe that people who have done terrible things can create transcendent works of art or be great interpretive artists. In this case, I feel differently because it would be hard for me to see one of these men on stage touching a woman - partnering her.

I would imagine that the three men are getting a ton of strongly worded IG posts.

Thank you Kathleen. So no individuals would be personally liable but if a suit is lost the entity would have to pay whatever settlement/penalty is decided. It would come out of company funds, or perhaps an insurance policy. Is that correct?

I was wondering that too Rick. I've heard her say in interviews that Ramasar is a good friend, and she's posted pictures of him with her daughter. I've also heard her mention that Catazaro is an ex boyfriend who she has a good working relationship with. The complexities of people and relationships do not fit easily on an instagram posting. If she is going to comment, I'm sure she's considering what to say.

This whole matter is heartbreaking in many ways. I don't know if the company is liable and I'll naively ask what is meant by "the company" in a case like this. Is it the board, management, leadership team - who is the company? Liability aside, the tone of any ballet company is set, to a great degree, by the principal dancers. It is widely agreed that Wendy Whalen had a positive impact on the company tone. 3 male principals demonstrating such a deplorable attitude towards woman must have had an impact. You enter the company as a 17 or 18 year old boy, and these are your role models. One article mentioned an attitude of being able to get away with anything. That is part of the ballet culture because there are so many fewer boys than girls in ballet classes. A misbehaving boy will get a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th chance, while a misbehaving girl gets 1 or, if she is super talented, 2. That's the way it is. As abatt and others have said, this put more pressure on board to hire a woman AD. The question is will women who are qualified think twice before applying.

I feel sorry for her too. I was surprised to hear that she is just 24. I don't know her, except from her media and videos I've seen of her dancing, but I've never seen a young dancer who seemed so closed off to input. By that I mean she seems to have a very fixed idea of her dancing and how she should be perceived. This would be the opposite of the dancers who go to Vale to grow and explore. That's just my impression, of course.

Thank you Cristian. Of course I'm confused. She is still a principal dancer in S. Korea but she is looking for part time work in Moscow, doing anything, to continue working on her teaching degree. Is she going back to S.Korea for their season? Interesting comments about "proving yourself." In any company you are proving yourself to the AD, choreographers, stagers etc. - young or old, male or female. In some ways Womack never seemed cut out for company life.

Another way to go would be to hire someone like Lopez or Anderson, to re-stabilize and calm things. During that tenure of say 5 years, the board could come up with a better succession plan. The kind they should have had with Peter Martins, because of his age. I'm still amazed that there was none.

I believe that Kirkland pretty much renounced her SAB training and went Russian, or tried to in some ways. She is a fan of full length, story ballets including mime. I don't think she'd be a fit for NYCB. I agree that she was special as a dancer, not my favorite, but special. However that doesn't mean she has what it takes to be a great teacher or coach. Most importantly she has never indicated an interest in the Balanchine legacy, quite the opposite.