On Pointe

But Catazaro didn't say anything about Waterbury and didn't receive or share photos of her.  She included him in her filing because she was on a mission to slash and burn.  Chase Finlay was the legitimate target of her anger,  not Catazaro.  Catazaro would be justified in suing Waterbury,  for destroying his career and upending his life.  He did nothing to her.  Meanwhile he was saddled with legal bills that doubtless ran into the thousands.

28 minutes ago, Helene said:

And, yes, Catazaro's comments were posted in the lawsuit, which is what lead to his suspension.

His comments should not have been posted.  Catazaro's comments were about another woman.   Whatever the nature of his comments - and as reported,  they were not scurrilous - he had a reasonable expectation of privacy that Waterbury breached.

2 hours ago, canbelto said:

Meanwhile the only person's name who continues to get dragged through the mud is the victim herself -- Alexandra Waterbury. That's just messed up.

How has Waterbury's name been "dragged through the mud"?  I've seen no evidence of that.  Nothing but articles painting her as a hapless victim and lauding her " bravery".  Her modeling career hasn't suffered,  and  she even participated in a university seminar where she was described as a "reknowned ballerina".  Her attempt to involve Alexa Maxwell in her vendetta against ballet was unkind to say the least.  But when Maxwell stated that,  based on Waterbury's pleadings to her,  Waterbury's primary motive was digging into NYCB's deep pockets,  Maxwell was the one who was pilloried.

These former MCB dancers should be lauded for their courage in being so frank about their experiences.  But "I was told" only goes so far.   I wish they had named  their abusers,  because their treatment as described was truly abusive,  unprofessional and unproductive.  Nobody trains and works hard for years to attain their level of expertise to be treated like trash by some small time megalomaniac.  Driving dancer after dancer out of a company is just plain lousy management.  

1 hour ago, BalanchineFan said:

That depends on your definition of sexual assault. Finlay is still liable (if that's the word) for taking sexually explicit photos of Waterbury without her consent and disseminating them. That part of the case can move forward. I disagree that her chances of winning are "slim to none' particularly with respect to Finlay's intentions. The decision itself says that the texts accompanying the images show that Finlay knew it would cause her distress if she found out. If he knew it would cause her distress and he did it anyway, it seems to me that that is the definition of "intentionally causing distress."

Sexual assault is defined as forcing or coercing someone into sexual activity or touching without their consent.  Waterbury's sexual conduct with Finlay was consensual.  It was the recording of that conduct that was not consensual.  In my opinion she has good and sufficient grounds for going after Finlay on that basis.  But it's not sexual assault.  Some of Waterbury's teen supporters told passersby outside of WSS that Amar Ramasar had sexually assaulted "someone",  which is a vile misrepresentation of the case.  As his attorney said,  they throw around terms as if they have no real meaning,  a very dangerous practice.

I never said that Waterbury's chances of winning against Finlay were "slim to none".  I think they're pretty good.  But she should have gone after him alone,  with or without involving the court system.

3 hours ago, canbelto said:

There are no false accusations of sexual assault. The stigma against the victims is such that false accusations simply do not happen. 

That is manifestly untrue.  False accusations are made regarding every crime,  and sexual assault is no different.  At any rate,  there is no sexual assault in the Waterbury case.

Waterbury still "won".   She got her revenge agsinst NYCB,  SAB,  and Finlay,  and she punished Ramasar for apparently pretending to be her friend.  She drove Catazaro out of his career with NYCB and destroyed Longhitano's business prospects and finances.  Her own career got a big boost,  and she got recognized by some as a young feminist icon,  taking on the ballet patriarchy.  Whatever,  the lawyers are going to get paid,  one say or another.

52 minutes ago, pherank said:

Young dancers often seem to think the A.D. job in particular is all about choosing ballets/dance projects and casting (what fun!). But at many companies the job is often bureaucratic and necessarily oriented towards fund-raising. There isn't always other senior mangers to take on all the "dry" business of running a company - some A.D.'s easily spend as much of their time playing Personnel Director, or Fund Raiser, as they do Artistic Director.

 

Peter Martins was perhaps problematic in some aspects of running NYCB,  but he excelled in raising money and schmoozing board members and potential donors. 

An Instagram video of a young Nigerian ballet student dancing barefoot in the rain went viral last month,  with wonderful results.  He's been offered scholarships in New York,  and the school has received help in bettering their facility.  Here's an article about it from The Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/sep/04/poise-and-prestige-the-lagos-ballet-class-propelled-onto-global-stage

While they concentrate on Anthony Madu,  the boy in the video,  to my mind they buried the lede - the ballet teacher,  Daniel Ajala,  taught himself ballet from YouTube videos!  To bring it back to sports,  this is akin to Richard Williams coaching his daughters Venus and Serena to tennis greatness even though he did not play the game himself.  He taught them using what he learned from videotapes and books.  His example inspired Leonard François,  the father of Naomi Osaka.  Tennis training,  like ballet,  is very expensive,  but where there's a will there's a way.

While there are similar elements in sports and the arts,  there is one glaring difference - the majority of the players in the NBA and the NFL are black and highly-valued as players.  That's why the disparity as to who gets coaching and management positions is so obvious.  But in ballet in particular,  there are far fewer black professionals performing in any capacity,  so there is plausible deniability as to why so few make it into companies and/or teaching and management positions.  The appointment of Aesha Ash to the faculty at SAB and Craig Hall's continuing tenure as ballet master at NYCB are the exceptions that prove the rule.

1 hour ago, vipa said:

With all due respect, I don't believe we can jump to the conclusion that dancers who are leaving MCB at this time, are doing so because of  Lopez.

You're right,  but one would hope that artistic directors of ballet companies,  who are all in the same boat,  would be moved to take extraordinary measures to hold on to their dancers.  As for Morgan,  she's a professional.  Being pulled from one role wouldn't be enough to cause her to quit,  or at least one would hope not.

If Lourdes Lopez has a preference for very thin dancers,  hiring a woman whose years-long struggle with weight is well known was a pretty whack move.  The fact that so many dancers left at once indicates that Kathryn Morgan wasn't the only dancer who couldn't put up with Lopez.  It might be time for a change in administration,  which is a shame as so few women run ballet companies these days.

Kudos to Amanda Morgan for the work she's doing.  But she,  and Nicholas Rose,  are taking big risks.  Speaking out can put a big target on your back.  I'm sure that they would prefer to "just dance".  Black people in largely white organizations are often judged as "disloyal",  not sufficiently grateful for being hired if they point out inequities in the workplace.  Company heads don't like being chastised for their shortcomings by their employees,  especially when they are black.

Maybe I've become cynical and emotionally exhausted by the events of the past months,  but I can't believe that Theresa Ruth Howard's detailed and passionate call to action will actually make much difference in the ballet world or any other arts organizations.  It's too much work,  and the upside isn't going to be sufficiently rewarding (at first).  There was an illuminating article in the New York Times about similar problems in the opera world:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/16/arts/music/opera-race-representation.html

I was particularly struck by this:  Ms. Slack’s demand, she said in the video, amounted to no more than “humanity”: “I’m not asking for your seat. I’m asking that you move over so I can sit in mine, and you be OK with that.”

Arts organizations are reflective of the world at large.  Ballet and opera companies are not going to become more progressive than society in general.  

35 minutes ago, Helene said:

. I think the disconnect in the discussion came between describing police violence and murder of mostly black men in the US and that racism is as strong in Canada as the US.  Blatant racism in Canada doesn't manifest itself through police and RMCP violence against (mostly) black men in Canada: it manifests itself in police and RCMP violence against indigenous peoples, especially women and girls, although indigenous men are killed at an alarming rate. 

Police violence against black people is a problem in Toronto just as in other North American cities.  Here's an article about the horrific case of a black woman thrown or driven to her death by the police from a twenty-four story building in Toronto a few months ago:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/regis-korchinski-paquet-toronto-1.5596811

From the article:  "A CBC News investigation found black people made up 36.5 per cent of fatalities involving Toronto police, despite accounting for just 8.3 per cent of the city's population, in the period from 2000-17."

Sorry if I misunderstood your point.  I really don't understand why you bring up the treatment of indigenous Canadians in this discussion.  Apparently you don't believe that Canada is as racist toward black people as the US.  I do. But what we think has no bearing on Mr. Rose's lived experience.  You seem to be discounting it when you say "he may not understand that the reality of his bosses is different", .  And you suggest that his discomfort is his fault for daring to dance with a big classical company,  with white male choreographers,  in the first place.  Please correct me if I am wrong,  but that's the message I got.

35 minutes ago, volcanohunter said:

I argued no such thing. I'm still confused by your reference to New York City Ballet.

You seem to be arguing that Canada can't be as racist toward black people because indigenous Canadians appear to catch even more hell.  But it's possible and quite evident that societies can harbor more than one prejudice at a time.  Canada,  like the US,  Mexico and the Latin American countries,  is racist against indigenous people and black people.  (Black Mexicans weren't even recognized in the Mexican census until this year.)   Both groups have to deal with racism,  but it's expressed in different ways,  in different circumstances.

It is not logical to bring up police shootings of indigenous Canadians in a discussion of Nicholas Rose's situation,  just as it makes no sense to bring up the prejudice faced by Native Americans in NYC in a discussion of racial politics regarding black dancers at NYCB  (although they don't seem to be complaining). Canadians have been paying lip service,  and little else,  to "First Nations People" for years.  There is no evidence that they are more sensitized to indigenous concerns than black concerns.  It's performative,  not actual.  And it's got nothing to do with Mr. Rose.

1 hour ago, volcanohunter said:

If NYCB is not traumatized by the plight of Native Americans because police shootings of Blacks is a graver problem in the area, does this exempt the NBoC from worrying about Blacks because police violence against Indigenous peoples is more prevalent in Canada?

That is what you seem to be implying,  that Rose should chill because First Nations people are being shot.  The common denominator is racism,  but the situations are not analagous.

1 hour ago, volcanohunter said:

No, it isn't, because police violence against Blacks was cited in this thread, and so was the assertion that Canada is "just as racist" toward Blacks as the United States, when the reality is that Indigenous peoples make up 5% of Canada's population, but they account for 38% of police shooting fatalities according to a recent press analysis. My point is that the situation is different, and that therefore the National Ballet's management will be sensitized differently.

Racism manifests in many ways.  As far as I know,  the police were not shooting at Nicholas Rose.  The subject is Rose and the NB of C.  

1 hour ago, volcanohunter said:

Why thousands of miles west of Toronto? Do you believe that Indigenous Canadians live only on reservations in the northern prairies? That would betray a fundamental misunderstanding about life in Canada and its urban centers in particular. Not unlike the way that Hollywood used to put totem poles in movies set in Quebec.

i am well aware that many indigenous Canadians live in the big cities.  There are hundreds of thousands of Native Americans living in the NYC area,  and they have their challenges,  but I doubt that the management of the NYCB is traumatized by their plight.  The subject was Nicholas Rose,  a black man,  and the National Ballet of Canada.  Citing the struggles of indigenous Canadians is "whataboutery",  a diversion.

8 hours ago, volcanohunter said:

I certainly don't deny the existence of racism in Canada, but this statement is not supported by the statistical data.

How can you quantify racism statistically?  Racism is experienced at the individual level.  Your post implies that Nicholas Rose's concerns are invalid because indigenous Canadians living a thousand miles west of Toronto have it worse.

9 hours ago, Tapfan said:

I doubt that ballet has a high enough  profile for most people to bother.

Alexandra Waterbury and her supporters have tried to "cancel" NYCB in particular and ballet overall,  and have managed to generate high profile negative discussion in the NY Times,  the Washington Post and even Law and Order SVU.  If the Corona virus hadn't shut down Broadway and ballet,  they might still be demonstrating in the street.  (Although it's likely that her mostly teenage supporters would have moved on by now.)  Ballet has a PR deficiency.  Right now companies are just preaching to the choir instead of reaching out to the public.

8 hours ago, Tapfan said:

The descriptor Latinx is tricky to define even by members of  the community itself.  But doesn't it generally refer to an ethnicity or culture  more than a race?  After all, many Latin dancers look and self-identify as white.

Latinos can be any race and many of them in ballet are white or white passing.  But they face discrimination as an ethnicity or presumed culture.  That's why Ramon Estevez and his son Carlos,  who are of partial European Spanish descent and not Latino at all,   became Martin and Charlie Sheen.   However overall,  they face fewer barriers than black performers.  It rarely happens now,  but lightskinned black Americans in theatre have been known to take on a fake Latino identity to increase their casting opportunities.  Conversely,   black Latinos like Zoe Saldana are rarely if ever cast in Latino roles.    On stage and screen,  colorism is more powerful than racism.

On 6/27/2020 at 6:04 PM, volcanohunter said:

Rose has lived in Canada for under two years, so he also may not understand that the reality of his bosses is different. In Canada it's the Indigenous population that is most likely to find itself on the wrong side of the criminal justice system. By far. Their plight is the great trauma most Canadians are likely to feel keenly, and in Toronto every National Ballet of Canada performance begins with an acknowledgement of Indigenous peoples and cultures.

Having spent a fair amount of time in Canada,  which I love,  I can assure you that it is just as racist toward black people as the US.  

I haven't seen either one dance,  but based on their photos,  Nicholas Rose and Alexander Skinner both have wonderful instruments for ballet,  beautifully proportioned bodies,  long lines,  articulate feet.  But Skinner looks very young and non-threatening,  and he's lightskinned,  whereas Rose is tall,  muscular and darkskinned,  for some white people,  the very embodiment of the "scary black man".  Rose has to navigate through life very differently than Skinner,  because he's treated differently by the greater society,  which includes the National Ballet of Canada.  Constant micro-aggressions can take their toll and can be more damaging than an overt racist act.  It is frustrating and tiring trying to convey this to those who aren't subjected to it.  You get accused of complaining about "nothing" and being a troublemaker or attention-seeker.  And you get left out of things,  like being featured in social media.

I hope that well-meaning white people understand that these are perilous times for black people.  We are suffering from the trauma of seeing black people lynched and murdered by the police,  shown over and over again on cable news.  I was up much of the night unable to sleep because of the murder of Elijah McClain,  a young black man walking home,  only 5'6" tall,  140 pounds,  who died of a heart attack after being thrown to the ground and choked by three police officers because he "looked suspicious".   He was a delicate soul who liked to play the violin for animals in shelters.  You can hear the encounter online if you missed it on cable,  but only if you want your heart broken.

14 hours ago, Tapfan said:

 I thought Jordana was a curly-haired Caucasian. Serves me right for being so smug about what I thought was very accurate racial radar. 

Lol - your "racial radar" needs a tune up.  Jordana Daumec doesn't look remotely white to me.

3 minutes ago, mira said:

Is your thought that Artistic Directors may have a resistance to hiring black American dancers?

Yes.

Dancers "get in where they fit in",  and there are Americans dancing in ballet companies all over the world.  It's logical for dancers to go where they want to dance the repertoire and can get paid well.  It's a bit of a leap to go from wanting to see black American dancers to have a chance to "nativism".  But it's especially ironic given that black Brazilians come to the US because they have almost no chance of dancing in a ballet company at home.