abatt

Let's assume for a second that Martins is guilty of everything he is accused of. Usually people who are abusive at work are enabled by others who have looked the other way and stayed silent. If all the charges are true, it's not enough that Martins is gone. There has to be a top to bottom investigation and accounting of who else at SAB or NYCB was an enabler, and what actions have to be taken with regard to those individuals.

I think transparency is much more important to SAB and NYCB in comparison to the Met because the alleged misconduct was committed against young people (teenagers and young adults) who were either students or employees at these institutions. (The claims against Levine involved conduct elsewhere, not at the Met Opera.) The life blood of these institutions of SAB and NYCB depend on parents who are willing to entrust that their young sons and daughters will be treated properly, and in order to move forward there has to be a full public accounting of exactly what happened. It cannot be swept under the rug.

I agree that NYCB may never publicly reveal the results of the investigation. However, since SAB is an institution which teaches and supervises youngsters at its school, and since NYCB employs minors as apprentices and in the corps, I think it is a grave mistake for them not to release the findings. Let's also not forget that these institutions are supported by both taxpayer funds and by donations, which also heightens the idea that the information should be made public. I don't think either SAB or NYCB can move on if the results are hidden from public view. Anything less than full transparency will leave a black stain on both institutions that will never be removed. If necessary, the names of the witnesses can be redacted from any report, but the conclusions of the investigation should be made public.

The investigation into Martins' behavior started on or about December 4. We are now almost at the two month mark since it started. Is the investigation complete? If so, what was the outcome?

Veyette and DeLuz are both cast in the upcoming high octane role in Fall of the The Four Seasons. Very much looking forward to seeing DeLuz again in this. By the way, Huxley was excellent in his debut in Year of the Rabbit, a role that I think was originated by DeLuz.

Whoever ends up as the new director, I hope he or she will give additional consideration to certain dancers who have been marginalized or written off. In particular, I'm talking about Laracey. She was the most exquisite Ballerina on stage in Divertimento. Also, why are Applebaum, Scrudato and certain other men languishing as permanent corps members. They were both far superior to Veyette in Divertimento.

I went to the program on Friday that had the Wind Will Carry Us, Composers Holiday, Spectral Evidence and Year of the Rabbit. I like Year of the Rabbit. It's a very well crafted work. Composers Holiday was also worth watching. But it was difficult to sit through Wind and Spectral, which seems to go on forever. That will be my one and only viewing of that program.

It's only the first week of the Winter Season, and Mearns did not perform on Tuesday, Thursday or Friday. Of course, I know they rehearse even on days they aren't scheduled to perform. If she's on weak legs at this early stage, that doesn't bode well. Since the error has been in the exact same spot twice, I tend to think that it's not fatigue, but a partnering or skills problem causing the repeated error in Chaconne. Mearns seems to have a lot of outside projects. Maybe it's time to cut back.

Yes, it was like deja vu all over again in Chaconne. The blooper was at almost the same spot as earlier in the week, as discussed with canbelto. Nevertheless, an exquisite program with almost uniformly wonderful dancing.

Agree with you 100 percent.

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Okay. I'll qualify. This is my interpretation of Martin's words. He spoke those very words about noticing dancers either in an TV or print interview a long time ago, but I can't place it exactly. Do we really think he was using code for sexual assault by expressing that sentiment in a public interview? I guess that sound could have been a gasp, but I thought that whatever sound it was came from the stage, not from audience.

I wish I could get an instant replay. The Mearns /Adrian mishap happened so fast it was hard to discern exactly what happened, but it was certainly NOT part of the choreography. I guess we'll have to see their next Chaconne together to compare and contrast.

As noted above, I attached a NY Times article from October 2017 re the nature of Mearns' dancing. The issues we are speaking of were going on well before the Peter Martins debacle, so I don't think it has anything to do with the leadership transition at NYCB. Mearns once said in an itnerview that she never wants her audience to walk out of her show saying "that was nice". This is part of her MO- she must tackle every role to the extreme or else she fears that her performance will be regarded as bland or "nice", to use her word. In another thread, we discussed a NY Times article in which a dancer alleged that Martins sexually harassed her because she asked Martins what she needed to do in order to get promoted. His reply was that she had to make him notice her. The dancer took that as a sexual proposition. I bring it up here because Mearns' approach is exactly the type of approach that Martins always rewarded. You notice Mearns, even if you don't always agree with what she's doing. Risk taking and giving 1000 percent every second, although sometimes overkill, is exactly what Martins referred to when he urges a dancer to make him notice her.

The recent critiques of Mearns' approach to her roles is not only amongst us here on ballet alert. It has been noted in the NY Times. "She’s dancing with a torrential force that — despite her color, vehemence and precision — is in danger of overpowering her roles." https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/08/arts/dance/new-york-city-ballet-rebecca-krohn-cortege-hongrois.html

Canbelto, I know the moment you are talking about in Chaconne w. Mearns. It was during the dance of the blessed spirits section in the beginning. I don't know what happened, but there was apparently some sort of partnering error, and she just walked away from Adrian. I didn't think it was a growl, but maybe a stomp on the floor. There was definitely a strange noise when this happened. Loved Divertimento. Such a sunny and joyous ballet. All of the ladies performed exceedingly well. Laracey was radiant. I thought the two soloist men were both preferable to Veyette. Veyette is very sloppy in his solo work. This wasn't just an off night. It has become a regular thing with him. 4Ts' was stunningly performed by all. It was bracing in all the best ways. On the first night, Chase did a good job with Apollo. He's improved quite a bit. However, he seems to be out of breath a lot of the time. The only other time I've noticed a similar problem on stage is when I've seen Ivan Vasiliev, except that Ivan was exerting himself to a much higher degree. The 3 muses were good. Sterling has made great improvements in her interpretation of Terp. I'm so grateful to have Maria K back on stage. She was luminous in the prayer section, and did great work in the other sections of the ballet. Tyler Angle seems to be out of shape. His partnering is still wonderful, but he is struggling a bit with his solos and his landing. Janzen seems to have cleaned up his act. He has had a tendency to be a bit sloppy in the past when called upon to perform a difficult solo variation. However, he looked magnificent in the difficult solo variation in Cortege. Mearns is brilliant in this ballet. I miss the fire and spice of Georgina Paz in the folk section. Lowery was boring in comparison. Very full houses on both Tuesday and Wednesday.

Cornejo was always a bit too old to be playing the young boy. Probably best to leave that role behind. Simkin was perfection, and his "boyish" qualities perfectly suited the role.

Thanks. I do follow figure skating very closely, and they are a magnificent couple. I think their routine is better than Virtue and Moir this season, and I hope that Papadakis Cizeron can take home the gold. Disturbed that Stepanova and Bukin are banned from the ice dance competition, although they were not in contention for the medals.

Clearly Cirio worked with Papadakis and Cizeron on their free dance. However, he is not officially given any credit. The choreography is credited to Marie France Dubreuil. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriella_Papadakis

It took Cornejo and Simkin years to be given important lead roles, even after they got promoted to principal. I'm not surprised that Cirio is suffering the same fate. McKenzie is very resistant to casting short men in roles like Albrecht, Solor and Siegfried. Since Cornejo has trouble making it through an entire season without an injury or illness, we may see more of Cirio than anticipated. I actually don't agree that Hoven is ready for a full length lead role. Maybe they should give him a secondary lead, such as a replacement for Hallberg in Whipped Cream. However, Forster seems to destined for those slots. He has improved, but taking on a full length lead role is a major undertaking that requires a lot of skill and stamina. Hoven needs to prove himself in more difficult featured roles before they move him up to the leading man in a full length ballet. Yes, Gorak has fallen into oblivion.

Was Stolbova previously banned for a period of time for doping? I had not previously heard of any ban on Bukin. A shame that their partners on the ice must also suffer the consequences of the ban.

David Hallberg signed a contract for the Met season with ABT. He is not a guest artist at ABT. It's not a matter of being indebted. It's a matter of honoring the contract that you signed. If he withdrew from these shows because he felt they were no longer within his technical grasp, that' is certainly an outcome which nobody could hold against him. However, if it turns out that he withdrew because he is jetting off for a different gig, that's not acceptable. ABT has been advertising his appearnaces for the upcoming season for months, and once you put your ticket order in you cannot get a refund.

Yes, my initial thought was that Hallberg is becoming the Jonas Kaufmann of the ballet world. I'm holding out hope that ABT is going to hire a special guest artist for those Bayadere slots. I think they owe it us to hire Kimin Kim, Shkylarov or Sarafanov, to fill those dates.

He's also indebted to ABT, but that factor doesn't seem to matter. I can understand why he might retire the role of Solor, but Whipped Cream? It's an easyish, short role. The only explanation seems to be another gig.

Since Hallberg is now out of Bayadere, unless there is some utterly stellar replacement, that time period is now slotted for a trip to DC for Natl Ballet of Cuba. I can't imagine sitting through Hee Seo's Nikiya without a brilliant Solor.