trixiebeaumont Posted August 22, 2020 Share Posted August 22, 2020 8 minutes ago, pherank said: 9 minutes ago, pherank said: You mean, why was it handled so badly? 😉 We humans are not the most logical of creatures. Lopez felt the need to get in her dig at Morgan, I'm assuming. That's why I think there's a personality conflict at work here. And obviously Morgan felt it wasn't just a temporary issue - she didn't see things improving anytime soon, so she moved on. Very sad in this day and age. Hopefully she is moving on to bigger and better things! Link to comment
Tapfan Posted August 22, 2020 Share Posted August 22, 2020 9 hours ago, balletforme said: That artistic director tends to heavily favor a very thin dancer. It's well known. Then why was Kathryn hired in the first place? Link to comment
GB1216 Posted August 22, 2020 Author Share Posted August 22, 2020 36 minutes ago, pherank said: You mean, why was it handled so badly? 😉 We humans are not the most logical of creatures. Lopez felt the need to get in her dig at Morgan, I'm assuming. That's why I think there's a personality conflict at work here. And obviously Morgan felt it wasn't just a temporary issue - she didn't see things improving anytime soon, so she moved on. I agree that there was definitely a personality conflict. I like Morgan a lot and she’s very outspoken which I think can come off as difficult. Still no excuses though when it comes to her shape - they knew what she looked like when they gave her a contract. I’m confused by the comment that Lopez felt she had to get a dig in. In what way? I don’t think she’s commented. Link to comment
canbelto Posted August 22, 2020 Share Posted August 22, 2020 There's a lot of dancers who are taught roles and then the roles are taken away. It happens in every ballet company. Sometimes it's awkward when a dancer posts rehearsal footage on IG and then that same dancer isn't cast. My hunch is that Lourdes knew Kathryn Morgan had a big social media platform and wanted to put her in her place, so to speak. Like "if you want a big starring role in a big company premiere you have to earn it by losing weight." It obviously didn't go over well and since Morgan had a SM platform she spoke openly about what happened. It sounds like a personality conflict + a dancer not being a good fit for a company + an AD who handled a casting reshuffle without much tact. Link to comment
pherank Posted August 22, 2020 Share Posted August 22, 2020 8 minutes ago, GB1216 said: I’m confused by the comment that Lopez felt she had to get a dig in. In what way? I don’t think she’s commented. Oh, I was just referring to the fact that Morgan said she was sidelined because of her appearance, but Lopez could just as easily have said something like, "I'm really sorry, but I want to give performance time to this other dancer to announce her promotion. But don't worry..." Yada, yada. But instead Lopez apparently focused on Morgan's appearance. It doesn't seem like any attempt to salvage the situation was made. As many have pointed out, there was nothing hidden about Morgan's situation - it was all very upfront. Lopez knew what she was getting into. Link to comment
vipa Posted August 22, 2020 Share Posted August 22, 2020 16 minutes ago, pherank said: Oh, I was just referring to the fact that Morgan said she was sidelined because of her appearance, but Lopez could just as easily have said something like, "I'm really sorry, but I want to give performance time to this other dancer to announce her promotion. But don't worry..." Yada, yada. But instead Lopez apparently focused on Morgan's appearance. It doesn't seem like any attempt to salvage the situation was made. As many have pointed out, there was nothing hidden about Morgan's situation - it was all very upfront. Lopez knew what she was getting into. I'm confused, sorry I haven't been keeping up with this conversation. Is there a link to a Lopez interview in which she said she told Morgan she was sidelined because of her weight? Link to comment
pherank Posted August 22, 2020 Share Posted August 22, 2020 5 minutes ago, vipa said: I'm confused, sorry I haven't been keeping up with this conversation. Is there a link to a Lopez interview in which she said she told Morgan she was sidelined because of her weight? As far as I know, we only have Morgan's explanation of the situation - which has appeared in more than one place. Lopez, being a company representative has of course remained mute on the matter. (And as far as I know, she's never denied it.) It would be pretty unusual for an A.D. to go into the specifics of this type of decision publicly. That would definitely invite trouble. Link to comment
On Pointe Posted August 23, 2020 Share Posted August 23, 2020 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. Link to comment
vipa Posted August 23, 2020 Share Posted August 23, 2020 1 hour ago, On Pointe said: 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. 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. We are in a pandemic and many people are rethinking their lives and careers. I don't have insider information to comment on Morgan's hiring and casting at MCB, but it could be a case of misaligned expectations. Many dancers in many companies learn roles that they do not get to perform. In terms of body type, Lopez hired Lauren Fadeley, who is not a waif. She did quite well casting wise and got promoted. My guess is that the expectations on both sides were more in alignment. Link to comment
On Pointe Posted August 23, 2020 Share Posted August 23, 2020 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. Link to comment
Josette Posted August 23, 2020 Share Posted August 23, 2020 Apropos of MCB, Elena Lobsanova and Hannah Fischer of the National Ballet of Canada are joining MCB as principal and soloist, respectively. Link to comment
Helene Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 I've removed a post that was entirely a post of unofficial news. Official news only is acceptable here. If it is still not clear what official news is, it is explained in the middle of this post. Link to comment
cubanmiamiboy Posted September 13, 2020 Share Posted September 13, 2020 Miami is tough as a city. It takes a while to get used to it. Many never do. And the company is a very enclosed one. Super small and super closed. This dancers are like a little Rat Pack. And when there's someone who doesn't quite really fit, it's very noticeable from their social media platforms. I believe that was the case with Messmer and also somehow with Morgan too. The whole idea of calling anything Miami "home" is an enormous task that many never conquer. I'm still a work in progress after 21 years, and I sort of smelled Morgan wouldn't adapt that easy. I know Eddie never did either. Link to comment
GB1216 Posted October 6, 2020 Author Share Posted October 6, 2020 FYI - Kathryn Morgan commented on her IG that a video will be coming soon about leaving MCB. It will be interesting to see how detailed she gets based on that podcast she did regarding leaving for her mental and physical well being. Link to comment
ABT Fan Posted October 8, 2020 Share Posted October 8, 2020 Thanks for posting that video, syzygy. I don’t understand why they hired her - were they expecting her to starve herself to fit their mold? Or, did they think that once she started dancing professionally again the weight would just come off despite her health issues. Regardless it seems like it was handled very, very poorly. I feel terribly for her. Link to comment
Helene Posted October 8, 2020 Share Posted October 8, 2020 39 minutes ago, ABT Fan said: Or, did they think that once she started dancing professionally again the weight would just come off despite her health issues. It might be a misguided assumption to apply to any individual, but it is not an absurd one given how some high-profile dancers, like Jenifer Ringer, have written and/or spoken about how they needed a few weeks of a heavy rehearsal schedule at the beginning of seasons to get into performance shape, and some of that was losing weight along the way, certainly a healthier way to lose weight than almost all diets. Link to comment
GB1216 Posted October 8, 2020 Author Share Posted October 8, 2020 (edited) Agreed. I think it was more of a PR move and they would just throw her a bone here or there. Not nice. it’s possible that they were hopeful at the beginning since they did seem to want to cast her in many things. Overall handled very badly. I think @cubanmiamiboyhad read it right about the company being very enclosed and all extremely petite. The powers at be didn’t really want to break that mold it seems. Edited October 8, 2020 by GB1216 Link to comment
canbelto Posted October 8, 2020 Share Posted October 8, 2020 I'm really confused. Kathryn Morgan's health problems and perhaps weight problems were a known quantity. I feel like Lourdes Lopez could have gaged whether or not she was a good fit for the company before they hired her. ANd then when they hired her Lopez could have assessed the right roles for her instead of casting her and then taking her out of things. this seems like a totally unnecessary case of hurt feelings. Link to comment
Syzygy Posted October 8, 2020 Share Posted October 8, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, ABT Fan said: Or, did they think that once she started dancing professionally again the weight would just come off despite her health issues. Regardless it seems like it was handled very, very poorly. I feel terribly for her. This is why it was so surprising to hear how many rehearsals she wasn't even called into. If they did in fact expect her weight to go down with a full dance schedule, wouldn't they, you know, get her a FULL dance schedule? I feel terribly for her, too. And I hate to think that her hiring was a PR move—who would be that callous? But if the story about pulling her from a piece in front of the whole company is true, well, that leaves a pretty sour taste in a mouth. It's the second time I've been a bit perplexed by Lopez in the past year (the first was when she cast a student as Dew Drop and we weren't clear on whether or not she was getting paid paid or "paid" in experience—not to mention what that must have done for company morale), which is disappointing. I've always held her in such high regard. Edited October 8, 2020 by Syzygy spelling Link to comment
Helene Posted October 8, 2020 Share Posted October 8, 2020 Please keep the speculation out and stick to official news, which, right now, is what she's said explicitly in public-facing social media and interviews, casting, which is public-facing and news articles. 43 minutes ago, Syzygy said: If they did in fact expect her weight to go down with a full dance schedule, wouldn't they, you know, get her a FULL dance schedule? One strategy is to ease dancers in if they've haven't been performing and rehearsing after a long break, to give them a chance to listen to their bodies and adjust. A company could see a trend, ie, as the schedule got harder, whether the dancer is in shape or in any way limited or not progressing. Link to comment
Syzygy Posted October 8, 2020 Share Posted October 8, 2020 12 minutes ago, Helene said: One strategy is to ease dancers in if they've haven't been performing and rehearsing after a long break, to give them a chance to listen to their bodies and adjust. A company could see a trend, ie, as the schedule got harder, whether the dancer is in shape or in any way limited or not progressing. That's true. I'm just feeling hot-headed because, as @canbeltopointed out, the whole situation could have so easily been avoided. Link to comment
GB1216 Posted October 8, 2020 Author Share Posted October 8, 2020 Personally, they should have had their ear to the ground more. This is 2020 and they hired a comeback dancer with a PLATFORM. Literally a young NYCB wunderkind who left due to illness that then became a social media presence. i don’t know if anyone has heard jovani furlan’s interviews but I believe in both a conversations on dance podcast and on his interview with Megan Fairchild he touches on how things weren’t being handled well at MCB and that he wasn’t happy with some things going on even if it didn’t touch him personally. Link to comment
Syzygy Posted October 8, 2020 Share Posted October 8, 2020 50 minutes ago, GB1216 said: i don’t know if anyone has heard jovani furlan’s interviews but I believe in both a conversations on dance podcast and on his interview with Megan Fairchild he touches on how things weren’t being handled well at MCB and that he wasn’t happy with some things going on even if it didn’t touch him personally. Did he say what specifically that he wasn't happy with? I haven't had a chance to listen to them. Link to comment
cobweb Posted October 8, 2020 Share Posted October 8, 2020 54 minutes ago, GB1216 said: i don’t know if anyone has heard jovani furlan’s interviews but I believe in both a conversations on dance podcast and on his interview with Megan Fairchild he touches on how things weren’t being handled well at MCB and that he wasn’t happy with some things going on even if it didn’t touch him personally. Whatever the reasons, I am very glad Furlan made his way to NYCB! He was a highlight of the winter season and I can’t wait to see him again. Link to comment
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