At City Ballet, History Is About to Change. How?

Perhaps the departure of Peter Martins will hasten an end to the entrenched myth of the ballet master as an unchallengeable autocrat whose despotism is necessary to harness the otherwise lost lambs who submit themselves to his all-powerful will. Certainly the preservation of the Balanchine legacy, both its style and its content, must remain a prime obligation. But Balanchine and his works are of the past. I'd like NYCB's future to be led by a person of today, someone who embraces different body types, who possesses a deep musicality and the high humor of, say, a Mark Morris.

It is crucial to remember that Mr. B left the company in both Robbins AND Peter Martins' hands. Mr. B also had the check and balance of Lincoln Kirsten throughout his leadership - since Robbins stepped away in the late '80s, there has been NO one to keep Peter Martins in check. This simply can not happen again. The board needs to be built up and made more accountable and less about well-monied figured heads and there needs to be some sort of shared leadership, a consortium or partnership at the least, to take the company into the next many years. Now is the time to look forward, not to look backward!

At this point it would be wise to assess the myriad and systemic abuses that have gone on at NYCB.... a truly amazing company of the some of the best dancers in the world. Even more, this company can change rep and casts on a dime in a way that most major Ballet companies couldn't imagine. It is a machine of moving artists that produces more premieres per season than all other major ballet companies, even while it maintains and performs its rep (which includes some of the 20th century's best ballets) at their top levels. But even while purging the elements of power abuse (and hopefully too the pedophilia in the wings), a little thought should go into Mr. MacAuley's narcissistic diminutive "I strongly dislike the notion of critic as kingmaker or power broker" and perhaps we can address the abusive role critics in the ballet world have played. Mr. MacAuley has in the past written horrible things about ballet dancers' bodies, and has himself written reviews that read like childish tantrums, and he even named one choreographer the "messiah of ballet" while having no actual ballet expert (including himself) on his staff to review the company's works. "Kingmaker" indeed. I think Mr. MacAuley, if he hasn't realized it yet, should know that his opinion holds no water, and is not looked to (except with suspicion) from those he reviews.

Just do not dumb it down! This is NYC and the competition is fierce but it does let you know where you stand.

Somewhat beside the main thrust of the article, but perhaps the ‘way forward’ in preventing abuse of ballet dancers, in giving them respect and a voice with which to speak, might include a little thing such as identifying them by name in photos. In the photo above, Balanchine gets his name, the dancer with him is merely ‘a dancer.’

My guess is, ballet will become unwatchable. Fear and anger are indispensable motivators, and this snowflake generation is intent on its utopian goal of making it a feminine world. On the upside, robots will soon be capable of ballet.

If only they would bring Suzanne Farrell back to City Ballet! She could be ballet mistress (teacher) while someone else is resident choreographer - certainly it does not make sense for this role to remain one.

I vote for a female artistic director. Suzanne Farrell, Kyra Nichols, Wendy Whelan, even Lourdes Lopez. They all have technical expertise and experience dancing the company's repertoire, the gravitas to lead such a huge company, the charm to get donors to give money, a following that wants them to succeed, support their mission. "Ballet is woman" after all. More people are likely to follow NYCB then IMHO. No sexual harassment would happen then either. The question is would danseurs respect her and will the ballerinas be catty towards her? I am hopeful.

I feel that the best way to stop abuse from people like Mr. Martin, it's to wait outside for him and giving him a good beating, to make sure his whole body is going to hurt for at least a month. When every one of them knows that retribution comes fast, hard and for sure, suddenly they are going to be able to control themselves and act as normal human beings. Let's do away with impunity. It corrupts the best people. Fear is the best medicine. Try it, you'll like it...

It should not be impossible to hammer out a leadership arrangement that enhances Balanchine's traditions (and his work) while maintaining artistic and financial integrity. It was clear early on that Martins, a poor choreographer, was a flawed leader. New choreography is crucial to the City Ballet's future, but the board must establish higher artistic standards. And bring back neglected Balanchine works, which should inspire younger generations. None of this calls for a return to the Balanchine/Kirstein formula. The world is a different place. The City Ballet can flourish if it finds true leadership in this time of crisis.

This is third instance in recent years where a major arts organization has been harmed in part because of a passive board of directors. The demise of the City Opera was due to the board's neglect and inattention to the financial situation. The Metropolitan Museum of Art spent itself into a serious deficit because of inattention for several years by the board. A new board member pointed out the financial reality, which let to cutbacks and the ouster of the director. And here a passive board allowed this situation to fester. The problem is that to become a board member, most have to buy their way onto the board, and then feel they've paid for the honor and have done their duty. Board service, which involves oversight of these complex institutions is hard, time consuming work. These master and mistresses of the universe have neither the time or interest to do their jobs. It's time for a new paradigm beyond contribution heft to populate these institutions.

As a former member, I affirm the legitimacy of the cruel rituals published in the paper and practiced at both the school and the company during Peter Martin's tenure. Peter has destroyed the careers (and mental health) of as many men as women, and the board, either through ignorance or rose colored glasses, has never raised issues. Jeff Edwards, a dancer much admired by company members and patrons, was but one casualty. To the Board: firstly (something which several museums have initiated) - put at least one artist (e.g. former company member) on the board. Secondly, widen your search. Several former NYCB dancers in leadership positions you might send feelers out to: Peter Boal and Nicolai Hubbe. In a truly forward thinking gesture, one which would restore a true genius choreographer to the helm - one with experience as a director and teacher - reach out to William Forsyth. At the very least, any of these 3 candidates could participate in a search committee. Importantly, all have experience outside the City Ballet bubble. It would be a chance to clean a solipsistic house. In order to do that, you need a committee capable of knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the school AND company from an artistic standpoint – something the board doesn’t know anything about. Thirdly, reach out to a random selection of dancers at NYCB (and those of potential candidates) to get feedback on the teachers, ballet masters and choreographers.

Some of the classic Balanchine ballets such as Concerto Barocco, Jewels, Four Temperaments etc., are very modern in their musicality, dramaturgy and style. It seems like ballet choreography has become so much more conservative in some ways, although Justin Peck's ballets have their own innovations. To be successful long term a company needs good designers, choreography, music and libretto, and I am hoping to see that..

Why not consider a woman for the job? Lourdes Lopez, the artistic director of Miami City Ballet, worked directly with Balanchine and Robbins, has had a terrific track record with her company's success--both in preserving 20th century classics and in looking to the future-- and has championed young choreographers like Justin Peck. She's smart, business-savvy, no-nonsense and has a long-term relationship with the Balanchine Trust and Robbins Trust. Just as in politics, if you want to change an archaic and abusive patriarchy, let the women have a go at the helm.

I worked sometimes with Bill Forsythe as a guest set designer. He ran Ballet Frankfurt for many years in so many different ways. He is an amazing artist who continually choreographed wonderful, risky original pieces and also ran a big company. A tremendous artistic experience of scale for many people. It happens but maybe isn't the norm.

An artistic director needs to neither teach or coach or choreograph. In fact, these three roles can impede the other key roles of an AD. The job requires repertoire maintenance and development, casting, development of the company, both short and long-term. That's a big enough job.

"Today there are no Balanchines." Two critical benefits of his teaching and coaching were how they continued to inform his choreographic creativity and his ability to mold dancers in his stylistic image. Whatever Mr. Martins's successes, I don't think they were in either of these categories. Neither are essential to the artistic director model today - SAB teaches dancers the Balanchine style and proper coaches can (and do) see that dancers maintain it; and, for the most part, artistic directors today are not choreographers of any import.

It's important to distinguish between abusive behavior and dancers who simply disliked Mr. Martins's management style. I hope, for the sake of the dancers and the institution, that the investigation will clarify which took place. In any event, it seems unwise for a company director to become romantically involved with dancers whose careers he or she is responsible for, and something that should be addressed in a future policy.

Wonderful, thoughtful piece - thank you! Just what I needed.

Let’s hope the board chooses an interim director(s) or team and conducts a proper search. There are so many qualified candidates. I also hope the board appoints a proper search committee made up of nycb alumni in order to respect the legacy or Mr B , Mr Kirstein and Mr Robbins. NYCB/SAB is a treasure . We must not accept mediocrity. Yes they should go forward but not at the expense of the old repertoire. That would be terrible . And yes, new board please!

I think having someone who does it all depends on who the someone is -- whether they are both capable and interested in that. Wonder if Mr. Macaulay has any thoughts on Peter Boal at Pacific Northwest Ballet and Lourdes Lopez at Miami City Ballet. They are both NYCB alums leading companies that seem to be good interpreters of Balanchine. Also wonder how important it is, or not, to have someone from within the company that dancers already know. I suppose that is one advantage of current temporary arrangement -- they are all known quantities. But long-term, I wonder how important or not that is.

In the history of modern dance women many women were the "dancers in chief" or "dance master" of their school and studios I am thinking of Martha Graham and Hanya Holm among others

The man has been dead for almost 40 years. It’s time for NYCB to reinvent itself rather than try to keep the sacred flame burning. And, no, ‘’of prime concern to dance-goers and dancers alike’ is to make the dancers and employees safe and to force the board to adopt a modern governance structure for itself and NYCB.