Posted on October 26, 2023 at 05:45 PM in American Ballet Theatre | Permalink | Comments (26)
Here is a link to the letter recently sent by the dancers to management along with a similar letter sent to management during the 2017 contract negotiations. The 2017 contract dispute was resolved after the dancers voted to strike and upend an upcoming tour.
https://www.musicalartists.org/letters-sent-to-abt-in-2017-and-2023/
Given that the ABT Board knew for several years, possibly as many as 5 or more, that it was about to lose nearly half its season each spring at the Met Opera House, there really is not much of an excuse for not developing a plan to replace those weeks in its most important market. Nor does the Board have much of an excuse for the lame strategy it came up with to re-build the cultural force of the company by dedicating it to woke-ish DEI initiatives. It needs to dedicate itself to great dancing. We saw lots of great dancing this past week, and we saw some formerly brilliant artists hanging on for dear life to careers that need to be closed out so that more wonderful artists can move into the spotlight. The ABT Board can do better at planning, and the artistic management can do better in making sure that the company puts its best feet forward all the time.
At present, it seems that the frustration of the dancers may be due to management not having its decision makers at the negotiating table. Get the decision makers to the table. Put Andrew Barth and Sharon Patrick in the room and get the job done. If Bob Iger could sit in on the negotiations that ended the Writers' Guild strike, Andrew Barth can sit across the table from the ballet dancers -- perhaps even next to them. Come on, people, get it done.
Posted on October 23, 2023 at 08:26 PM in American Ballet Theatre | Permalink | Comments (14)
Posted on October 19, 2023 at 06:40 PM in American Ballet Theatre | Permalink | Comments (16)
Posted on October 18, 2023 at 01:09 PM in New York City Ballet | Permalink | Comments (2)
With three quarters down and one to play, we can safely predict that this has been the most winning New York City Ballet fall season in decades. For several years, balletomanes have been issuing two-minute warnings: Put your best stuff out on the field or you’re going to lose. Finally somebody listened. It’s been a season that saw patrons literally buy season tickets and attend every performance.
Posted on October 10, 2023 at 11:38 AM in New York City Ballet | Permalink | Comments (12)
New York City Ballet dressed itself to the hilt with two more glistening performances of Jewels on Wednesday and Thursday. Every single debut was a 100 carat diamondized beauty set among the polished performances of gems including Ashley Laracey in Emeralds, Tiler Peck with Roman Mejia and Emily Kikta in Rubies, and Joseph Gordon in Diamonds.
Posted on September 23, 2023 at 06:22 PM in New York City Ballet | Permalink | Comments (29)
Opening Night of New York City Ballet’s 75th Anniversary Season had a circusy feel to it – as though we had somehow stumbled into the middle of Massine’s Parade. A line of picketing musicians oompa oompa-ed up and down the sidewalk in front of Lincoln Center while onlookers spooned gelato into their mouths and divided their attention between the picketers and the video art installation hanging on the front of the Koch Theater.
Posted on September 20, 2023 at 10:56 AM in New York City Ballet | Permalink | Comments (17)
Here's the NYCB cast sheet for Week 2 that is posted in the lobby. No changes yet to Week 1.
Just curious -- who out there in NYC currently receives free individual health insurance from his employer? According to NYCB, the musicians have received free individual health insurance for many years and are the only NYCB employees who do not currently pay any part of their individual health insurance premiums. Haglund's experience over the past three decades has been to pay as much as 80% of the cost of health insurance and never less than 50%. Right now, he pays $165 per month for Medicare coverage and an additional premium for prescriptions. Why in this day and age should the NYCB orchestra expect free health insurance when that would surely mean that their cost would be factored into the premiums of other NYCB employees?
And why is the orchestra arguing a comparison with 2019 wages? 2019 is history. Everybody suffered financially in 2020 & 2021, and nobody - especially those who had to start over multiple times in new jobs - had a sense of entitlement to 2019 wages.
Haglund's sense is that both sides in this contest are probably lying to some extent which is why neither side will release to the public the actual salaries & benefits paid. IMO, as a nonprofit organization that relies on the generosity of its supporters and the aid of government, NYCB & the union should release lists of salaries & benefits with names redacted so that the public knows where to place its sympathies.
Every time there is a hike in ticket prices or facility fees or service fees, we should wonder why the orchestra members do not pay health insurance premiums.
Lastly, why don't all the Lincoln Center resident companies and their unions have enough muscle to collectively negotiate favorable health insurance premiums for the many thousands of employees?
Posted on September 14, 2023 at 04:32 PM in New York City Ballet | Permalink | Comments (18)
This is a drop dead gorgeous coffee table book. Oh my goodness. While the choreography for which these costumes were designed was mostly forgettable -- with the exception of the brilliant Spectral Evidence by Angelin Preljocaj, Polaris by Myles Thatcher, and Belles Lettres by Justin Peck -- the costumes were nearly always a hit. We've always wondered why the Fall Fashion Gala tradition is said to have begun in 2012 when, in fact, Stella McCartney contributed major designs the previous fall.
The costumes are glorious, the photography is stunning, and the textual feel of the book is rich. On Amazon.
Haglund's all-time, forever favorites by Valentino (ohhh to touch that silk):
Posted on September 12, 2023 at 06:39 PM in New York City Ballet | Permalink | Comments (3)
So . . . along with today's announcement of some fairly interesting casting for New York City Ballet's opening week of Jewels came the announcement that the NYCB Orchestra has authorized a strike in the event that contract negotiations stall. Nothing's ever easy in this city. Let's hope that everyone stays calm and focused and continues to negotiate in good faith so that we can enjoy a wonderful 75th Anniversary Season. Rather than anyone screaming and threatening, why not make the artists' salaries public so that the public can make a judgement about where to place its sympathies. No names -- just a list of salaries & benefits.
We're extremely happy with the many upcoming debuts, particularly seeing Mira Nadon and Davide Riccardo together in Emeralds; Emma Von Enck, Jovani Furlan, and Christina Clark in Rubies along with Isabella LaFreniere and Chun Wai Chan debuting in Diamonds -- all will be spectacular. The casting of Ashley Bouder in Emeralds is simply indicative of a problem unresolved. A month ago she was performing out West:
The Verdy role in Emeralds requires lovely arms. Luckily we'll see the most beautiful arms on the stage when Ashley Laracey performs the other principal role in the same cast. The differences in fitness and stage readiness will be both startling and troubling. Are we looking forward to seeing Tootsie Rolls waving around to Faure's lovely music in the Verdy role? Afraid not. But that isn't Bouder's concern. So long as she can count on five people sitting in the front row right corner cheering her on, she will soil Balanchine from one end of the stage to the other.
Posted on September 05, 2023 at 09:51 PM in New York City Ballet | Permalink | Comments (16)