TimeOut NY speaks with Simone Messmer

Haglund's love/hate relationship with Gia Kourlas continues. Her ballet reviews in the New York Times are often so off the mark and filled with errors that they are an embarrassment to all of ballet and to NYT journalists, but her interview pieces for TimeOut New York can be pretty compelling reading. Maybe TONY actually has editors.

In her latest Time Out NY interview with departing ABT soloist Simone Messmer, Kourlas wades ever so slightly into the murky, sadly polluted, scummy waters of casting decisions at ABT.  Who isn't disgusted by the stench of the contaminants being continually dumped into ABT's stream?  It looks like just another resource that David Koch and Kevin McKenzie are turning into a toxic sewer.

Let's switch to less gross metaphors.

Kourlas's interview with Messmer is the latest confirmation – like we really need further confirmation – that the best dancers at ABT are being passed over for opportunities and promotion while other less capable and less accomplished dancers are being handed opportunites that they are not equipped to handle.  Messmer, Abrera, Lane, Kajiya, Radetsky, Matthews – all being starved or surviving on bread crumbs while one mediocre import after another is ushered to ABT's table to feast.  And that is why Messmer is leaving at the end of the Met Season to join the San Francisco Ballet.

The question is: WHY won't Kevin McKenzie put the best dancers on stage to perform?  What benefit does he derive from not putting the best dancers on the stage to perform?

In baseball, it's called throwing the game for a buck. 

Kevin McKenzie isn't paid a lot to do his job, mostly because A) he's doing a crappy job and B) the ABT Board isn't good at raising money from other than its own pockets.  He's paid less than half of what Peter Martins is paid.  He's paid a lot less than Helgi Tomasson gets paid to run the San Francisco Ballet, whose board does a better job of raising money.

So how does Kevin McKenzie get compensated like he feels he deserves?  That's probably the question that needs to be answered via an independent investigation to determine the extent to which folks associated with Ardani Artists Management (the Danilians) and donors interested in advancing the careers of those who they sponsor/import actively lobby McKenzie for their own interests.

If a coach is not putting his best players on the field the way that McKenzie is not putting his best dancers on stage, there's usually a dirty little rea$on for it.

Like many, Haglund is sad that Simone Messmer is leaving ABT. It's one more reason to despise the current director and despise and resist the horsey, empty fluff who McKenzie casts in leading roles and promotes instead of dancers like Messmer, Abrera, Lane, Kajiya, and the much missed Maria Riccetto.  Who would be surprised if McKenzie yanked Messmer from her final performance on the evening of July 6th?

TimeOut NY

You may also wish to revisit this video interview of Irina Dvorovenko and Max Beloserkovsky which further confirms the sad situation at ABT.

 

Comments

[Kit]

The comments about the scheduling, rehearsing and coaching are quite compelling.

Hypothetically speaking, Haglund, if you had the power to do so, how would you arrange ABT's yearly schedule to your liking? It's a touring company, but it also has regular seasons in New York. I totally understand what Simone said about even the principals not getting to grow because of getting only 1 show/week. What would be the right balance of the repertory with coaching, touring and rehearsal time in mind? Is there a similar company right now that ABT should emulate in terms of these things?

[Haglund]

Kit, they need to start with a new director and a full staff of classical coaches. Right now they only have Irina Kopolkova and people who come in for a few days here or a few days there. Next, there needs to be a complete and inflexible moratorium on guest artists and imports above the corps level to free up performances and staff resources for ABT's dancers. Next they need to completely eliminate the concept of donors sponsoring artists. When you have a weak director as ABT does now, donors' wishes become a primary criteria for casting.

The frenetic manner in which ABT runs rehearsals could be improved upon by any organizational professional. But it's doubtful that McKenzie would listen to anyone.

[bsc]

Hi, Haglund.

Ugh--what a completely disheartening interview. You could feel Simone Messmer's heartbreak in every answer. As you said, we didn't need more confirmation, but somehow this really brought the whole thing into relief emotionally. How bittersweet for her to be leaving for SF.

Tripled with the Beloserkovsky/Dvorovenko and the Alex Hammoudi interviews, it strikes how shaky the ground feels there even for people at the top and moving up the ranks. Another thing that really stood out to me is how lost the dancers feel in an organization that big with such few "guardians" in the middle, and how reluctant they can be to speak up (either within the company, or without). Both Simone and Alex mentioned feeling their progress and hard work unnoticed and unappreciated. And it seems only to be getting worse as the old guard starts to retire/be pushed out. At least with Irina and Max, they advocated for the younger dancers (as did apparently, Ferri, Bocca, Ananiashvilli)--those anecdotes from Simone were very touching. At least in that case, the director remembers to look at someone in class and rehearsal even if they don't take the advice immediately. Now it seems the principals are more concerned about flying off for their next engagement than nurturing the younger company members. It's almost, how could they not be? If they don't keep a certain international profile, they'll likely be replaced by an import if not formally then at least in casting.

I know a number of dancers in the company (but I don't know Simone). They are careful about what they say and of course we outside observers have our impressions, but to hear it laid out like this, well, this interview made me very, very sad for her and the other "non-favored" (non-sponsored) dancers in the company in general.

Did you notice that the Paris Opera soloist is joining SFB as a principal? I really hope they hired her before they hired Simone and that's why they told her they didn't have a principal position open, and are not just feeding her more of the same ambiguity/non-commitment. Still, I'm excited for the possibilities ahead for her. I hope they give her a chance to really shine out west.

[Genna]

I also thought the article to be indictment of the sad state that is ABT. Also find it telling that a POB's Mathilde Froustey chose to join SFB and never thought to approach ABT which is on paper supposed to be the better company even as its budget is less than that of SFB.

I have heard that the justification for Russian imports is mainly they sell tickets because shows featuring these imports sell better than ABT's homegrown talents. But I think partly thaf is due to the greater number of NYC's Russian community buying tickets only to see Russian dancers. Of course I can only go by experience not hard proof, but I hear a lot of Russian conversations in shows with Osipova, Vishneva, or Semionova for example, than shows not featuring any Russian dancers.

[Haglund]

Genna, I've also heard that floated around as an excuse for importing Russians. I don't buy it though. NYCB has a dreadful full length production, all danced by homegrown talent, and they sell out every seat they offer. One year, they even had to add an extra performance because demand was so high. NYCB knows how to market its talent to the public whereas ABT hasn't got a clue.

[Genna]

POB's Mathilde Froustey was hired on as principal rightly so, as she has actually danced principal roles at POB. Messmer has not danced principal, full-length roles at ABT as far as I know. She is rightly hired on as soloist at SFB.

[J]

With POB, Mlle. Froustey danced Lise in La Fille Mal Gardée, Kitri in Don Q, the Russian Girl in Serenade, Gamzatti in La Bayadere, and was chosen by Grigorovich to dance Anastasia in Ivan the Terrible. She has a scintillating stage presence and a brilliant technique that appears effortless (typical of POB dancers). I suspect that Ms. Messmer, whose performance in The Firebird was the standout at the Orange County world premiere (which I saw), will be given major roles at her new company, SFB, and will be given every opportunity to become a principal. They are both exceptionally talented and unique dancers. I fly up from L.A. to see about 20 SFB performances during the SFB season, and am thrilled that I will get to see both of them perform.

[Haglund]

Simone would have been an ideal Sylvia for ABT this year, but they wasted the opportunity on Osipova who ended up not dancing. Simone will be brilliant at SFB. What is also sad about her departure is that the younger corps members fantasize that somehow it will be different for them, that someone will recognize what they can offer and give them a chance. Not going to happen unless there is a change at the helm.

[J]

So, is Osipova actually paid a [weekly] salary for rehearsing Sylvia, and then gets paid - or does not get paid -- additionally for the cancelled performances? If you know ....

[Haglund]

I don't know a thing about her arrangement. However, my guess is that it's along the lines of $1X,XXX per completed performance plus expenses. She cancelled three performances this year. But huge dollars would have been invested in her rehearsals, costume fitting, always having to have someone to serve as an interpreter around.

[bsc]

I don't mean to detract from Mathilde Froustey in any way, or say she doesn't deserve to join as a principal. The language of Helgi Tomasson as conveyed by Simone Messmer was what struck me as odd: "What if we don't have it available?" while offering to someone else a presumably available spot. Who knows what else was said but if that was the spirit of the conversation, it strikes me as odd and vague.

The chances for promotion are great of course because Simone is very talented. But also because SFB has its own import problem. Only 5 of their now 20 principals (20 including Foustey) joined as corps dancers or apprentices, and that's with a very long-standing school.

[Haglund]

Thank you, bsc, for pointing out that SFB has its own import problem. Simone will have to be mindful of that by not only dancing spectacularly but by extending the generosity to her fellow dancers that she indicated was not always forthcoming from the imports at ABT. I think she will.

[bsc]

Yeah, I got a feeling she will too. She seems very thoughtful.

[J]

I didn't find Helgi Tomasson's reported comment odd at all. I think Helgi Tomasson's comment was more in wanting to know whether Simone Messmer would only take a principal contract or could take a soloist spot. Several dancers of SFB entered as soloists, like Vito Mazzeo, Yuan Yuan Tan, Sarah Van Patten, and others, and a season or two later were promoted to principal. You don't want to prematurely hire someone as a principal for that dancer's sake, the other dancers' sakes, and the company's sake. Frankly, Mlle. Froustey is a known quantity. There have been a few dancers prematurely hired as principals or soloists at SFB that disappeared because they really were not at that level. Ms. Messmer should be just fine. By the way, the SFB website has not been updated to show that Vito Mazzeo is no longer with them (joined the Dutch National), and Damien Smith and Pierre-Francois Villanoba retired in May.

[Haglund]

I think Mathilde's and Simone's situations coming into SFB are a little different. Mathilde technically has taken a year's sabbatical from POB and could return to Paris at the end of June. See this interview. http://www.dansesaveclaplume.com/pas-de-deux/mathilde-froustey-promue-premiere-danseuse-je-serais-tout-de-meme-partie/

Simone, on the other hand, has made a break with ABT; and with her interview in TimeOut NY, she has probably left no bridge unburnt - at least while McKenzie is still around.

[J]

Oui, j'ai vu l'entretien il y a quelques jours!