Good read in the Washington Post online in which Sarah Kaufman profiles ABT's three retiring ballerinas and digs a little deeper into the matter of Paloma Herrera's withdrawal from Sleeping Beauty. It seems Kevin McKenzie refused to give her so much as a simple choice of ballets in which to retire and pushed her into the Sleeping Beauty. You know, like every ballerina wants to contend with hellish balances in the Rose Adagio on her last performance with the company while wearing an unattractive white wig and overblown costume. Well, after the performance in Costa Mesa, Paloma put her foot down and said NO.
“It wasn’t my choice to retire with ‘Sleeping Beauty,’ ” she says, in the lyrical rhythms of a light Argentine accent. “I don’t feel comfortable with it. . . . I wanted to do something that I’ve done a lot with ABT.
“I’ve been here for 24 years and it’s been my life, and I really wanted to retire with something that meant something special to me,” she continues. “It was not very nice that I didn’t have a choice. It was like, ‘You have to retire in this production.’ ”
After the Costa Mesa performance:
“It’s a whole different look,” Herrera says. “And I felt even more that it’s not how I should be represented in my last performance.
Here's McKenzie's snippy retort:
Asked to comment, ABT artistic director Kevin McKenzie issued this statement: “Regarding Paloma’s decision to withdraw from her June 9th performance of ‘The Sleeping Beauty,’ I was taken by surprise that she would allow us to advertise her farewell performance in the ballet for six months before informing me that she would refuse to appear in it.”
Well Bud, push a ballerina too far with your nonsense and she just might push back.
From Paloma's description of the dancers' disruptive use of phones in class, in rehearsal, and in performance, it sounds like the little kiddies need a classroom monitor. Or maybe McKenzie should make them check their phones at the local deli where they can pick them up after school. No wonder ABT is in such a disarray; it's virtual playtime. What business, including McDonalds, allows employees unfettered recreational time on their phones during business hours?
Good for Xiomara Reyes for blasting ABT for using so many guest artists.
Julie Kent comes off with an overly strong sense of self-importance. As one who sat through too many of the performances that she just had to have one more of, or should never have had even one of (Theme and Variations comes to mind rather quickly), Haglund is dismayed but not surprised at Julie's lack of understanding of how she has been a major clog in so many other, younger, and better dancers' careers. You think she didn't have a choice about what ballet in which to retire?
Longevity doesn't automatically equate to greatness. It just means one held on, in this case with the help of being married to the Associate Artistic Director and with the help of being a lifetime friend of the AD who looked the other way as performance quality diminished.
There is some good news today, however. Tom Forster has been cast as the Poet in two Les Sylphides performances.
Well said, Haglund, well said. You are always on top of the good, the bad, and the ugly, and report it all with appropriate umbrage and incisive wit.
Posted by: angelica | March 20, 2015 at 08:56 PM
Thanks, Angelica. I wish there was more "good" to report.
Posted by: Haglund | March 20, 2015 at 09:01 PM
H, WOW! Verrrrry interesting article! Thanks for linking. Hmmmm....Kevie seems to have his dance belt in a bunch about something. How stupid not to be gracious in the press with Xiomara and Paloma no matter what the behind the scenes issues are! And I didn't think of the Paloma/DC thing! That is a huge missed opportunity, on a lot of levels. Both gals were/are loved. Him not so much. What a dope. And I LOVE the cell phone dig! Can you imagine if Mme Danilova, God rest her glamorous soul, were teaching to day and someone whipped out a cell phone in class???? "Pearhapss my dearh, you vood prefair a career at AT&T, No?"
oxoxo
Posted by: Gstavella | March 20, 2015 at 09:44 PM
Very revealing article. I found it so strange that any dancer or choreographer who worked with Paloma, Xiomara and Julie shared their thoughts either in an email or a phone conversation but McKenzie's feedback came in the form of a formal statement. I think we should stay tuned for more dramatic developments.
Posted by: Dreamer | March 21, 2015 at 01:07 PM
And my former colleagues wonder why I have no interest in attending our "reunions." Poor Paloma. I remember her first days at ABT. After all she has given to ABT. It's beyond!
Posted by: Frmrdncr | March 21, 2015 at 02:26 PM
Well, McKenzie has a lot of guest artists who dictate to him about casting, and they obviously have priority over the company's own artists - except for Julie Kent, of course. Then there is the dictating MaryLou-Retton-on-pointe whose PR machine squeezes McKenzie's jewels in the vise in order to win her one inappropriate role after another. How could there be any room for consideration for Paloma, or anyone else?
Posted by: Haglund | March 21, 2015 at 03:09 PM
He didn't used to be terrible like this. Especially with the plethora of guest artists. McKenzie used to be all about ABT being its own company and not a platform to see a bunch of guests. Stiefel, Carreno, Herrera, etc they were all under his tenure. What happened to McKenzie? Might as well call ABT a troupe instead of a ballet company at this rate.
Posted by: Tiffany | March 21, 2015 at 06:21 PM
"Then there is the dictating MaryLou-Retton-on-pointe whose PR machine squeezes McKenzie's jewels in the vise in order to win her one inappropriate role after another. "
Not Mary Lou, she won gold and was proven in her line. The more appropriate equivalent would be Tonya Harding.
Posted by: melponeme_k | March 21, 2015 at 07:23 PM
True, melponeme_k, but I was simply referring to the thick, muscly body, loud weighty landings from jumps, and the fake pasted ear-to-ear smile. Tonya might work, too, in other respects.
Posted by: Haglund | March 21, 2015 at 07:55 PM
Oh my goodness! It's a real shame that Paloma was passed over for Romeo and Juliet. That would have been a beautiful farewell for her. I've been lucky enough to see Paloma dance several times and she was always breathtaking.
Posted by: Elizabeth | March 23, 2015 at 08:32 AM
Elizabeth,
I totally agree with you. R&J would have been a better choice for her farewell than either Sleeping Beauty or Giselle.
Posted by: Haglund | March 23, 2015 at 08:58 AM
Yes to the choice of R&J for Paloma. There was a point oh half a decade ago or more when Paloma seemed reinvigorated by dancing with Hallberg and Gomes. Surely she was entitled to better casting and treatment!
Julie Kent hasn't danced well in a decade. At least. I don't know what I can say about her past achievements because she has obliterated any feeling of goodwill. McKerrow and Jaffe deepened; she faded. The silliest thing I can remember was casting her in Sylvia. She didn't have a prayer of hitting the technical content.
Posted by: beki | April 02, 2015 at 01:06 PM
Hi, Beki.
Oh, I'd forgotten about that Sylvia ten years ago.
Since that Wednesday (mat & eve) will be Sweep Out All the Latina Ballerinas (in service to the Russian imports) Day, perhaps either Corella or Bocca (or both) will be able to make it up here for the goodbyes.
Posted by: Haglund | April 02, 2015 at 02:32 PM
Looking at ABT's website I just saw the note about Paloma's retirement on the tickets and info page for The Sleeping Beauty. In boldface type. It sounds so vindictive and
disrespectful. Who is the real diva here? Not Paloma - her public statements have been
honest and gracious. Has ABT ever apologized for a casting change like this before?
Posted by: Naomi | May 14, 2015 at 06:59 PM