Petition re: Veronika Part on change.org

This appeared on change.org a little after midnight. Excellent and very fast work by some of Veronika's most faithful supporters. Please consider signing the petition and passing it on via social media:

 

 

 

Comments

[angelica]

I signed the petition, and made a contribution to share it with others.

[Marjorie Wyler]

I first saw Miss Part in Russia in 1997 dancing Odette/Odile in Swan Lake - I thought she was wonderful and I was very excited by her - my Russian guide told me she was an up and coming dancer w/the Kirov/Marinsky - how excited I was to find out several years later that she was joining ABT - I have tried to see her as often as possible including last night in Mozartiana - how sad I was to hear several hrs later that she is leaving - first Diana now Veronica! I understand the higher ups want new and young performers and older performers do and will retire but all of a sudden I find myself not as excited about the ABT as I always have been!!! I will continue attending performances - although not as many - but something has changed and for me not for the better!! If ABT wants more changes then I wish they would have more mixed programs - they are exciting, interesting and more up to date w/what is going on in the world of ballet!!

[Victoriya]

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/07/03/arts/dance/veronika-part-american-ballet-theater-announces-her-retirement.html?referer=http%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com

[Victoriya]

On Sunday, fans created a petition on Change.org asking Kevin McKenzie, Ballet Theater’s artistic director, and Kara Medoff Barnett, its executive director, to keep Ms. Part in the company. “She is the one, nowadays, who is able to present the best of the Russian and American ballet dancing schools together,” the petition states.

[Haglund]

Victoriya, your Lieutenant Junior Grade Haglund has been doing a lot of footwork to get you signatures. Great job you are doing.

I imagine that McKenzie will try to smooth things over by announcing a slew of new promotions soon, and they will all be younger and less competent artists than Veronika. Additionally they will all work under a gloomy shadow of benefiting from someone else's terribly shabby treatment. Someone else's career in full bloom was killed so they could rise. It never has to happen that way, but it's the only way McKenzie knows how to do it. He took a season that had managed to pick up steam and simply sent the engine and all the cars over the trestle rails and into the river. It's a shame that he didn't go with it.