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As it prepares to launch its season Tuesday night, the New York City Ballet faces a singular financial challenge to a trial that makes the headlines.
Namely, how to collect the millions of dollars the 70-year-old needs when his treatment of his dancers was examined.
Alexandra Waterbury, a former student of the US Ballet School affiliated with City Ballet, has filed a lawsuit against the company and Chase Finlay, one of his former senior dancers, at the Supreme Court of California. State of New York, Manhattan. The lawsuit alleged that ballet had allowed an "atmosphere of brotherhood" to flourish in which the "fundamental rights" of women were violated.
Ms. Waterbury accused Mr. Finlay, her former boyfriend, of taking sexually explicit photos and videos of her without her consent. She also alleged that these images were shared with male members of society, who sometimes sent similar images of other dancers.
The company stated that she "was convinced that there was no basis for this lawsuit" and denied ever "tolerating, encouraging or encouraging" the alleged behavior.
On Saturday, the New York City Ballet announced that it had fired two senior male dancers, Zachary Catazaro and Amar Ramasar, following its decision in late August, prior to the filing of Ms. Waterbury's complaint. Ballet has declared that MM. Catazaro and Ramasar had "inappropriate communications" with Mr. Finlay, who resigned from the company in August.
The company said Saturday that it had "made the decision to fire Finlay before receiving a notice of resignation" because of these communications, which she had seen at the beginning of the summer.
The company said the decision to permanently end MM. Catazaro and Ramasar came "after a deeper assessment of their behavior and impact on the NYCB community."
: Amar Ramasar, on the left, with Tiler Peck in Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes.
Photo:
Hiroyuki Ito / Getty Images
Messrs. Catazaro and Ramasar issued social media statements over the weekend claiming they did not deserve to be fired. Mr. Catazaro pointed out that he was not accused in the Waterbury trial, while Mr. Ramasar said, "In the days to come, I will speak with me.
A representative of Mr. Catazaro stated that the dancer had no comments at this stage beyond this statement. Mr. Ramasar could not be reached on Sunday.
Ira Kleiman, a lawyer for Mr. Finlay, did not comment on Sunday. Just after Ms. Waterbury's trial, he told the New York Post: "The complaint is nothing but a mass of allegations that should not be treated as facts." . "
Mr. Finlay could not be reached on Sunday.
Fundraising consultants and dance professionals say the decision to fire MM. Catazaro and Ramasar sends the signal that the company takes the allegations very seriously. But they also say the situation could prevent some donors from contributing.
"This will certainly have an impact on fundraising," said Juan José Escalante, executive director of the New York-based José Limón Dance Foundation, and former financial director of the New York City Ballet. Mr. Escalante added that it was difficult to give an estimate of the decline, but he said: "I think it's reasonable to assume it's between 5 and 10%."
The nonprofit ballet has an annual budget of $ 88.8 million, according to company spokesman Rob Daniels. But the ballet is largely based on the income provided to achieve this budget, with $ 26 million coming from various fundraising channels, from government sources to private donations, according to a current job offer for a manager. of development.
The company is also looking to "significantly increase its contributory income in the coming years," according to this same job offer.
To complicate the fundraising situation for ballet, which has 90 members, there has been no permanent artist since the retirement of Peter Martins, a long time ballet master, at the beginning. of this year. Mr. Martins left the company as a result of charges of sexual harassment and physical abuse against him. He denied any misconduct and a subsequent investigation by the American Ballet Society and Affiliate School freed him from any wrongdoing.
Michael Kaiser, president of the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the University of Maryland, said that when a cultural institution is facing a crisis, it is up to its leaders to "defend its importance To donors. But no successor has yet been appointed for Mr. Martins, "it is more difficult to defend the case".
At the same time, others say that ballet is well placed in many ways to overcome the current storm because of its pre-eminent status in the world of dance, locally, nationally and internationally.
For Edward Villella, one of his former stars, who recently came to help the dancers in the opening week program, starring George Balanchine's "Jewels".
In addition to this, unlike other leading nonprofit cultural institutions in the city, ballet has a strong financial history. It has balanced its budget over the last six seasons and has a $ 225 million endowment. He also raised $ 65 million on a $ 70 million campaign goal.
The company has expressed confidence that it will not be affected financially by the news of recent weeks. "We have been very grateful for the support messages the company has received from NYCB community members, including donors and ticket buyers," said Daniels, company spokesperson.
Write to Charles Passy at [email protected]
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