Recently, Guidestar.org published the most currently available IRS Form 990 for ABT. It covers the tax year 2011 and includes some disturbing information.
Last spring when Kevin McKenzie acknowledged that donations were down, he seemed unwilling to admit that the severe downturn in the public's financial support was a loud "Vote of No Confidence" for the way he is mismanaging ABT.
Contributions dropped an unheard of 32% – nearly $6 million – from $18,570,819 to $12,699,853.
(Click on image to enlarge and clarify.)
A comparison of the latest Form 990 with the prior year's 990 revealed that in spite of the catastrophic drop in donations, McKenzie got a whopping $31,708 increase in total compensation while Executive Director Rachel Moore was granted an outrageous increase of $60,241. This seems to be a very screwy application of the pay-for-performance executive compensation model – unless, of course, the Board's stated objective was to lose $6 million in contributions.
2011 (Click on images to enlarge and clarify.)
2010
In 2011, the ABT Board saw a reduction of four members including Lewis Ranieri, Nancy Ellison, and Susan Fales-Hill. These are big, influencial names in the world of finance, arts, and philanthropy and were big losses for ABT. Devotion of their magnitude is hard to find.
What is and has been so odd about the ABT Board – and what may explain its inability to function responsibly – is that it is not truly and totally independent in the way nonprofit boards are expected to be. Two board seats are allocated to Kevin McKenzie and Rachel Moore who have the opportunity to quickly explain away and dismiss any other board member's concerns and advocate eagerly for their own interests. Ms. Moore not only garnered a $60,241 increase in compensation in 2011, but last year she was able to get herself elevated from Executive Director to CEO, directly causing the resignation of longtime board member Rod Brayman who objected strongly to the change. It seems that being known as a flagship Executive Director wasn't title-enough for Ms. Moore even though several of the most gifted and promotable soloists in the company have had to bear that same terminally inferior designation.
The board of an organization that is as artistically and financially troubled as ABT cannot have the candid, spontaneous, and forthright discussions that it needs to have in order to ascertain its proper course of action if Rachel Moore and Kevin McKenzie are running interference and manipulating the conversation. How can the board have honest, spontaneous, forthright discussions about replacing the director when he and his cohort are sitting in the room? Any request by the board for them to leave or not attend the meeting would just send them into damage-control overdrive.
By contrast, the NYCB board is 100% independent; neither Peter Martins nor the Executive Director sits on the board. For the same financial reporting period, NYCB's contributions increased by $144,797. Tickets priced at $29 are available in every level of the house that is open for sale, and Society NYCB members buy tickets for $17. Furthermore, the company was able to promote two homegrown artists to principal last year, and last month, promoted 11 more artists including three to the rank of principal – again, all homegrown artists.
24 responses to “If you’re wondering why ABT ticket prices increased so much”
I’d like the say this is shocking stuff, but we’ve seen where this was headed for awhile. It’s harsher to see in black and white though. Embarrassing.
At least the dancers received a raise? Though Gomes should consider a new agent if he can’t get his contract negotiated into that top tier of dancers. The company literally has rested on his shoulders for several years. I know it comes down to seniority mostly, but come on.
I’d like the say this is shocking stuff, but we’ve seen where this was headed for awhile. It’s harsher to see in black and white though. Embarrassing.
At least the dancers received a raise? Though Gomes should consider a new agent if he can’t get his contract negotiated into that top tier of dancers. The company literally has rested on his shoulders for several years. I know it comes down to seniority mostly, but come on.
Hi K. Julie Kent’s salary, even taking into account seniority, is inflated. There is a false implication that she’s a box office draw, because she rarely dances with anyone but Gomes or Bolle who are truly the box office draws.
Hi K. Julie Kent’s salary, even taking into account seniority, is inflated. There is a false implication that she’s a box office draw, because she rarely dances with anyone but Gomes or Bolle who are truly the box office draws.
The outrageous salaries paid to McKenzie and Rachel Moore sort of remind me of Bain Capital when Romney headed it : After Bain took over a company they received large fees while at the same time saddling it with tremendous debt….and many eventually went bankrupt . Nevertheless , Bain did quite well .
But I forgot….ABT is a non-profit……
Julie Kent ? She is nearing the end of her career…and both Gomes and Bolle seem to like dancing with her ….and I have seen her give good performances with both. One suspects that she will be gone soon….But I agree for what , and how often she dances she is overpaid.
The outrageous salaries paid to McKenzie and Rachel Moore sort of remind me of Bain Capital when Romney headed it : After Bain took over a company they received large fees while at the same time saddling it with tremendous debt….and many eventually went bankrupt . Nevertheless , Bain did quite well .
But I forgot….ABT is a non-profit……
Julie Kent ? She is nearing the end of her career…and both Gomes and Bolle seem to like dancing with her ….and I have seen her give good performances with both. One suspects that she will be gone soon….But I agree for what , and how often she dances she is overpaid.
Hi Fred. The Bain comparison is interesting.
The salaries paid to McKenzie and Moore are outrageous because the two of them are failing miserably at their jobs. They are running ABT into the ground and no one is going to want to come in and clean up after them.
Why is the ABT Board putting up with it? Maybe David Koch finds it all amusing and likes to toy with his little ballet company since he can’t get away with toying with the country. There are a lot of people who do not want to work with David Koch, don’t respect his underhanded methods of dealing with unions, and don’t respect how he throws his money around to get his own way (as opposed to throwing it around for the good of the whole). The board might well attract better quality members if Koch wasn’t sitting atop of it. Technically, he’s sitting second, but that’s certainly for appearances. Then there is the problem of finding any potential replacement AD who would be willing to work under Koch’s management. That could be a very sticky problem.
Hi Fred. The Bain comparison is interesting.
The salaries paid to McKenzie and Moore are outrageous because the two of them are failing miserably at their jobs. They are running ABT into the ground and no one is going to want to come in and clean up after them.
Why is the ABT Board putting up with it? Maybe David Koch finds it all amusing and likes to toy with his little ballet company since he can’t get away with toying with the country. There are a lot of people who do not want to work with David Koch, don’t respect his underhanded methods of dealing with unions, and don’t respect how he throws his money around to get his own way (as opposed to throwing it around for the good of the whole). The board might well attract better quality members if Koch wasn’t sitting atop of it. Technically, he’s sitting second, but that’s certainly for appearances. Then there is the problem of finding any potential replacement AD who would be willing to work under Koch’s management. That could be a very sticky problem.
I’m not sure how to interpret this, but in the most recent ABT programs (fall 2012), Julia and David Koch are listed as donating over $200,000 to the company (the Platinum circle) and over $2 million to the ABT Foundation Endowment Fund. Separately, the Koch Charitable Trust also is listed as donating over $200,000. (I don’t know if that includes the funding he gave as “lead underwriter” of the new Ratmansky works.) But according to the most recent NYCB programs, they gave in the category of $100,000-$249,900, but nothing is listed for support of Endowments or productions that I can find, and several donors are listed over $250,000. He does seem to favor ABT, and I wonder about his agenda.
I’m not sure how to interpret this, but in the most recent ABT programs (fall 2012), Julia and David Koch are listed as donating over $200,000 to the company (the Platinum circle) and over $2 million to the ABT Foundation Endowment Fund. Separately, the Koch Charitable Trust also is listed as donating over $200,000. (I don’t know if that includes the funding he gave as “lead underwriter” of the new Ratmansky works.) But according to the most recent NYCB programs, they gave in the category of $100,000-$249,900, but nothing is listed for support of Endowments or productions that I can find, and several donors are listed over $250,000. He does seem to favor ABT, and I wonder about his agenda.
Hi J.
I believe that the Koch grant for the new Nutcracker was a matching grant of $2.5 million.
With regard to Koch’s contributions to NYCB, remember that he footed the bill for the renovation of the company’s home at the New York State Theater with a gift of $100 million, which exceeds most of his gifts elsewhere ($60 mil to Met Museum for fountain restoration, $20 mil for the dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum, $25 mil to Hospital for Special Surgery, to name some recent big ones.)
There is no doubt that he is generous, but his primary agenda may prevent very qualified people from being attracted to joining ABT’s board and he may be wielding more influence than the typical trustee.
Hi J.
I believe that the Koch grant for the new Nutcracker was a matching grant of $2.5 million.
With regard to Koch’s contributions to NYCB, remember that he footed the bill for the renovation of the company’s home at the New York State Theater with a gift of $100 million, which exceeds most of his gifts elsewhere ($60 mil to Met Museum for fountain restoration, $20 mil for the dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum, $25 mil to Hospital for Special Surgery, to name some recent big ones.)
There is no doubt that he is generous, but his primary agenda may prevent very qualified people from being attracted to joining ABT’s board and he may be wielding more influence than the typical trustee.
Haglund, you should mention that in NYCB’s last reported 990, Peter Martins received a salary of around $700,000. Which, given that NYCB’s expenses exceeded their revenues by over $ 7 million in that same year, seems excessive. ABT, on the other hand had around $400,000 to spare.
Haglund, you should mention that in NYCB’s last reported 990, Peter Martins received a salary of around $700,000. Which, given that NYCB’s expenses exceeded their revenues by over $ 7 million in that same year, seems excessive. ABT, on the other hand had around $400,000 to spare.
Hi Kitkat. You’re talking about the previous year, correct, not 2011?
True what you say about Martins’ salary which has been way too high for a long time, although I’m not willing to complain about it at the moment because the company is in its best artistic shape in many, many years. He also oversees SAB and the New York Choreographic Institute, and regardless of what people think of the quality of his choreography, he contributes that. Basically, he does more for his money than being an AD. Also there is the matter of what ever additional expenses the company incurred when NYCO walked out which they seemed to be worried about. NYCB publicly stated that they were happy to see ABT pick up a few weeks in the theater because it took some of the pressure off of them.
In 2010 NYCB added the hefty cost of Kathryn Brown as Executive Director to take over all the business duties that had previously been done by Martins. She’s overpaid, too, and Martins’ salary was not reduced the equivalent of the cost of taking her on board.
So yes, there is plenty of criticism to level at the salaries at the top of NYCB, but at the moment they are doing, IMO, a great job artistically, and have regained their stride financially following the 2008-2009 collapse of the economy — neither of which can be said about ABT.
Hi Kitkat. You’re talking about the previous year, correct, not 2011?
True what you say about Martins’ salary which has been way too high for a long time, although I’m not willing to complain about it at the moment because the company is in its best artistic shape in many, many years. He also oversees SAB and the New York Choreographic Institute, and regardless of what people think of the quality of his choreography, he contributes that. Basically, he does more for his money than being an AD. Also there is the matter of what ever additional expenses the company incurred when NYCO walked out which they seemed to be worried about. NYCB publicly stated that they were happy to see ABT pick up a few weeks in the theater because it took some of the pressure off of them.
In 2010 NYCB added the hefty cost of Kathryn Brown as Executive Director to take over all the business duties that had previously been done by Martins. She’s overpaid, too, and Martins’ salary was not reduced the equivalent of the cost of taking her on board.
So yes, there is plenty of criticism to level at the salaries at the top of NYCB, but at the moment they are doing, IMO, a great job artistically, and have regained their stride financially following the 2008-2009 collapse of the economy — neither of which can be said about ABT.
Another ballet company comes to mind , Ballet Internationale of Indianapolis, where the artistic director “joined forces” with the board. It led to company’s closure in late 2004!
Another ballet company comes to mind , Ballet Internationale of Indianapolis, where the artistic director “joined forces” with the board. It led to company’s closure in late 2004!
Hi Simon.
I remember that sad situation in Indianapolis but was never aware of the details that led to the company’s closure and bankruptcy. Sad to hear that the AD was a contributing factor.
Hi Simon.
I remember that sad situation in Indianapolis but was never aware of the details that led to the company’s closure and bankruptcy. Sad to hear that the AD was a contributing factor.
I am a member of ABT. Thank you for your article. I want you to know that it has caused quite a buzz around the company. Many of us would like for it to get out more into the public. You have no idea how the management has nickeled and dimed their own people while they’ve been giving themselves these huge raises. There is someone on the rehearsal staff that has not had a raise in 5 YEARS. Typically the ‘cost of living’ increase as been 2% here. First of all, 2%??? The people who work 52 weeks and get paid holidays and vacations got a 2% raise this year, and the ‘touring staff’ (as they like to call the non-52 weekers, are only getting 1.2%. These people DON’T get paid holidays and vacations, and
they only work 32-36 weeks a year. These include rehearsal staff, pianists, therapists. Whenever a contract talk happens, the first words out of the General Managers’ mouth are ‘you know, things are really bad, I mean, REALLY bad’. Yeah, bad for those of us that don’t even come close to those on that list you published.
People are upset about this, but ABT manages to hire younger and younger people so they can control them and they are afraid to speak up.
However, they’re smart enough to see that a real change is needed.
I am a member of ABT. Thank you for your article. I want you to know that it has caused quite a buzz around the company. Many of us would like for it to get out more into the public. You have no idea how the management has nickeled and dimed their own people while they’ve been giving themselves these huge raises. There is someone on the rehearsal staff that has not had a raise in 5 YEARS. Typically the ‘cost of living’ increase as been 2% here. First of all, 2%??? The people who work 52 weeks and get paid holidays and vacations got a 2% raise this year, and the ‘touring staff’ (as they like to call the non-52 weekers, are only getting 1.2%. These people DON’T get paid holidays and vacations, and
they only work 32-36 weeks a year. These include rehearsal staff, pianists, therapists. Whenever a contract talk happens, the first words out of the General Managers’ mouth are ‘you know, things are really bad, I mean, REALLY bad’. Yeah, bad for those of us that don’t even come close to those on that list you published.
People are upset about this, but ABT manages to hire younger and younger people so they can control them and they are afraid to speak up.
However, they’re smart enough to see that a real change is needed.
Hi D. Thanks for writing.
I’m sorry to hear about the wage & benefit issues that you are having, but not surprised. When NYCB’s dancers negotiated their most recent contract, they didn’t get run over by the Management Truck because they had solidarity in all ranks. You and your colleagues should reach out to them to learn about their experiences in the negotiations.
It’s understandable that there might be people who are afraid to speak up. That’s why you pay your union to speak up for your concerns. If the union is not doing it, then you need to engage in some stiff plain-speaking with your union rep.
The basic financial information from the tax Form 990s is available and free to anyone on Guidestar.org. Compensation, expenses, fees paid to guest artists, revenues and assets are all on these forms. You don’t need to be a CPA to understand them; you just need patience to comb through the information. If you Google “how to read a Form 990” or something similar, you’ll find answers to many questions that you may have as you scour the forms.
I’m really sad to see what has happened to ABT in the past four years. The influx of guest artists and imports at the principal level has been like the recurrence of a cancer that is now in Stage 3. The company is fighting for its life and may already have one foot in the door of the hospice. People like myself are not going to support a company that doesn’t support and develop its own talent organically and allow that talent to shine on stage. If I wanted to support dancers at the Royal Ballet or Bolshoi, I’d send a donation to those companies. Judging from the decline in ABT’s public support, a lot of other people must feel the same way.
Thanks again for writing and for reading H.H.
Hi D. Thanks for writing.
I’m sorry to hear about the wage & benefit issues that you are having, but not surprised. When NYCB’s dancers negotiated their most recent contract, they didn’t get run over by the Management Truck because they had solidarity in all ranks. You and your colleagues should reach out to them to learn about their experiences in the negotiations.
It’s understandable that there might be people who are afraid to speak up. That’s why you pay your union to speak up for your concerns. If the union is not doing it, then you need to engage in some stiff plain-speaking with your union rep.
The basic financial information from the tax Form 990s is available and free to anyone on Guidestar.org. Compensation, expenses, fees paid to guest artists, revenues and assets are all on these forms. You don’t need to be a CPA to understand them; you just need patience to comb through the information. If you Google “how to read a Form 990” or something similar, you’ll find answers to many questions that you may have as you scour the forms.
I’m really sad to see what has happened to ABT in the past four years. The influx of guest artists and imports at the principal level has been like the recurrence of a cancer that is now in Stage 3. The company is fighting for its life and may already have one foot in the door of the hospice. People like myself are not going to support a company that doesn’t support and develop its own talent organically and allow that talent to shine on stage. If I wanted to support dancers at the Royal Ballet or Bolshoi, I’d send a donation to those companies. Judging from the decline in ABT’s public support, a lot of other people must feel the same way.
Thanks again for writing and for reading H.H.