observations 9-9

How unfortunate that Ashley Bouder has taken aim at Jon Stafford, the Interim Artistic Team Leader who was handed one big mess to work through and has managed to keep the artistic levels of NYCB at their highest while grooming the next stars of the company with appropriate stage assignments. Bouder's latest obnoxious blurt on Instagram that the behavior now in the news was "allowed to fester" under the interim structure is exploitative campaigning by a candidate for a future post or by one who has another candidate in mind. NYCB has already made its public statement about the plaintiff's attack on its environment; and now Bouder, a highly political and ambitious employee coming to the end of her stage career, has basically called her employer a liar using her Instagram as a megahorn and has intentionally interfered with her employer's legal defense.

Whoever the next Artistic Director of NYCB is will have the unpleasant task of having to wind down Bouder's career as Martins had seemingly begun and wind down the careers of others who, like Wendy Whelan, may have a weepy-whiney victim-spell when told that they are no longer going to dance the role of Sugarplum Fairy. Some will generously hand down their roles and encourage the younger ballerinas to rise – there is evidence of that already in Sterling Hyltin, Maria Kowroski, and Megan Fairchild. Bouder has seemingly clenched her fists.

We don't know the list of candidates that the NYCB Board has in its folder to consider for the appointment. Speculation abounds. We do know that someone more than a celebrity who wants to give interviews to the New York Times and more than a popular figurehead who spouts the correct political mumbo-jumbo and more than someone assigned the gender preferred by Bouder is needed. Artistic Director is not a celebrity post; it is a working position. But integrity and a squeaky clean background are needed, and the process of choosing is far more complicated than Bouder seems to understand.

Hopefully, a comprehensive due diligence investigation will be performed for each of the top candidates. NYCB cannot afford not to do it. Red flags such as a history of behavior unbecoming of an AD, financial problems, exaggerated qualifications – all should disqualify. If a candidate has or has had a history of major Federal Tax Liens against them (such as the presumed potential candidate Lourdes Lopez and Ashley Bouder have and which is public information), it suggests that they have trouble managing their own lives. Would the NYCB Board want an AD with financial problems or a spouse with financial problems to have access to its wealthiest and most influential donors? No, not ever. And in this day and age and current political criminal climate, a history of Federal Tax Liens totaling more than $100K and a spouse who has long held business ties with the Russian Federation should be viewed as a potential distraction down the road for any AD candidate, including Lourdes Lopez.

We have yet to hear anyone praise Lopez for taking Miami City Ballet to the next level following its universally-admired rise under its founder, Edward Villella. Is the company really better than it was based on objective criteria, or not? Nor have we heard anyone praise Lopez for concluding that Balanchine's Midsummer Night's Dream needed to be changed to an underwater circus in order to make it relevant to her company's audience — like some local Nutcracker. If she wanted an under-the-sea ballet, why didn't she just hire Justin Peck to make one? Why take Balanchine's genius and bend it for no legitimate reason? That should be a red flag for all to take into consideration.

What are Lopez's real qualifications?

She's a former principal dancer – check. She came up through SAB although she didn't return to be on its faculty. Why? Instead, she taught at the small neighborhood school on the East Side where, by the way, Chase Finlay was trained. And the rest? That she was an intermittent culture reporter on a local TV station has exactly what to do with being an Artistic Director? And does anyone remember any of her work there or know why it didn't last longer than it did? Red flag.

Morphoses – She oversaw a complete bust of an operation that she could not keep afloat with her new concept of having various directors run a troupe that toured in perpetuity. Red flag.

Executive Director of The Balanchine Foundation – The Form 990s tell the real story here. As early as 2002, the Balanchine Foundation was a collection of unpaid volunteers. Barbara Horgan was Nominal Director & Chairman of the Board, Paul Epstein was Nominal Director & President, Karin von Aroldingen was Nominal Director and Vice President, Florence Barber was Nominal Director and Vice President. The other volunteer Nominal Directors included Kay Mazzo, Peter Martins, Susan Hendl (Treasurer), Lourdes Lopez, Susan Gluck and others. There was no executive director. In 2004 Lopez's designation was changed from nominal director to full time director with a salary. No "executive" title was granted to her. The change was in the run-up to the Balanchine Centennial when the foundation may have needed someone to devote himself/herself to organizing. The question here is what exactly did Lopez do and how does it relate to the job of being NYCB Artistic Director and getting the dance on the stage at expected levels of quality?

Being a female candidate should not put anyone near the top of the list, especially when the qualifications that matter are not met and do not rise above all the other candidates.

For the past few years, ballet has come under fire and has been unjustly accused of being patriarchal at its core. The claim is sexist, political in nature, and without basis. But it gets a lot of ignorant play in the media.

Did Lucia Chase run a patriarchal ballet company?

Did Celia Franca run a patriarchal ballet company?

Did Agrippina Vaganova run a patriarchal ballet company?

Did Brigitte Lefèvre run a patriarchal ballet company?

Did Jane Hermann run a patriarchal ballet company?

Did Barbara Weisberger run a patriarchal ballet company?

Did Mary Day run a patriarchal ballet company?

Did Nanette de Valois run a patriarchal ballet company?

Did Jeanne Brabants run a patriarchal ballet company?

Did Carla Fracci run a patriarchal ballet company?

Did Monica Mason run a patriarchal ballet company?

Did Marcia Haydée run a patriarchal ballet company?

Has Karen Kain run a patriarchal ballet company for the past 19 years?

The fact that NYCB has had only two directors including its founder and the founder's chosen successor doesn't support a claim that all of ballet is patriarchal. Yes, women shut up and do what they're told in a ballet company; so do men. The workplace is not a democracy – a difficult lesson for some to learn.