NEW YORK CITY BALLET : BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
Ballet has been pleasing audiences since the early fifteenth century. Behind the artistry lies a history full of men who became famous for shaping the art form as ballet masters, artistic directors, choreographers, and accompanists. They have paved the culture of dance from the neoclassical choreographic point of view from George Balanchine, to artistic direction from Peter Martins - a few historical, male leaders. They’ve enriched and crafted ballet to be what it is known as today, yet buried inside the art form was abuse. These negative accounts of physical, sexual, and mental abuse had gone unnoticed and had utterly been silenced until more recent years in the dance world. With the promise and encouragement from major pivotal events around the world such as the MeToo movement, women's marches, and more; students in ballet schools and young adults in companies have begun to speak up. Even retired artists have found it safe to uncover from the pain behind the art form. While abuse in the arts is not new, the societal shift in human rights has allowed for this poor behavior to be discussed and greatly discouraged. Abuse from these powerful New York City Ballet men will no longer be hidden from the public view. The male abuse of power has dominated ballet for centuries: encompassed in the abuse was unfavored physical, mental, and sexual abuse.
The gender culture within the workplace has been in favor of men for centuries. It stems from all countries - not just the United States. Historically, the male gender has usually held a higher position and better resources in the workplace than the female gender. Hye Kyoung Kim states, “In the workplace, there is a perception among employees and employers that newly hired female workers will quit after they get married and become pregnant.” (Kim). This is just one of the many excuses put on women to prevent them from getting ahead in the workplace. Due to a perceived lack of consistency in the female gender, the work force was set up to favor men in more dominant positions than women in smaller positions. While the presumptions about females are understandably in question, there has been a lack of respect from many men in the work environment when communicating with women. In the Wall Street Journal, females explain that “Behind much of the anger is what seems to be the almost universal experience of having been on the receiving end of sexual jokes, innuendo or physical ambuhes.” (Wall Street Journal). Due to this lack of female representation in the workplace, many men in higher positions have dominated their roles in power through physical, mental and sexual abuse. This anger grew into the famed Me Too Movement. While the language of #MeToo started circulating in 2006, it became much more popular in 2019 amid the Harvey Weinstein allegations. In Lesley Wexler’s article # MeToo, Time's up, and Theories of Justice she states,
“Allegations opened the floodgates to a modern day reckoning with sex discrimination in the workplace. High-level and high-profile individuals across industries have been fired, been suspended, or resigned … There have been calls for restorative and transformative justice in addressing the problem” (Wexler, et al).
Survivors of their abuse have made a call for action. The Me Too movement has opened up very important avenues for women who have been abused in the workplace to come forward. It has consequently revealed a culture at New York City Ballet that many were deaf to. The famous company of prestigious dancers exposed unfavored physical, mental, and sexual abuse from directors, George Balanchine and Peter Martins.
In 1934, New York City Ballet was co-founded by Lincoln Kirstein and George Balanchine. History was made. The first standing American Ballet school and company was formed. From there grew Balanchine’s memorable presence as artistic director, where he shared his neoclassical take on traditional ballet. Simultaneously, as Balanchine’s choreographic fame rose so did his relationships with his dancers such as Maria Tallchief, Suzanne Farrell, and Gelsey Kirkland to name a few. In Elizabeth Kiem’s article, she alludes to Balanchine’s love for his female muses, he’d put them up on pedestals and honored them throughout his brilliant works. There was always an unspoken mold his dancers had to succumb to in order to be featured and cherished (Kiem). For instance, his working relationship with Gelsey Kirkland led to a great deal of lifelong mental abuse towards her own body. Kirkland implied in her book Dancing on My Grave: An Autobiography,
“He was ultimately responsible for the anorexia, bulimia and addiction that nearly killed her…He liked to see bones. He liked to see ribs. He liked hyperextension and strength that was mechanical yet lithe. It is Balanchine’s obsession with this impossible “structure” that is often blamed for the destructive eating and body disorders that plague the dance world.” (Kirkland).
As Balanchine’s fame rose, so did the new ideal look for ballet dancers - everywhere mental abuse towards a dancer's body grew due to his influence (Kiem). These women were in full agreement to follow everything he said in order for them to be successful, well known ballerinas. In Kirkland’s autobiography she alludes to, while this mental abuse may seem miniscule, it led to her body disorders that were a lifelong struggle to overcome even after her dance career onstage (Kirkland). In the article George Balanchine: the Human Cost of an Artistic Legacy, Kiem writes that “the dancers were as hungry, cold, and sick as the audience,”... “yet they managed to delight their audiences.” She continues, Balanchine's dancers weren’t pleasing to look at but their beauty in their steps empowered the pieces. The audience couldn’t see that there was a greater issue going on; being that Balanchine was the root of the problem for the dancers looking unhealthy (Kiem). While Balanchine will forever be a historical icon in dance, he tainted ideals for a dancer’s body.
In addition to the Balanchine mental abuse that took a toll on Gelsey Kirkland, there was a fair deal of abuse towards Suzanne Farrell. While she was never one of Balanchine’s many wives, the way he treated her could make people believe differently. Toni Bentley writes in his article Because Mr. B. Told Me so, “... he had also conceived the entire ballet as an unmistakable love letter to her.” (Bentley). Balanchine dedicated a lot of his work to Farrell as she embodied everything he wanted his works to portray. Bentley continues,
“... their bond ran deep; his confidence in her was total. She, more than any other living person, most deeply understood, through her own body, his work and thereby his morality.” (Bentley).
Their bond ran so deep that Balanchine believed he was allowed to comment on her personal life. In the article City Ballet Breaks Off Its Long Relationship With Suzanne Farrell Jennifer Dunning states,
“The ballerina joined City Ballet in 1961. She left it in 1969 after a disagreement with Balanchine over her marriage to Mr. Mejia, then a City Ballet dancer. It was a painful, much publicized break that ended with her return to the company in 1975.” (Dunning).
Suzanne Farrell was a smart and talented dancer yet she returned to NYCB plenty of times after being let go or fired. Balanchine felt as though he could control her public and personal life. He believed that she shouldn’t marry her husband Mejia, all because he wanted Suzanne for
himself (Dunning). While Balanchine ultimately didn’t get what he wanted (her no longer in a relationship with Mejia), he was able to control Suzanne’s employment. After she was let go she had to travel to other countries to find work in dance due to Balanchine making sure she couldn’t receive work in the States. The mental and emotional abuse runs deep because Farrell still believes that she owes her life to Balanchine today. Balanchine had an unnerving control over his dancers which led to his abusive powers of physical, mental and emotional misconduct.
Abuse stemmed from George Balanchine and carried onto his pupil Peter Martins upon taking over as artistic director. Martins was the artistic director of NYCB from the time of Balanchine’s death in 1983 until he was ultimately forced to retire and step down from his role in 2018. Thirty five years of abuse, silenced by a man who could make or break these dancers careers in a heartbeat. In his retirement article Peter Martins Retired From New York City Ballet
After Misconduct Allegations by Robin Pogrebin states,
“In recent interviews, 24 women and men — all former dancers at the company or its school — described a culture of intimidation under Mr. Martins, which they said has hurt the careers of generations of performers … The former dancers said that when they worked under Mr. Martins, they and many peers had been too afraid to complain as he verbally and physically bullied performers and students; shamed them about their bodies; and abused his power by conducting sexual relationships with select dancers.” (Pogrebin).
Peter Martins not only pursued Balanchine's choreographic and artistic style - he carried on his male dominated abuse of power. Martin's retirement article would’ve most likely been written about Balanchine if women’s rights were celebrated more when he was alive.
One of New York City Ballet’s most prestigious principal dancers Ashley Bouder personally divulged her affiliation with Martin's abuse stating,
“It has been difficult at times. Especially with some female colleagues that I can only describe as female misogynists. It’s such an ingrained culture that I think people just can’t see the scope of misconduct in real terms. They only see the good things these people have given them (career, roles, etc) and not all the damage that they’ve created. I had one male colleague yell at me and ask where I would be without Peter Martins. I said well, I certainly hope that my dancing and artistry would still make me a principal dancer and that it was contingent on one man “liking” me. (Bouder).
Ashley Bouder’s fellow colleagues believe that Martins was righteous in his physical, mental, and sexual abuse as long as he rewarded them with career changing roles. While they disregarded the physical and sexual abuse, it is clear that the dancers affected are mentally unstable with their refusal to admit Martins wrongs while leader of the company.
To conclude - mental, physical, and sexual abuse in the arts from men in power is not a new conversation. Rather, the twenty-first century movements have made way for abuse to be now more punishable and impermissible than ever. But, if the eighteenth century abuse of female serfs in Russia was written about, the abuse from figures such as Peter Martins and George Balanchine should be encompassed in their biographies and timelines. While we wouldn’t be where we are today in the world of ballet without their talent, the abuse uncovered should be included in historical texts. Excluding this material will allow for history to shamelessly repeat itself and wrongfully honor the mass of male artists who dominated the ballet world in full belief that they had no faults. The dance world is hopeful that the overarching male dominated abuse that has controlled ballet for centuries, may no longer suppress future generations of artists.
WORKS CITED
Bentley, Toni. "Because Mr. B. Told Me so." New York Times, Jun 12, 2005. ProQuest,https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy2.library.colostate.edu/docview/433078741?accountid=10223.
Bouder, Ashley. Instagram message to Franny Komperda. March 28. 2020.
Dunning, Jennifer. “City Ballet Breaks Off Its Long Relationship With Suzanne Farrell.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 4 Aug. 1993, www.nytimes.com/1993/08/04/arts/city-ballet-breaks-off-its-long-relationship-with-suzanne-farrell.html.
Kiem, Elizabeth. “George Balanchine: the Human Cost of an Artistic Legacy.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 6 Dec. 2017, www.huffpost.com/entry/post_6717_b_4640946.
Kim, Hye Kyoung, et al. “The Effect of Workplace Diversity Management in a Highly Male-Dominated Culture.” Career Development International, vol. 20, no. 3, June 2015, pp. 259–72, doi:10.1108/CDI-06-2014-0082.
Kirkland, Gelsey, and Greg Lawrence. Dancing on My Grave: An Autobiography. Berkley Books, 1992.
Pogrebin, Robin. "Peter Martins Retired From New York City Ballet After Misconduct Allegations." The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes. com/2018/01/01/arts/dance/peter-martins-resi gns-ballet.html (2018).
Wall Street Journal. "Hill Vs. Thomas is being Renamed: Woman Vs. Man: In Offices Across the Country Politics Get Personal, as Girls Blast the Boys." Wall Street Journal (1923 - Current file), Oct 11, 1991, pp. 2. ProQuest, https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy2.library.colostate.edu/docview/135535774?accountid=10223.
Wexler, Lesley, Jennifer K. Robbennolt, and Colleen Murphy. "# MeToo, Time's up, and Theories of Justice." U. Ill. L. Rev. (2019): 45.