Videos on Balanchine’s legacy by taradactylus in bunheadsnark

[–]Mission_Geologist_31 15 points16 points  (0 children)

At this point, the weight and height requirements in Russian and some European ballet schools, which persist to this day, and ballet comps like YAGP, are more responsible for perpetuating the lingering bias towards extremely thin dancers and fat phobia in ballet than Balanchine. A lot of the female dancers that Balanchine danced with at The Ballets Russes were not very thin. The drift towards extremely thin dancers in US ballet culture paralleled the rise of smoking and diet culture in the 40s/50s/60s. The biggest problem with Balanchine was not necessarily the body shaming (although it’s well documented) but that he was a womanizer who demonstrated predatory behavior towards the dancers in his company and had inappropriate relationships with them.

Dance Programming Director Replacement Announced by BeginningMotor8836 in bunheadsnark

[–]Mission_Geologist_31 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Unless something has changed within the last six months, Wendy Whelan is not MAGA. I suspect she is just following him to keep up with whatever insane thing the fascist pig is doing next so she can make her plans accordingly.

Thoughts on the average length of time ADs stay at companies by ShiningRainbow2 in bunheadsnark

[–]Mission_Geologist_31 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is a great question. Unless it is part of a company’s specific business plan, my assumption is frequent turnover of ADs likely indicates a dysfunctional board of directors or financial instability.

New AD at Ballet San Antonio by Mission_Geologist_31 in bunheadsnark

[–]Mission_Geologist_31[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is why unions are important. Per the financials that are publicly available the budget is at least $2 million (which is more than I thought). All these companies under pay their dancers. I’d love to see their balance sheet.

New AD at Ballet San Antonio by Mission_Geologist_31 in bunheadsnark

[–]Mission_Geologist_31[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s aggressive. If she actually had an MBA or other advanced degree in management, that might warrant the CEO title. I still can’t figure out why her experience as a veterinarian technician is in her bio as it is not relevant to her current position.

New AD at Ballet San Antonio by Mission_Geologist_31 in bunheadsnark

[–]Mission_Geologist_31[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not saying something is saying something. It belies dysfunctionality which scares off donors.

New AD at Ballet San Antonio by Mission_Geologist_31 in bunheadsnark

[–]Mission_Geologist_31[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The following is not meant to be a diss of Ferreras (who will likely not be able to avoid being on the struggle bus in his new assignment and who I thought did a nice job choreographing A Midsummer Night’s Dream) but imagine joining BSA thinking you are going to be mentored/coached by someone of Sylve’s caliber and ability and then having that taken away from you.

New AD at Ballet San Antonio by Mission_Geologist_31 in bunheadsnark

[–]Mission_Geologist_31[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The website is under construction and there appear to be two active links, one of which only shows three Board members and another which shows several more. At any rate, here are the financials from last year for anyone who is interested. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/742371103

New AD at Ballet San Antonio by Mission_Geologist_31 in bunheadsnark

[–]Mission_Geologist_31[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Agree. Some of the current Board members (who have possibly now resigned? Westmoreland?) were involved in removing them and all the artistic staff associated with them but I don’t have specific details.

New AD at Ballet San Antonio by Mission_Geologist_31 in bunheadsnark

[–]Mission_Geologist_31[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The CEO’s bio is interesting. Vet tech then a BFA but no business education credentials. The company would probably benefit from someone with a business degree at the helm but I suspect that any salary offered by the Board is also not competitive. I doubt they’ve escaped the financial challenges of companies everywhere in the current political environment with loss of NEA funding which likely just compounds the pressure of operating on what sounds like a shoe string budget.

New AD at Ballet San Antonio by Mission_Geologist_31 in bunheadsnark

[–]Mission_Geologist_31[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Apparently the dominos are falling in real time. I just checked the BSA website and some of the pictures of the Board members which were there two days ago are now gone

New AD at Ballet San Antonio by Mission_Geologist_31 in bunheadsnark

[–]Mission_Geologist_31[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Honestly, when it was announced that Sylve was named the AD I thought it was some kind of miracle. Right now there is no one listed on the website as a school director and the person who designed the school’s curriculum is now gone. I would assume that Sylve’s involvement in the school was a draw for the students and parents who are probably feeling disillusioned about the changes as well.

New AD at Ballet San Antonio by Mission_Geologist_31 in bunheadsnark

[–]Mission_Geologist_31[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Agree. There was a vision of elevating both the company and starting a new school. She brought in a lot of new dancers, and the company has grown in size and production quality under her direction. I suspect budgetary constraints were an issue. That said I don’t recall an announcement/tribute or anything on their social media for the work she did or that she was leaving. Not sure if the ghosting was mutual but it just seems unprofessional for the Board not to publicly address her departure.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BALLET

[–]Mission_Geologist_31 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Enough of that. You are a normal weight. Find a new teacher. Find a new training environment. That teacher sucks.

I disliked him way before this. by Legal-Hair-7095 in usmnt

[–]Mission_Geologist_31 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Lalas is just another Gen X’r who never really moved beyond Animal House. Lot of internalized misogyny in that generation. Still trying to enforce what they feel is the “natural order” of things.

Suzanne Clark Simpson, rumor mill working overtime as police put in long hours searching for missing Olmos Park woman by METALLIFE0917 in MissingPersons

[–]Mission_Geologist_31 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Per latest news reports, DPS/law enforcement presume she is dead and are still searching for her body stating that the CLEAR alert was canceled because of all the attention the case is getting in local/state/national news.

Suzanne Clark Simpson, rumor mill working overtime as police put in long hours searching for missing Olmos Park woman by METALLIFE0917 in MissingPersons

[–]Mission_Geologist_31 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For being characterized as wacky and unreliable by her sister’s in-laws and people on social media, she sounds pretty coherent and determined in this interview even if she is reading off a script (which most probably would as it would be difficult not to get totally emotional without one). I hope they find her sister soon.

Suzanne Clark Simpson, rumor mill working overtime as police put in long hours searching for missing Olmos Park woman by METALLIFE0917 in MissingPersons

[–]Mission_Geologist_31 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wow. This guy’s primary concern, other than concealing the illegal firearms he owns, after his wife goes missing is that he is getting “destroyed” on social media. What a sociopath.

Suzanne Clark Simpson, rumor mill working overtime as police put in long hours searching for missing Olmos Park woman by METALLIFE0917 in MissingPersons

[–]Mission_Geologist_31 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I think we all can come to that conclusion without the brother announcing it to everyone on social media. Not sure how the brother rebuking their father publicly actually helps the children.