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"The Devil Ties My Tongue" by Amy Seiwert performed for the SKETCH Series, 2013. Photo by David DeSilva. Courtesy of Amy Seiwert's Imagery
October 10th: Dance/NYC's Disability. Dance. Artistry. Dance and Social Justice Fellowship Program, October 15th: Carmel Dance Festival Choreography Fellowship, October 15th: NDEO, What Data Can Do for You: Data-Driven Opportunities in Dance Education, November 1st: Carmel Dance Festival Dance Fellowship
×"The Devil Ties My Tongue" by Amy Seiwert performed for the SKETCH Series, 2013. Photo by David DeSilva. Courtesy of Amy Seiwert's Imagery
It doesn’t take much to stir the pot. And Alexei Ratmansky did just that.
Last week, American Ballet Theatre’s resident choreographer lit a firestorm on social media after posting on his Facebook page that “there’s no such thing as equality in ballet,” hinting that leading roles in classical ballets should be defined as they’ve always been: between a man and woman.
Whether Ratmansky knew that his post would draw swift backlash was besides the point. What he likely knew for certain was that people would notice. Dance Magazine wrote about it. So did the New York Times, which took Ratmansky to task in an article written by Gia Kourlas.
For his part, Ratmansky defended his comments, telling the Times that he was simply pointing out that he holds a deep a reverence for tradition.
“Last week we wrote about how choreographer Alexei Ratmansky set off a Facebook firestorm with a post proclaiming that ‘there is no such thing as equality in ballet’ when it comes to gender roles. Coming from one of today’s foremost choreographers in ballet, his words unsurprisingly drew hundreds of heated reactions.
And maybe that was part of the point.”
“And if that statement rubs you the wrong way—particularly coming from a highly acclaimed white male choreographer—you’re not alone.
On Sunday, American Ballet Theatre artist in residence and international ballet choreographer Alexei Ratmansky posted this on his Facebook page:
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"The Devil Ties My Tongue" by Amy Seiwert performed for the SKETCH Series, 2013. Photo by David DeSilva. Courtesy of Amy Seiwert's Imagery