The Washington Ballet

[Anonymous]

Did anyone see Sarah Kaufman's piece on the Washington Ballet today? Very interesting, and very true. Septime Webre had carved out a niche with his choreography, which appealed to so many. Under Julie Kent, their programs always seem stale. And it's noticeable how many seats are not filled in the audience. I think the Board should not have hired someone with absolutely no experience in running a company. And apparently Julie hired her best friend as Head of School- another person with absolutely no experience. That is not a recipe for success by any stretch. No wonder they are losing season ticket holders and students at the school.

[Anonymous]

Interesting read! It seems Kent’s vision is not viable for the company financially. I was shocked to see her salary is only $260,000.

[Anonymous]

I happen to share Julie's vision, but the board will have to decide how long to give it a try. They can't stay in the red for ever.

[Anonymous]

Agree. The article laid out the problem clearly: Kent wants to replicate what she already knows from years at ABT and make The Washington Ballet into an ABT-clone company that focuses on the classic ballets already done and done and done again by other companies. Under Webre, the focus was on unique works and a modern energy, and it brought in wider audiences than just balletomanes. The article noted that WB is going to be competing with companies that already cycle through the Kennedy Center doing the same ballets she wants WB to do. Repertoire of classics is vital in ballet but WB also had a good niche going--and she and her backers want to be a world status classical repertoire company, not a "local" company with a reputation for quirky, humorous or rock-based works. And that's a pity.

Losing Brooklyn Mack was also a self-inflicted wound.

[Anonymous]

Meanwhile, the School of Washington Ballet is going down the toilet also! It's really a shame because I am sure the school is also losing money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone see Sarah Kaufman's piece on the Washington Ballet today? Very interesting, and very true. Septime Webre had carved out a niche with his choreography, which appealed to so many. Under Julie Kent, their programs always seem stale. And it's noticeable how many seats are not filled in the audience. I think the Board should not have hired someone with absolutely no experience in running a company. And apparently Julie hired her best friend as Head of School- another person with absolutely no experience. That is not a recipe for success by any stretch. No wonder they are losing season ticket holders and students at the school.

My DD has been at TWB school for 8 years. The new HOS is wonderful. The atmosphere she brings and tone she sets has been extremely positive —even shutting down mean-girl gossip her first year there about certain Nutcracker student casting as being better than other casts. Julie Kent even taught one of my DD’s Ballet classes last year — she just showed up as her substitute teacher that day. My DD and our family were so blown away by Julie Kent’s genuine encouragement of these young dancers and generosity in teaching a class of dancers that were barely en pointe. We love Julie Kent and the HOS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Meanwhile, the School of Washington Ballet is going down the toilet also! It's really a shame because I am sure the school is also losing money.

What is your connection to the school that you can write this?

[Anonymous]

To echo what another PP was saying, the WB school is probably better off under the new leadership...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree. The article laid out the problem clearly: Kent wants to replicate what she already knows from years at ABT and make The Washington Ballet into an ABT-clone company that focuses on the classic ballets already done and done and done again by other companies. Under Webre, the focus was on unique works and a modern energy, and it brought in wider audiences than just balletomanes. The article noted that WB is going to be competing with companies that already cycle through the Kennedy Center doing the same ballets she wants WB to do. Repertoire of classics is vital in ballet but WB also had a good niche going--and she and her backers want to be a world status classical repertoire company, not a "local" company with a reputation for quirky, humorous or rock-based works. And that's a pity.

Losing Brooklyn Mack was also a self-inflicted wound.

Where did Brooklyn Mack go? I Googled him and cannot find anything on his current company other than TWB.

[Anonymous]

I think quality of the company/performances is way up under Kent. Under Webre I rarely went because I could see touring companies come through the KenCen but now I feel WB is actually worth seeing as well.

[Anonymous]

I agree that the quality of dancing is up, and I like the new repertoire. It will take time to build audiences back up.

I though the article did a pretty poor job of laying out the financial situation or providing context.

[Anonymous]

I liked the Weber energy and quirkiness, but I haven't seen any of the new stuff so can't compare really.

After seeing the article, I decided to try to get some tickets -- went to the tickets for Sleeping Beauty and they were already about 80% sold for the times I looked at. So is it really ticket sales that are the problem?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Meanwhile, the School of Washington Ballet is going down the toilet also! It's really a shame because I am sure the school is also losing money.

I second this opinion. And the school for sure is losing money because they are losing students. And many families have been upset over the emphasis on needing to be super thin and having a perfect ballet body to be successful in ballet. This is a direct result of things the HOS has said to parents and students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Meanwhile, the School of Washington Ballet is going down the toilet also! It's really a shame because I am sure the school is also losing money.

I second this opinion. And the school for sure is losing money because they are losing students. And many families have been upset over the emphasis on needing to be super thin and having a perfect ballet body to be successful in ballet. This is a direct result of things the HOS has said to parents and students.

My DD has NEVER heard a teacher say this to her class! And my DD is in the upper levels. I don’t believe you know anyone at the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting read! It seems Kent’s vision is not viable for the company financially. I was shocked to see her salary is only $260,000.

Only $260,000? I'm shocked that it's that much.