Why Did 18 Dancers Depart A Top Ballet Company?
At the SAME TIME.
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When I was a kid, I hated going to ballet class.
Maybe it was because my mom was the one who signed me up or maybe it was because I was forced to attend dance camp in eighth grade with fifth graders. Either way, it wasn’t for me at the time.
Flash forward to 2023 and I find myself signing up for a twelve-week adult beginner ballet class at the Royal Academy of Dance in London (where I was living at the time) and I….loved it?
Was I influenced to do it by TikTok? Perhaps. Did the cute leotards from Yumiko (The Row of leotards imo) woo me? Likely…
I’m still terrible, but those traditional ballet classes really humble you and your muscles to your core (literally).
I’m fascinated by the world of professional dance. I devour any documentary, any bad TV show, and any Oscar-winning movie about the profession.
When I came across a story detailing allegations of a toxic workplace that led to 18 dancers quitting, I dropped what I was doing.
Last Friday, Suncoast Searchlight published a story detailing why nearly half of The Sarasota Ballet’s company quit at the end of this season.
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