Raises and safety protections in City Ballet dancers' new contract
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Sunday, October 13, 2024


Raises and safety protections in City Ballet dancers' new contract
Megan Fairchild, second from left, and Joseph Gordon, of the New York City Ballet, perform in George Balanchine’s “Symphony in C,” on opening night of the company’s fall season at the David H. Koch Theater in New York, Sept. 21, 2021. City Ballet said that as a part of a three-year labor agreement, it would raise salaries for dancers and restore some benefits that were halted during the pandemic, including vacation pay and contributions to retirement accounts. Caitlin Ochs/The New York Times.

by Javier C. Hernández



NEW YORK, NY.- When the pandemic hit in 2020, battering cultural institutions and forcing New York City Ballet to cancel performances for 18 months, the company reduced the salaries of dancers and other artists by 4% as it worked to weather the crisis.

The dancers have in recent months sought to offset those losses, pushing for raises as they negotiated a new labor contract. This week, they won a victory: City Ballet said that as a part of a three-year labor agreement, it would raise salaries for dancers and restore some benefits that were halted during the pandemic, including vacation pay and contributions to retirement accounts.

Sam Wheeler, the national executive director of American Guild of Musical Artists, the union representing dancers, stage managers and other workers at City Ballet, said in a statement that the contract was “a great example of what can be achieved when management and unions work together.”

Like many cultural groups, City Ballet is working to restore cuts made during the pandemic with the hope that the worst of the crisis is over. In recent months, as the financial outlook for arts institutions has grown somewhat brighter, some groups, including the New York Philharmonic, have reversed pandemic-era pay cuts. But arts leaders acknowledge that many uncertainties remain, including whether audiences will return to concert halls as frequently as they did before the pandemic.

Under the agreement, which was ratified by the union Tuesday, the dancers will receive a wage increase of 6.7% this season, tied to the rate of inflation in New York City. In 2023 and 2024, they will receive additional increases.

City Ballet, in a statement, said the contract “both provides economic benefits, and continues our important work on creating a respectful and safe workplace for all employees.”

The contract includes several measures aimed at building a safer and more inclusive culture at City Ballet, especially for women and dancers of color.

The company will hire an intimacy director on a pilot basis to care for the physical and emotional well-being of performers, and to help ensure that consent is given when dancers are called upon to touch each other in intimate ways.

Under the agreement, City Ballet will formally adopt a policy allowing dancers to use tights and shoes that better match each dancer’s skin tone, rather than standard pink attire, a practice that the company has been experimenting with since last year. The company also pledged to work to eliminate racial and ethnic stereotypes in ballet.

The pandemic shutdown disrupted the careers of many of City Ballet’s rising stars and resulted in the loss of $55 million in anticipated ticket sales. Just as live performance was getting off the ground last year, the omicron variant emerged, forcing the company to cancel 26 shows in December and January, including performances of “The Nutcracker,” typically its most lucrative show of the year.

Attendance last season was still below prepandemic levels, hovering around 80%. But the company hopes that its new season will bring audiences back in force. The company’s first performance will take place on Sept. 20 with a program of dances by George Balanchine.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.










Today's News

September 9, 2022

Want to buy a Banksy? This building comes with it.

Wolfgang Tillmans: Older, wiser, cooler

Nationalmuseum acquires pastel portraits by de La Tour, Danloux and Boze

Painting Michelle Obama took 9 months. Keeping it secret took 6 years.

Public Art Fund debuts a towering mythical mother sculpture at Central Park

Zephyr, a breath of fresh air on the dinosaur market

Christie's announces 'Churchill to Eden The Collection of the Earl and Countess of Avon'

Sylvia Wolf, John S. Behnke Director of the Henry Art Gallery, announces retirement

Palace of Versailles: A web series on the Palace of Versailles during the Second World

Neuberger Museum of Art opens exhibition "Nicolás De Jesús: A Mexican Artist for Global Justice"

Ken Burns explores America's inaction during the Holocaust

Academy Museum's show on Black cinema raises questions about who it's for

An American leads the Odesa philharmonic to Berlin

Ayşin Yoltar-Yıldırım appointed curator at the Harvard Art Museums

Brandywine River Museum of Art announces new curator

Chloé M. Pelletier named Curator of European Art (Before 1800) at the Montreal Museum Of Fine Arts

CHART Art Fair announces new Director

Kasmin Gallery opens the first New York solo exhibition of work by Sara Anstis

Rhizome appoints Makayla Bailey & Michael Connor as Co-Executive Directors

Raises and safety protections in City Ballet dancers' new contract

Madison Museum of Contemporary Art presents a multimedia installation by SHAWNÉ MICHAELAIN HOLLOWAY

Max Brand: Blue Elevator Pitch opens at Harkawik

Ahlers & Ogletree announces results of Fine Estates & Collections sale

How to Take Your Living Room Design to a Whole New Level




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Holistic Dentist
Abogado de accidentes

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful