1 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:05,840 Speaker 1: Just a heads up. This episode includes descriptions of an 2 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:18,360 Speaker 1: alleged sexual assault. I mean, I knew, we all knew 3 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:24,880 Speaker 1: that once he was gone, things we're gonna change. There 4 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:31,520 Speaker 1: was a feeling in the air in Wilmina. Frankfurt visited 5 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:35,320 Speaker 1: Balancing in the hospital. She was on edge about the future. 6 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:40,800 Speaker 1: I felt protected by Balancing. He would just always take 7 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:43,239 Speaker 1: care of me. I knew that, and I knew that 8 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:45,120 Speaker 1: when he was gone, that that was not going to 9 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:49,080 Speaker 1: be the case. Balancing Lee, weak and confused in a 10 00:00:49,159 --> 00:00:52,040 Speaker 1: hospital bed, that he hadn't left for weeks and that 11 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 1: he would never leave. At seventy nine, he was dying 12 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:58,720 Speaker 1: of a rare neurological disease. He would have to hand 13 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:02,200 Speaker 1: over the company to a success user, but the topic 14 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:06,360 Speaker 1: of succession didn't seem to interest Balancing. He'd say, after 15 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:08,760 Speaker 1: he died, he wouldn't be there, so they wouldn't be 16 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:11,679 Speaker 1: his ballets. He had no expectation that the New York 17 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:14,920 Speaker 1: City Ballet would survive his death. He seems to absolve 18 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:20,440 Speaker 1: himself from the decision except for one point. Whoever his 19 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 1: successor would be, he said, it could only be a 20 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:29,040 Speaker 1: man who loves women. Peter had become the acting director, 21 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:38,720 Speaker 1: and you could feel the shift coming. Peter Martin's was 22 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:42,760 Speaker 1: a principal dancer in the company, Originally from Denmark. Peter 23 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:45,840 Speaker 1: was striking, with full blonde hair and wide set blue eyes, 24 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:50,520 Speaker 1: six two inches of muscle. He was known for his technique. 25 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:54,200 Speaker 1: His movements were steady and precise. His body cut through 26 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:57,760 Speaker 1: the stage at elegant and crisp angles. His dancing could 27 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:07,960 Speaker 1: be emotionless, his expression never changing. The whole package suited 28 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:14,880 Speaker 1: Balancing and his plotless abstract ballets. You know, I had 29 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:16,720 Speaker 1: lots of good times with Peter. I had lots and 30 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:20,280 Speaker 1: lots of fun with him, and I loved his dancing. 31 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:23,880 Speaker 1: It's a little boring, but it's what a beautiful technician 32 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:31,120 Speaker 1: and balance she made incredible parts for him. Peter had 33 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:34,120 Speaker 1: already been involved in day to day operations. He was 34 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:38,160 Speaker 1: casting parts now and running rehearsals. Maybe he would be 35 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:44,359 Speaker 1: in charge after Balancing died. Whoever Peter loved, they were 36 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:49,360 Speaker 1: starting to dance more. But Wilhelmina says, if he didn't 37 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:52,720 Speaker 1: like you, you might be shut out. I was on 38 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:58,359 Speaker 1: that list for a number of reasons. People Peter didn't like. Yeah, 39 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 1: it's not that he didn't like me. It's just that 40 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:23,560 Speaker 1: that I knew too much from my heart podcasts and 41 00:03:23,639 --> 00:03:32,520 Speaker 1: Rococo Punch. This is the turning. I'm Erica Lance, Part five, 42 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:40,240 Speaker 1: The Prince. I don't know that you can have a 43 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:43,960 Speaker 1: ballet company without a certain kind of hierarchy, the same 44 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:52,320 Speaker 1: way orchestras usually have conductors and movies have directors. A 45 00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:54,880 Speaker 1: complex piece of art involving a lot of people and 46 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:58,600 Speaker 1: moving parts needs a north star, and that's what Balancine 47 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:01,760 Speaker 1: was to his dancers. He controlled the artistic vision and 48 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:04,360 Speaker 1: a cadre of dancers who are willing to give everything 49 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:09,000 Speaker 1: to be part of it. I think a lot was 50 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 1: codified when Balancing created his school, then company, aspects that 51 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:17,040 Speaker 1: have been institutionalized around dancers, work ethic, and body aesthetics. 52 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:22,000 Speaker 1: Whoever a successor would be, they wouldn't only inherit the company, 53 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:25,359 Speaker 1: but also the culture, a culture that sucks you in 54 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:28,839 Speaker 1: from the moment you enter Balancing School of American Ballet. 55 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:40,400 Speaker 1: But I lived without my family. I moved out from 56 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:45,560 Speaker 1: my family, so my grow up school was fast and furious. 57 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:50,960 Speaker 1: That's where Wilhelmina first encountered Peter Martin's It was nine 58 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:55,560 Speaker 1: she was thirteen years old. In the boarding house for 59 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:58,680 Speaker 1: the School of American Ballet. There were sixteen of us, 60 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:02,880 Speaker 1: kind of like little Maiden saw in a row. Right away, 61 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:06,280 Speaker 1: Wilhelmina admired one of the older girls who was sixteen, 62 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:09,080 Speaker 1: and she was a very big influence on me because 63 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:13,600 Speaker 1: she was California girl, like really California dream and hip you. 64 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:16,440 Speaker 1: She had lots of clothes, she was a really good dancer, 65 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:20,240 Speaker 1: and I was awe struck. Someone else was interested in 66 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:24,160 Speaker 1: Wilhelmina's friend too, Peter Martin's the tall blonde star in 67 00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:27,240 Speaker 1: the New York City Ballet. He wasn't a student, he 68 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:31,200 Speaker 1: was a professional dancer already in the company. Peter had 69 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:34,039 Speaker 1: trained and danced at the Royal Danish Ballet, but in 70 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:37,720 Speaker 1: nine he started to perform as a guest artist at 71 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:41,600 Speaker 1: New York City Ballet. His first role was Apollo. He 72 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:44,280 Speaker 1: played the role of the young god to his three Muses. 73 00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:48,240 Speaker 1: Soon after, Balancine invited Peter to join the company as 74 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:52,359 Speaker 1: a principal, the highest rank a dancer can reach. Peter 75 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:55,800 Speaker 1: asked Wilhelmina's friend out on a date. He was twenty 76 00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:59,200 Speaker 1: three and she was sixteen, which is you know, a 77 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:05,200 Speaker 1: little I know, but but oh well she was allowed 78 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:07,560 Speaker 1: to go. So we all fifteen of us helped her 79 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:10,120 Speaker 1: get dressed and we were all excited little ballerines. And 80 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:12,440 Speaker 1: he came and he wasn't allowed about the second floor 81 00:06:12,839 --> 00:06:15,680 Speaker 1: and we all looked out the window, and off she 82 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:20,000 Speaker 1: went with him, and he was already, you know, big 83 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:25,240 Speaker 1: global star. So it's like she landed the big star 84 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:30,520 Speaker 1: at a young age. It felt exciting. Yeah, yeah, very 85 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:34,599 Speaker 1: soon Peter and Wilhelmine's roommate became a couple. We used 86 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:39,200 Speaker 1: to go over to Peters and play poker and hang out. 87 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:42,520 Speaker 1: It was fun. We were like very young couples, right, 88 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:46,200 Speaker 1: I was like fifteen sixteen. It felt special to be 89 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:49,760 Speaker 1: a dancer in New York. At that moment. The dance boom, 90 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:53,159 Speaker 1: great dance of all kinds swirled around them. They could 91 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:55,599 Speaker 1: catch the performance any night and they were a part 92 00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:58,440 Speaker 1: of it. What was that time, like, did you kind 93 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:02,320 Speaker 1: of feel like unsupervised teens or what was that sort 94 00:07:02,360 --> 00:07:08,479 Speaker 1: of period like, Um, I didn't feel like unsupervised teens. 95 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:12,160 Speaker 1: I think we felt like we were grown ups. It 96 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:15,160 Speaker 1: was like sort of glamorous in a way, you know, 97 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:19,240 Speaker 1: even though we had like crummy apartments and not really 98 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:23,400 Speaker 1: any money or anything. It was fun. And how much 99 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:26,520 Speaker 1: time did you spend with your fellow dancers, Like in 100 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:30,120 Speaker 1: and out of the classroom all the time, all the time. 101 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:33,640 Speaker 1: I didn't have any other friends. It was just you 102 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:37,160 Speaker 1: go from class to lunch to the apartments you shared. 103 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:42,800 Speaker 1: You were always just with dancers. Your experience with them 104 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:48,840 Speaker 1: is so deep, and your children together, and so it 105 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:53,680 Speaker 1: carries through for the rest of your life. You're not 106 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:58,200 Speaker 1: really call workers your family. Did it ever, do you 107 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:01,960 Speaker 1: ever feel like it led to like warped relationships where 108 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:05,360 Speaker 1: you know, lines get blurry, or was there ever a 109 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:08,200 Speaker 1: flip side where that went too far? Do you feel 110 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:11,200 Speaker 1: like when it comes to the closeness or just how 111 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:15,120 Speaker 1: you're like constantly in each other's lives. Well, I wasn't 112 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:21,080 Speaker 1: conscious of that, so I don't know. I don't really 113 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:29,119 Speaker 1: know anything else to wil Amina. It just all felt normal. 114 00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:35,800 Speaker 1: It wasn't an until later that I knew there was 115 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:41,400 Speaker 1: a dark side. I was always a little afraid of him, 116 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:46,439 Speaker 1: even before I witnessed anything, and I think that dates 117 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:52,360 Speaker 1: back to my own instinct with my own father. And 118 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:58,520 Speaker 1: my dad was an alcoholic and so there was just 119 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:04,360 Speaker 1: that avier, and that's a specific behavior. There's an anger 120 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:12,120 Speaker 1: that occurs that's different from other anger. Wilhelmina says they 121 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:15,280 Speaker 1: all drank a lot and could lose control, herself included, 122 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:18,600 Speaker 1: but there is an edge to Peter that made her nervous. 123 00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:24,480 Speaker 1: Even if there's not a violence that occurs, it's violent. 124 00:09:25,280 --> 00:09:38,520 Speaker 1: It crosses a line. First I started seeing Uh. While 125 00:09:38,559 --> 00:09:42,520 Speaker 1: I can talk about the public arguments, it's been publicly 126 00:09:42,559 --> 00:09:46,239 Speaker 1: documented that Peter and Wilhelmina's friend had a turbulent relationship. 127 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:49,680 Speaker 1: They've both used the word tempestuous to describe it in 128 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:52,840 Speaker 1: the past. Neither of them wanted to comment for this series. 129 00:09:55,559 --> 00:09:58,760 Speaker 1: The l A Times quoted her saying Peter and I 130 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:02,160 Speaker 1: did not have a physically vie relationship, But after a 131 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:05,720 Speaker 1: long silence, she adds, that is not to say that 132 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:07,839 Speaker 1: I have not pummeled him in the arm more than once. 133 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:11,120 Speaker 1: And if I pushed Peter hard enough, if I shrieked 134 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:14,200 Speaker 1: and yelled and cried and screamed and caused a scene 135 00:10:14,679 --> 00:10:17,600 Speaker 1: and he couldn't take it anymore, he would restrain me. 136 00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:21,600 Speaker 1: In those days, there was like a lot. I don't 137 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:23,160 Speaker 1: know what it is now, but there was a lot 138 00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:27,120 Speaker 1: of drinking that went down a lot, a lot and 139 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:30,719 Speaker 1: a lot of messy stuff because of it. And then 140 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:33,560 Speaker 1: Wilhelmina says there were times she'd pick up her friend 141 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:36,719 Speaker 1: and she'd see marks on her body or a black eye. 142 00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:39,800 Speaker 1: For people who are are kids, what do you do? 143 00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:45,160 Speaker 1: When Wilhelmina was in her late teens, her father came 144 00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:49,840 Speaker 1: to visit New York, My very angry father. He was 145 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:54,640 Speaker 1: in town, and I was having a birthday party. Willomina 146 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:57,360 Speaker 1: threw a birthday party for her boyfriend. It was at 147 00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:00,120 Speaker 1: Peter's house, a mix of dancers from the comp then 148 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:03,599 Speaker 1: he attended. One of the guests was the renowned ballerina 149 00:11:03,679 --> 00:11:07,679 Speaker 1: Gelsie Kirkland. Years later, Gelsie would famously write about this 150 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:11,959 Speaker 1: party in a memoir, It's a true story. It is 151 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:14,600 Speaker 1: a true story. There were all kinds of people there. 152 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:19,040 Speaker 1: Gelcie was having an affair with Peter, my boyfriend was 153 00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:25,560 Speaker 1: seeing somebody else, and everybody was like kids and screwing around, 154 00:11:25,679 --> 00:11:31,120 Speaker 1: kind of like college, right very college. Wilhelmina was downstairs 155 00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:35,280 Speaker 1: in this duplex when suddenly her dad came in. My 156 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:39,040 Speaker 1: dad comes and grabs me and says, you have to 157 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:41,480 Speaker 1: leave now, and I said, well wait, you know, like 158 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:45,680 Speaker 1: threw me in the cab. Wilhelmina's friend, Peter's girlfriend was 159 00:11:45,720 --> 00:11:49,560 Speaker 1: in the cab. Peter was on the ground. My dad 160 00:11:49,679 --> 00:11:56,040 Speaker 1: knocked Peter out, knocked him out, apparently. Wilhelmina says her 161 00:11:56,120 --> 00:11:58,520 Speaker 1: dad had come outside for a smoke and he'd found 162 00:11:58,520 --> 00:12:03,080 Speaker 1: Peter there in a rage hitting his girlfriend. My dad, 163 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:07,800 Speaker 1: who was also physically abusive to my mother all the time, 164 00:12:08,880 --> 00:12:17,439 Speaker 1: drunk there. He was seeing himself right, and that was bad. 165 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:23,640 Speaker 1: We reached out to Peter Martin's multiple times for comments 166 00:12:23,679 --> 00:12:26,640 Speaker 1: on this and the other details on this episode, but 167 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:34,680 Speaker 1: we received no response. When I hear Willelmina tell this story, 168 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:39,280 Speaker 1: it just strikes me how messy all this was. According 169 00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:41,600 Speaker 1: to her in Gelsie Kirkland, there was a far more 170 00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:44,480 Speaker 1: senior dancer in the company dating a woman much younger, 171 00:12:44,679 --> 00:12:48,199 Speaker 1: and here he was allegedly getting violent outside a party 172 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:51,280 Speaker 1: full of people they worked with. And then there's will 173 00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:54,480 Speaker 1: Almina in the middle of it all. Her dad, who 174 00:12:54,559 --> 00:13:00,679 Speaker 1: himself has a history of being abusive, gets aggressive. It's 175 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:03,160 Speaker 1: strange to think how it must have felt for everyone involved, 176 00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:06,839 Speaker 1: But It's also strange that it took someone from the outside, 177 00:13:07,520 --> 00:13:11,199 Speaker 1: someone not in the company, someone not linked to its hierarchy, 178 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:40,400 Speaker 1: to intervene in that moment. At seventeen, Wilhelmina was a 179 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:43,520 Speaker 1: member of the Quarterballe. Her ambition at this point was 180 00:13:43,559 --> 00:13:45,960 Speaker 1: to gain strength as a dancer move ahead in the 181 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:49,800 Speaker 1: company land more roles. She says, you didn't care about 182 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:52,640 Speaker 1: fame or being well known. She just wanted to dance 183 00:13:52,679 --> 00:13:55,800 Speaker 1: the parts of her idols like Patricia McBride and a 184 00:13:55,880 --> 00:13:59,959 Speaker 1: Leger Kent. Meanwhile, Peter Martin's was still a prince of 185 00:14:00,160 --> 00:14:04,120 Speaker 1: in the company. He had relationships with numerous danswers, but 186 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:07,040 Speaker 1: Wilhelmina says she didn't feel he was interested in her. 187 00:14:08,520 --> 00:14:10,720 Speaker 1: I never thought he was really attracted to me. I wasn't. 188 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:13,400 Speaker 1: It wasn't his body type. He didn't like my dancing, 189 00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:14,760 Speaker 1: you know what I mean. It was like I was 190 00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:19,840 Speaker 1: just not his cup of tea. We wound up sitting 191 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:21,600 Speaker 1: next to each other on the plane he was going 192 00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:27,080 Speaker 1: back to New York, and we were talking and and 193 00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:33,920 Speaker 1: he said to me, I'm intimidated by you. And I 194 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:38,880 Speaker 1: said why, and he said, because you're just so much 195 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:42,000 Speaker 1: woman you're so feminine, you're so much of a woman. 196 00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:48,560 Speaker 1: Peter had one specific type, and that was like a 197 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:52,680 Speaker 1: boyish body, which is not my body at all. But 198 00:14:52,720 --> 00:14:56,400 Speaker 1: Wilhelmina says something changed when she was about twenty. She'd 199 00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:59,960 Speaker 1: been in the company for four years. This one summer, 200 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:04,560 Speaker 1: I was really anorexic and he started coming after me. 201 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:07,600 Speaker 1: He kept trying to get with me right now. I 202 00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:09,360 Speaker 1: kept pushing me away and saying, you know, come on, 203 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:13,000 Speaker 1: you have a girlfriend and she's my friend. He just 204 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:17,200 Speaker 1: didn't let up. He was trying to corner me, corner me, 205 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:22,320 Speaker 1: corner me, and I kept saying, no, you know, stop, 206 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:27,680 Speaker 1: come on stop. It was flattering because he's this big, beautiful, 207 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:32,520 Speaker 1: handsome star. At the same time, it was just unnerving 208 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:42,359 Speaker 1: to have to handle it. One day that summer, Wilhelmina 209 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:45,920 Speaker 1: says she was performing Balancine's Stars and Stripes. It was 210 00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:49,680 Speaker 1: a high energy piece, rash and silly and technically difficult, 211 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:57,160 Speaker 1: and said to music by John Philip Susa. Valentine directed 212 00:15:57,200 --> 00:16:00,440 Speaker 1: the dancers to prance and jumped in a large moving circle. 213 00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:03,960 Speaker 1: They walk on their toes on point, flirt with each other, 214 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:06,920 Speaker 1: high kick, and do the splits in mid air. They 215 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:13,120 Speaker 1: even salute the audience. He called the ballet an applause machine. 216 00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:16,680 Speaker 1: Will Almina wore a tutu and a bodice that looked 217 00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:21,120 Speaker 1: like an American flag. I was on the side of 218 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:25,640 Speaker 1: the wing watching Wilolmina had a couple of movements to 219 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:27,800 Speaker 1: wait through before as she went back on stage for 220 00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:33,280 Speaker 1: the finale. Suddenly Peter appeared. He came into the wing 221 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:36,200 Speaker 1: in his robe and he said, come with me. I 222 00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:40,520 Speaker 1: was like, now, okay. And his dressing room was on 223 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:43,680 Speaker 1: the side of stage, and I went in and he 224 00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:51,120 Speaker 1: opened his rope just like that. He exposed himself, she says. 225 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:54,560 Speaker 1: And I mean, I'm in the middle of a vallet. 226 00:16:54,640 --> 00:17:00,480 Speaker 1: I know, it's like I was like Peter. Then Wilhelmina 227 00:17:00,560 --> 00:17:03,720 Speaker 1: had to go back on stage. She joined the twenty 228 00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:06,440 Speaker 1: six other women and fourteen men in the grand finale. 229 00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:11,280 Speaker 1: She saluted and kicked, lined and pirouetted and marched. She 230 00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:14,320 Speaker 1: jumped in formation while a giant American flag the size 231 00:17:14,320 --> 00:17:18,480 Speaker 1: of the entire backdrop unfurled behind her. She lunched for 232 00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:30,280 Speaker 1: the final pose. And I just kept it to myself, 233 00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:35,960 Speaker 1: you know, I kept it to myself. I think if 234 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:40,760 Speaker 1: you've never experienced that kind of pressure or that kind 235 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:44,480 Speaker 1: of someone stepping over the lawn, it might be hard 236 00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:50,280 Speaker 1: to understand, you know what I mean. It's embarrassing. And 237 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:55,400 Speaker 1: also I wanted to try to keep the peace, so 238 00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:58,320 Speaker 1: she didn't tell anyone. She didn't know who she would 239 00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:02,240 Speaker 1: tell anyway, there was no hr, there was nobody to 240 00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:03,920 Speaker 1: go to, and if you were going to go to somebody, 241 00:18:03,960 --> 00:18:06,879 Speaker 1: it was going to be somebody that also wanted to 242 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:10,480 Speaker 1: keep their own job, and we're loyal to them. Do 243 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:12,399 Speaker 1: you feel like that's something you could have gone to 244 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:18,480 Speaker 1: balancing about. No? Uh uh, I think it's that you 245 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:24,560 Speaker 1: just I feel like a victim. Act like a victim, 246 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:28,040 Speaker 1: you know, it's like that kind of I'm easy prey 247 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:31,639 Speaker 1: that way, and you don't want anybody to know. You 248 00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:33,720 Speaker 1: always feel like what do what? What have what did 249 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:36,800 Speaker 1: I do to cause it? That's just where you jumped to. 250 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:40,439 Speaker 1: Other people may have gone to him about things that 251 00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:43,920 Speaker 1: happened to them and and I don't know who they 252 00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:49,200 Speaker 1: are or what that would have been, but um, yeah 253 00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:52,480 Speaker 1: I didn't. I it was I didn't feel like I 254 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:59,159 Speaker 1: could go and bother him with that. Yeah, m hm. 255 00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:05,440 Speaker 1: I went to him more with you know, dancing problems, 256 00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:11,640 Speaker 1: life problems, money problems, you know, and stuff like that, 257 00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:16,520 Speaker 1: but not abuse stuff. And I don't think anybody did. 258 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:19,920 Speaker 1: As years went on, I talked to some people who 259 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:25,080 Speaker 1: were younger after me, and uh, I was telling that 260 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:28,600 Speaker 1: story and she laughed. She said, oh yeah, she said, 261 00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:30,679 Speaker 1: that's what he did. You know how many people have 262 00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:34,200 Speaker 1: that story? That's what he did. We spoke with the 263 00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:37,200 Speaker 1: one dancer she's had. Her friend who has since died, 264 00:19:37,720 --> 00:19:40,080 Speaker 1: told her that Peter exposed himself to her like this. 265 00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:45,760 Speaker 1: At the time, Wilhelmina mostly blamed herself. When someone steps 266 00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:48,879 Speaker 1: over the line with you, you wonder what you're doing 267 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:55,080 Speaker 1: to make that happen. You wonder what have I done? 268 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:58,159 Speaker 1: You don't look at that person should just not be 269 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:01,040 Speaker 1: doing that, I mean, and that's what you do with 270 00:20:01,119 --> 00:20:05,399 Speaker 1: your abuser. Wilhelmina says, Peter Martin's left her alone for 271 00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:09,800 Speaker 1: a couple of years after that Stars and Strikes performance. Meanwhile, 272 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:20,320 Speaker 1: he gained power in the company Balancing held private coaching 273 00:20:20,359 --> 00:20:24,600 Speaker 1: sessions with Peter in the seventies. Like most male dancers, 274 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:27,520 Speaker 1: Peter didn't know a lot about the mechanics of dancing 275 00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:31,840 Speaker 1: on point balancing, and Peter would took away in an 276 00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:36,160 Speaker 1: empty rehearsal room for hours with a female dancer. They're 277 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:40,240 Speaker 1: balanching showed Peter how to choreograph on a woman. He 278 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:47,600 Speaker 1: talked about balance, placement and the female body. By there 279 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:49,919 Speaker 1: was a lot of speculation about whether Peter would be 280 00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:53,000 Speaker 1: the one to step into balancing shoes someday. A New 281 00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:55,639 Speaker 1: York Times magazine article from that year wrote about the 282 00:20:55,720 --> 00:21:01,000 Speaker 1: first piece Peter choreographed. Quote, the boys first entrance expresses 283 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:04,600 Speaker 1: all of Martin's frustration and fascination at being a man 284 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:07,920 Speaker 1: working at an art made for women. The boy walks 285 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:10,399 Speaker 1: across the stage with his toes curled under his foot. 286 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:13,679 Speaker 1: He experiments and steps on the tops of his toes, 287 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:17,439 Speaker 1: testing what it feels like trying to climb up on point. 288 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:26,600 Speaker 1: The critic wrote of Peter, He's an extremely intelligent and 289 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:34,680 Speaker 1: promising choreographer, but he's not found himself yet. The headline 290 00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:40,680 Speaker 1: read Peter Martin's Prince of the Dance. That same year, 291 00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:43,640 Speaker 1: Peter Martin's got promoted to ballet master in the company. 292 00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:48,159 Speaker 1: Three months after the story ran, the company went on 293 00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:53,359 Speaker 1: tour to Fort Worth, Texas, Wilhelmina was. There was a 294 00:21:53,359 --> 00:21:56,720 Speaker 1: party one night. Wilhelmina says, you know, one of those 295 00:21:56,760 --> 00:22:02,080 Speaker 1: fancy dinners. And it was in the hotel and I left. 296 00:22:02,359 --> 00:22:04,600 Speaker 1: He got in the elevator with me. He followed me 297 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:06,960 Speaker 1: to my room. He was drunk. I had a few 298 00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:09,000 Speaker 1: glasses of wine. I was not drunk, but you know, 299 00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:13,320 Speaker 1: and he stood at the door and then I said 300 00:22:13,359 --> 00:22:16,040 Speaker 1: to him, do you want to come in? And he 301 00:22:16,119 --> 00:22:20,840 Speaker 1: said yes, and so he came in. I said to him, 302 00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:22,720 Speaker 1: you want me to get some room service and get 303 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:25,359 Speaker 1: some coffee or do you want to talk? What's wrong? 304 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:29,800 Speaker 1: Peter said he didn't want coffee. Wilhelmina says, instead, he 305 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:34,840 Speaker 1: came toward her. He attacked me. I didn't think I 306 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:40,439 Speaker 1: was going to get out of it. First he shoved 307 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:42,679 Speaker 1: me up against the wall. You know, there was a 308 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:44,920 Speaker 1: built in desk. He shoved me up against the wall. 309 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:51,639 Speaker 1: He he pushed his body weight against me. He ripped 310 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:55,880 Speaker 1: up my dress. I pushed him off and he grabbed 311 00:22:55,920 --> 00:22:59,000 Speaker 1: me again, kind of rough, and he threw me down 312 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:01,560 Speaker 1: on the bed. You know, he got on top of 313 00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:06,040 Speaker 1: me and he was out of control. The guy was 314 00:23:06,119 --> 00:23:10,840 Speaker 1: out of control, and I think he probably figured since 315 00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:13,200 Speaker 1: I asked him in that you know he was gonna 316 00:23:15,080 --> 00:23:20,640 Speaker 1: fuck me. I said, Peter, get off, get off, get off. 317 00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:22,840 Speaker 1: You know, I was just screaming at him like that, 318 00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:28,919 Speaker 1: get off. I remember at one point feeling like I 319 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:34,240 Speaker 1: wanted to bash him head with a telephone. I remember 320 00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:40,600 Speaker 1: thinking that I got it was like I got like 321 00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:46,040 Speaker 1: an exorcist voice, and I said, get the fuck off me, motherfucker, 322 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:52,480 Speaker 1: the fuck off me. So I fought my way and 323 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:55,840 Speaker 1: sniggled my way out from underteath it, and then I 324 00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:59,720 Speaker 1: very firmly said to him, Peter, get out of here, 325 00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:07,359 Speaker 1: and he finally pulled himself together. He stood up. He 326 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:11,919 Speaker 1: looked at me. He said, you mean you're turning me down? 327 00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:17,919 Speaker 1: And I said, yeah, turning you down one of the 328 00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:19,480 Speaker 1: few I remember. I said that. I said, one of 329 00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:28,600 Speaker 1: the few, huh, And then he left. It was horrible. 330 00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:32,160 Speaker 1: Right after I was I was shaking. I don't even 331 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:35,679 Speaker 1: know if it's so much that he wanted to like 332 00:24:37,119 --> 00:24:39,720 Speaker 1: to have, if it was the sex as much as 333 00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:46,600 Speaker 1: the the violence of overpowering me so that I I 334 00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:54,400 Speaker 1: was helpless, physically helpless. That was really nervous about seeing 335 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:59,400 Speaker 1: him in class and in rehearsal and it was so awkward. 336 00:25:01,320 --> 00:25:06,560 Speaker 1: But I remember the next day just walking into class 337 00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:11,880 Speaker 1: and looking at him and thinking, uh, it was it 338 00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:16,520 Speaker 1: was horrible. Will Almina wasn't a daze for a while 339 00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:19,520 Speaker 1: after that, like she couldn't make sense of it. Yet. 340 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:25,080 Speaker 1: You leave your body, for sure, you get lifted off 341 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:27,159 Speaker 1: your body in a way, you know, and out of 342 00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:31,080 Speaker 1: your head in order to handle it. I think, just 343 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:37,640 Speaker 1: because you're so wounded and you're trying to recover and 344 00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:40,560 Speaker 1: deal with what happened and did that happen? How did 345 00:25:40,600 --> 00:25:43,399 Speaker 1: that happen? Did I really live through that? You know? 346 00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:49,479 Speaker 1: I felt like I had to cover it up and 347 00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:54,480 Speaker 1: let it go. Will Almina says she told two friends 348 00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:57,639 Speaker 1: about this incident at the time. We spoke to one 349 00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:00,760 Speaker 1: of them, who says she couldn't remember whether Wilhelmina told 350 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:04,159 Speaker 1: her about it. She says, you remembers the tour and 351 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:06,600 Speaker 1: that tours could be wild times with people running up 352 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:09,840 Speaker 1: and down the halls drunk. She says it could have happened, 353 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:11,920 Speaker 1: and she can't think of a reason that will Almina 354 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:14,919 Speaker 1: would invent the story, But she says it was several 355 00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:18,359 Speaker 1: decades ago and she couldn't remember a conversation like that 356 00:26:18,480 --> 00:26:29,480 Speaker 1: with Wilhelmina. Mostly Wilhelmina continued in the company as if 357 00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:35,440 Speaker 1: nothing had happened. She kept it to herself. Before this interview. 358 00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:38,320 Speaker 1: She told a reporter at Salon it was something so 359 00:26:38,359 --> 00:26:43,000 Speaker 1: big she couldn't talk about it. I didn't say anything, 360 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:47,160 Speaker 1: went the next day into rehearsal, didn't say a word, 361 00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:54,960 Speaker 1: and didn't say a word for thirty years. He didn't 362 00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:57,960 Speaker 1: talk to me really for a little while after that. 363 00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:04,800 Speaker 1: We stayed away from each other after that. That's why 364 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:08,520 Speaker 1: I knew that when Mr b died, my days were numbered. 365 00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:46,959 Speaker 1: After Balancine died in three the board of the New 366 00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:50,440 Speaker 1: York City Ballet made an announcement Peter Martin's and the 367 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:54,520 Speaker 1: choreographer Jerome Robbins would run the company together. They'd be 368 00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:58,280 Speaker 1: co ballet masters in chief. Those are terrible shoes to 369 00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:01,560 Speaker 1: have to step into, no matter who you are. Even 370 00:28:01,560 --> 00:28:04,880 Speaker 1: though she felt for Peter, she was wary of him too, 371 00:28:05,880 --> 00:28:08,480 Speaker 1: and right away she noticed a difference in his approach 372 00:28:08,600 --> 00:28:13,680 Speaker 1: compared to balancings. Will Amina says Balantine was tough but fair. 373 00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:19,600 Speaker 1: He pushed dancers but never yelled, But Peter was volatile. 374 00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:24,920 Speaker 1: It was taking this new direction of lack of respect 375 00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:31,919 Speaker 1: to the dancers. You know, anger, any moment, this rage 376 00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:38,400 Speaker 1: could occur, and that's scary. It is scary. After this 377 00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:42,880 Speaker 1: one performance of a role in Western Symphony, he took 378 00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:46,840 Speaker 1: me into the hallway and he was screaming at me, 379 00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:51,240 Speaker 1: screaming at me. He was angry with me about the 380 00:28:51,280 --> 00:28:53,720 Speaker 1: way that I danced. How dare I perform like that? 381 00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:56,520 Speaker 1: How dare I take advantage of that ballot, this ballot 382 00:28:56,560 --> 00:28:58,480 Speaker 1: that balancing had coached me in the role, and I 383 00:28:58,560 --> 00:29:01,120 Speaker 1: knew what I was doing for a year. It was 384 00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:02,960 Speaker 1: just a way of ripping me out of it. It 385 00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:05,160 Speaker 1: was just a way to get rid of me. I 386 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:07,600 Speaker 1: talked back to him when he was screaming at me 387 00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:10,560 Speaker 1: like that, When I stood up for myself, I said, 388 00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:13,480 Speaker 1: what are you gonna do? You're gonna hit me? Because 389 00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:15,120 Speaker 1: he was looking like he was going to hit me, 390 00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:18,600 Speaker 1: and he caught himself and I just ran off crying. 391 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:24,600 Speaker 1: Valchan never yelled at us. Never. You knew if he 392 00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:35,200 Speaker 1: didn't like it, But there was no screaming. As will 393 00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:39,600 Speaker 1: Amina sees it, balancing was chivalrous, a gentleman, and balancing 394 00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:42,200 Speaker 1: is definitely known for that. All of the dancers we 395 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:44,680 Speaker 1: spoke to who trained there balancing spoke of him with 396 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:49,960 Speaker 1: great affection. We've heard stories of kindness and humor. I 397 00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:52,840 Speaker 1: get the impression that balancing dancers, at least the ones 398 00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:57,880 Speaker 1: we've encountered, feel protective over him and his legacy. Wilhelmina included. 399 00:30:01,040 --> 00:30:04,120 Speaker 1: But what's interesting is that you hear about other sides 400 00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:07,880 Speaker 1: of balancing too, That he could be cruel, that he 401 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:12,560 Speaker 1: sometimes did yell or seemed to purposely humiliate people. One 402 00:30:12,600 --> 00:30:15,560 Speaker 1: danswer said, quote, balancing used to scream the same thing 403 00:30:15,720 --> 00:30:18,440 Speaker 1: day after day. I thought you were better. Come on, 404 00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:23,880 Speaker 1: come on, what's wrong with you? Are you stupid? In 405 00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:27,720 Speaker 1: The l A Times reported that when Peter Martin's took over, 406 00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:31,720 Speaker 1: company members actually saw Peter as quote less despotic than 407 00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:36,800 Speaker 1: his predecessor balancing, Basically that Peter was a little more relaxed, 408 00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:41,360 Speaker 1: easier to work with, nicer than balancing. A dancer we 409 00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:44,600 Speaker 1: spoke to talked about how much Peter encouraged her, that 410 00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:50,080 Speaker 1: he mentored her to me. It brings home that different 411 00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:53,240 Speaker 1: people can have very different experiences of the same person, 412 00:30:54,080 --> 00:30:58,479 Speaker 1: whether that person is George balancing or Peter Martin's. So 413 00:30:58,560 --> 00:31:08,200 Speaker 1: much depends on who you talked to. Wilhelmina says, the 414 00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:10,080 Speaker 1: way she saw it at the time, there was no 415 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:12,440 Speaker 1: chance for her once Mr B was gone and Peter 416 00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:15,160 Speaker 1: was in charge. I've known him too long and it 417 00:31:15,280 --> 00:31:17,320 Speaker 1: seemed too much and it was very easy for him 418 00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:19,960 Speaker 1: to use that like I've been there too long. He 419 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:22,800 Speaker 1: didn't like my dancing. He wanted to see other dancers. 420 00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:24,880 Speaker 1: You know. It was his way of forcing me out. 421 00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:29,720 Speaker 1: Wilhelmina says she started losing rolls. Her upward trajectory was 422 00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:33,000 Speaker 1: changing direction when he started to take me out of 423 00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:35,680 Speaker 1: everything that I danced, which he did. Mr B was 424 00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:38,760 Speaker 1: barely cold in the ground. I was very unhappy and 425 00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:41,080 Speaker 1: I was just collecting a paycheck and that's not what 426 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:44,280 Speaker 1: I wanted to do. And my daughter's dad, who was 427 00:31:44,400 --> 00:31:48,520 Speaker 1: with at the time, he said, well, if I don't 428 00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:50,920 Speaker 1: like working with somebody, I just leave. And I said, well, 429 00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:53,960 Speaker 1: it's a little different for you to just leave with 430 00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:56,640 Speaker 1: what you do than for me to just leave. The 431 00:31:56,720 --> 00:32:00,280 Speaker 1: only place or thing that I've ever known. Ballet was 432 00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:04,800 Speaker 1: her whole world. But she felt she couldn't stay. I'm 433 00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:09,680 Speaker 1: in a situation where I'm really unhappy, and it's my 434 00:32:09,880 --> 00:32:17,760 Speaker 1: mental health, or it's my mental health, not just or 435 00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:22,640 Speaker 1: it's my mental health. It's the only home I've known, 436 00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:29,880 Speaker 1: if you count from the school for you know, eighteen years. 437 00:32:31,160 --> 00:32:38,800 Speaker 1: So it is leaving your home, leaving your family, leaving 438 00:32:38,920 --> 00:32:45,280 Speaker 1: your friends, leaving your whole life as you've ever known it, 439 00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:57,680 Speaker 1: and leaving your art form for the unknown. So it's terrifying. 440 00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:05,760 Speaker 1: It's absolutely terrifying. Wilhelmina wrote Peter a long letter. She 441 00:33:05,840 --> 00:33:07,880 Speaker 1: says she was too heartbroken to show up and tell 442 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:13,239 Speaker 1: him in person. I used the excuse of that I 443 00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:16,160 Speaker 1: was having a baby, you know, God, I got pregnant, 444 00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:21,560 Speaker 1: But it was really that he he made it untenable 445 00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:25,280 Speaker 1: for me to be there, like almost right away, and 446 00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:28,960 Speaker 1: she left. It would take years for Wilhelmina to tell 447 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:31,480 Speaker 1: the full story of what happened between her and Peter, 448 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:35,960 Speaker 1: but her account is not the first time we've heard 449 00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:41,640 Speaker 1: Peter's name associated with alleged violence and sexual misconduct. Back 450 00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:45,640 Speaker 1: Peter was married and headed the New York City Ballet. 451 00:33:46,800 --> 00:33:50,440 Speaker 1: One night, his wife called the police. She told them 452 00:33:50,440 --> 00:33:53,440 Speaker 1: Peter physically attacked her at home during an argument that 453 00:33:53,480 --> 00:33:56,400 Speaker 1: he hit her repeatedly. She said there were cuts and 454 00:33:56,400 --> 00:34:00,240 Speaker 1: bruises across her body. Peter's wife was a big deal 455 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:03,400 Speaker 1: dancer in the company at the time, almost twenty years 456 00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:06,880 Speaker 1: younger than he was. They had started dating when she 457 00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:12,239 Speaker 1: was a teenager. After the domestic violence arrest, Peter's wife 458 00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:15,319 Speaker 1: dropped the charges, and the board of the New York 459 00:34:15,360 --> 00:34:20,080 Speaker 1: City Ballet supported him. One member said, quote, it has 460 00:34:20,120 --> 00:34:22,719 Speaker 1: nothing to do with his competency or his support in 461 00:34:22,719 --> 00:34:32,319 Speaker 1: the ballet community. He was still running the company in 462 00:34:33,239 --> 00:34:36,680 Speaker 1: when someone sent the company an anonymous letter. The story 463 00:34:36,760 --> 00:34:40,520 Speaker 1: ran in the Washington Post. Peter Martin's was under investigation. 464 00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:44,640 Speaker 1: The letter was never made public, but the School of 465 00:34:44,680 --> 00:34:49,560 Speaker 1: American Ballet announced that it contained quote general nonspecific, allegations 466 00:34:49,600 --> 00:34:52,759 Speaker 1: of sexual harassment in the past by Peter Martin's at 467 00:34:52,760 --> 00:34:57,239 Speaker 1: both New York City Ballet and the school. Peter took 468 00:34:57,280 --> 00:34:59,600 Speaker 1: a leave of absence, and the School of American Ballet 469 00:34:59,680 --> 00:35:07,800 Speaker 1: hired a lawyer to conduct an internal investigation. One former 470 00:35:07,840 --> 00:35:10,640 Speaker 1: New York City Ballet dancer we spoke to, Shelley Scott, 471 00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:13,279 Speaker 1: recalls a time when she was fourteen or fifteen years 472 00:35:13,280 --> 00:35:16,359 Speaker 1: old and a student at the school before she got 473 00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:19,480 Speaker 1: into the company. She says, Peter, who was in his 474 00:35:19,520 --> 00:35:22,239 Speaker 1: early thirties, would follow her and a friend around when 475 00:35:22,239 --> 00:35:24,719 Speaker 1: they were out and about in the city, or hang 476 00:35:24,760 --> 00:35:27,000 Speaker 1: out at the school studios at night and try to 477 00:35:27,040 --> 00:35:34,000 Speaker 1: coax dancers into the men's dressing rooms. Almost immediately after 478 00:35:34,040 --> 00:35:37,359 Speaker 1: the Washington Post story, articles started pouring out of major 479 00:35:37,440 --> 00:35:42,280 Speaker 1: newspapers about Peter Martin's history. Dancers came forward to discuss 480 00:35:42,360 --> 00:35:45,640 Speaker 1: violent experiences they said they had with Peter. The New 481 00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:48,800 Speaker 1: York Times ran a story with the headline five dancers 482 00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:53,920 Speaker 1: accused City Ballet's Peter Martin's a physical abuse. One dancer 483 00:35:53,960 --> 00:35:56,719 Speaker 1: told reporters that Peter once slammed his fists into the 484 00:35:56,760 --> 00:36:00,239 Speaker 1: wall about an inch from his head. Another said that 485 00:36:00,280 --> 00:36:02,799 Speaker 1: Peter grabbed the backs of dancers next to position them 486 00:36:02,880 --> 00:36:05,600 Speaker 1: during rehearsal, and another that he grabbed them by the 487 00:36:05,640 --> 00:36:09,240 Speaker 1: neck to throw them out of his office. A former 488 00:36:09,280 --> 00:36:11,520 Speaker 1: student said Peter Martin's grabbed him by the neck during 489 00:36:11,560 --> 00:36:13,759 Speaker 1: class and yanked him back and forth and what he 490 00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:16,960 Speaker 1: calls a death block. The dancer was twelve years old 491 00:36:16,960 --> 00:36:19,520 Speaker 1: at the time. He'd been horsing around on stage when 492 00:36:19,520 --> 00:36:22,760 Speaker 1: Peter suddenly grabbed him He said it felt like Peter's 493 00:36:22,760 --> 00:36:28,920 Speaker 1: fingers were piercing his neck muscles. He felt assaulted. Another 494 00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:30,960 Speaker 1: dancer told The New York Times that when she asked 495 00:36:30,960 --> 00:36:33,719 Speaker 1: Peter about a promotion she wanted, he told her she 496 00:36:33,800 --> 00:36:36,040 Speaker 1: needed to find a way to stand out in his eyes. 497 00:36:37,120 --> 00:36:41,640 Speaker 1: To her, it felt like a sexual proposition. He denied 498 00:36:41,680 --> 00:36:50,800 Speaker 1: these allegations. A few weeks into the investigation, Peter announced 499 00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:54,880 Speaker 1: that he had decided to retire, effective immediately. He wrote 500 00:36:54,880 --> 00:36:57,480 Speaker 1: in a letter, I have denied and continued to deny 501 00:36:57,560 --> 00:37:01,440 Speaker 1: that I have engaged in any such misconduct. I cooperated 502 00:37:01,480 --> 00:37:04,640 Speaker 1: fully in the investigation and understand it will be completed shortly. 503 00:37:05,560 --> 00:37:12,560 Speaker 1: I believe its findings would have indicated me in the end. 504 00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:17,200 Speaker 1: The internal investigation into sexual harassment lasted two months, and 505 00:37:17,239 --> 00:37:21,080 Speaker 1: in February it concluded the abuse could not be corroborated. 506 00:37:22,719 --> 00:37:25,600 Speaker 1: Will Almina watched the news unfold and she didn't like 507 00:37:25,680 --> 00:37:30,200 Speaker 1: what she was seeing. It's documented that his hands on 508 00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:36,920 Speaker 1: actions were too rough at times, just too rough, and 509 00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:43,760 Speaker 1: people were afraid to talk about it. He was hurting people. 510 00:37:45,200 --> 00:37:47,040 Speaker 1: You know, when you're teaching Valley, you have to be 511 00:37:47,160 --> 00:37:50,000 Speaker 1: very careful. I always asked the students, Is it okay 512 00:37:50,040 --> 00:37:54,640 Speaker 1: if I touch you and adjust you here? Because they're kids, 513 00:37:54,760 --> 00:37:58,600 Speaker 1: you know you can't. That wasn't always the case, you know, 514 00:37:58,719 --> 00:38:02,000 Speaker 1: old world dance, they would just grab you and they 515 00:38:02,360 --> 00:38:04,239 Speaker 1: do it like this and push you around and pull 516 00:38:04,320 --> 00:38:07,360 Speaker 1: your body this way that way. But you really can't 517 00:38:07,360 --> 00:38:11,839 Speaker 1: do that anymore. And that's a great thing. Even now, 518 00:38:12,160 --> 00:38:16,120 Speaker 1: her feelings towards Peter are complicated. At times, she feels 519 00:38:16,120 --> 00:38:20,239 Speaker 1: bad for him. You know, I applaud him for the 520 00:38:20,320 --> 00:38:23,960 Speaker 1: way that he kept that company going financially. I applaud 521 00:38:24,040 --> 00:38:28,440 Speaker 1: him like nobody could raise money like that guy, and 522 00:38:28,480 --> 00:38:30,359 Speaker 1: the fact that he did it, that he was there 523 00:38:30,400 --> 00:38:35,160 Speaker 1: and he was working and completely devoted to it. And 524 00:38:35,239 --> 00:38:38,320 Speaker 1: she had always loved Peter's dancing. He was a beautiful 525 00:38:38,400 --> 00:38:41,799 Speaker 1: dancer and he could be like a really fun and 526 00:38:41,880 --> 00:38:45,719 Speaker 1: funny person. But when he was put in charge of 527 00:38:45,719 --> 00:38:48,680 Speaker 1: New York City Valley, there there was nobody saying, hey, 528 00:38:48,680 --> 00:38:52,360 Speaker 1: wait a minute, you know, we need to all be 529 00:38:52,560 --> 00:38:56,720 Speaker 1: here and talk about this together. It frustrates wil Almina 530 00:38:56,800 --> 00:38:59,719 Speaker 1: that people don't want to talk about these things, even 531 00:38:59,760 --> 00:39:03,720 Speaker 1: if he understands it. It's a tight, tight, tight world, 532 00:39:04,600 --> 00:39:10,520 Speaker 1: and people are scared people are still afraid to talk. 533 00:39:12,239 --> 00:39:15,360 Speaker 1: From the beginning, Balancing asked his dancers to take risks, 534 00:39:15,960 --> 00:39:19,200 Speaker 1: to put everything on the line when they danced. In 535 00:39:19,200 --> 00:39:22,279 Speaker 1: a way, that's what Wilhelmine is doing, because she says 536 00:39:22,320 --> 00:39:25,399 Speaker 1: some people are furious with her for talking publicly like this. 537 00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:28,480 Speaker 1: You know, like my brother said to me, is that 538 00:39:28,520 --> 00:39:30,839 Speaker 1: all you want to be remembered for? And I said, well, 539 00:39:31,360 --> 00:39:34,440 Speaker 1: you know, if that's what happens, if that's all they 540 00:39:34,480 --> 00:39:42,080 Speaker 1: remember before, well yeah, okay, that's okay with me. People 541 00:39:42,200 --> 00:39:44,799 Speaker 1: my age think it's still not appropriate. You don't air 542 00:39:44,840 --> 00:39:48,480 Speaker 1: your garbage, you don't, you know, because they don't see 543 00:39:49,800 --> 00:39:55,680 Speaker 1: the importance of standing up for younger generations. And that's 544 00:39:55,760 --> 00:39:57,799 Speaker 1: really the whole thing. That's the whole thing. I mean. 545 00:39:57,840 --> 00:40:02,240 Speaker 1: I had have a daughter, I have a granddaughter, daughter 546 00:40:02,239 --> 00:40:08,200 Speaker 1: in law, you know, and sons. One of the reasons 547 00:40:08,520 --> 00:40:13,960 Speaker 1: I was willing to talk about things was so that 548 00:40:14,040 --> 00:40:22,799 Speaker 1: things would change and become safer for young people. Gone unchecked, 549 00:40:23,800 --> 00:40:27,520 Speaker 1: bad things can happen, and and they did. And then 550 00:40:28,160 --> 00:40:35,319 Speaker 1: the tragedy of it was that there was talent that 551 00:40:36,080 --> 00:40:40,239 Speaker 1: got caught up in it, and I didn't get to 552 00:40:40,800 --> 00:40:45,440 Speaker 1: come to its full potential because the trauma of the 553 00:40:45,560 --> 00:41:00,960 Speaker 1: experience was too deep. You're scared when you're young to 554 00:41:01,080 --> 00:41:04,839 Speaker 1: raise your voice. You're afraid to say you know, this 555 00:41:04,920 --> 00:41:08,920 Speaker 1: is happening to me, and even then you face being 556 00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:15,560 Speaker 1: shunned like by others. I mean, it's it's it needs 557 00:41:15,640 --> 00:41:19,239 Speaker 1: to be constant, and I think constantly talked about. I 558 00:41:19,280 --> 00:41:21,640 Speaker 1: think so I think it. You know, it can't be 559 00:41:21,719 --> 00:41:29,600 Speaker 1: allowed to go back under Peter Martin's resigned five years ago. 560 00:41:30,080 --> 00:41:33,040 Speaker 1: Balancine has been dead for forty So what does this 561 00:41:33,080 --> 00:41:36,319 Speaker 1: all have to do with Balancine? Listening to this, you 562 00:41:36,400 --> 00:41:39,560 Speaker 1: might think the connection is obvious, or you might be 563 00:41:39,600 --> 00:41:41,719 Speaker 1: angry that I'm bringing these two men together at all 564 00:41:42,320 --> 00:41:45,480 Speaker 1: or talking about them in this way. I've encountered all 565 00:41:45,560 --> 00:41:49,360 Speaker 1: kinds of reactions to this story. Everyone has an opinion, 566 00:41:49,920 --> 00:41:54,520 Speaker 1: and often they disagree. I've been thinking about just like 567 00:41:54,719 --> 00:41:58,799 Speaker 1: kind of cultural norms, or the creation of culture in 568 00:41:58,800 --> 00:42:03,440 Speaker 1: which things become normalized, and so I just wanted to 569 00:42:03,520 --> 00:42:05,520 Speaker 1: run something by you because I guess I've just been 570 00:42:05,520 --> 00:42:09,520 Speaker 1: thinking about different ways in which balancing is present even now, 571 00:42:11,040 --> 00:42:15,800 Speaker 1: and sometimes I think that it's like he normalized a 572 00:42:15,880 --> 00:42:21,560 Speaker 1: culture that blurs professional and personal life and normalize this 573 00:42:21,680 --> 00:42:24,439 Speaker 1: idea that you can elevate a single man to such 574 00:42:24,440 --> 00:42:27,600 Speaker 1: a place of power that he becomes anipotent in a 575 00:42:27,640 --> 00:42:32,480 Speaker 1: way in this ballet world, and makes it acceptable for 576 00:42:32,640 --> 00:42:36,760 Speaker 1: Batman to then pursue dancers who work for him and 577 00:42:36,960 --> 00:42:41,319 Speaker 1: to sort of eroticized company life so that sex and 578 00:42:41,520 --> 00:42:46,879 Speaker 1: power and art and relationships all get entangled. Hm, I'm 579 00:42:46,920 --> 00:42:52,320 Speaker 1: curious what you make of that. Well, I think it's true, 580 00:42:53,880 --> 00:42:59,200 Speaker 1: you know, I think it has been true. When that's 581 00:42:59,200 --> 00:43:02,920 Speaker 1: allowed to have been without any oversight, then it becomes 582 00:43:02,920 --> 00:43:33,360 Speaker 1: a norm. We are hoping now that that's going to change. 583 00:43:38,160 --> 00:43:40,680 Speaker 1: The Turning is a production of Rococo Punch and I 584 00:43:40,760 --> 00:43:44,600 Speaker 1: Heart Podcasts. It's written and produced by Allen Lance Lesser 585 00:43:44,800 --> 00:43:51,880 Speaker 1: and Me. Our story editor is Emily Foreman. Mixing and 586 00:43:51,920 --> 00:43:56,000 Speaker 1: sound designed by James Trout. Jessica Carissa is our assistant producer. 587 00:43:56,360 --> 00:44:00,239 Speaker 1: Andrea Swahey is our digital producer. Fact checking by Drea 588 00:44:00,320 --> 00:44:07,200 Speaker 1: Lopez Crusado. Our executive producers are John Parotti and Jessica 589 00:44:07,239 --> 00:44:10,479 Speaker 1: Albert at Prococo Punch, I Get Trina Norvelle and Nicki 590 00:44:10,560 --> 00:44:20,440 Speaker 1: e Tour at iHeart Podcasts. For photos and more details 591 00:44:20,480 --> 00:44:23,640 Speaker 1: on the series, follow us on Instagram at Rococo Punch, 592 00:44:24,200 --> 00:44:27,000 Speaker 1: and you can reach out via email The Turning at 593 00:44:27,040 --> 00:44:36,760 Speaker 1: Rococo punch dot com. I'm Erica Lance. Thanks for listening.