Musicians protest taped music at Texas Ballet Theater’s The Nutcracker
Teresa Gubbins says:
They'd rather be playing the soundtrack live.
jtmbls, anonymous:
It would have been really nice if they would have at least mentioned this at some point while I was buying the tickets. Seems a bit disingenuous. Although, I am expecting to be so completely mesmerized by the big red shiny thing that I may overlook this entirely. Or just hope that the Moscow Ballet will be performing at the Winspear next year.
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OEsophagus, anonymous:
Tchaikovsky should have composed it without musicians in mind.
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Pavel Lishin, verified:
I bet janitors protested Roombas, too.
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Travis Bush, verified:
Don't events like this usually advertise when they DO have musical accompaniment? As well, one assumes the tickets would have been much more if there were live music.
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OEsophagus, anonymous:
At the premiere in 1890-something, ushers passed out sheet music and the audience had to memorize the score before the curtain went up.
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jtmbls, anonymous:
This is something of a yearly tradition for us and generally speaking Travis, the orchestra is usually included in the ticket price.
I could swear that bows were aflyin’ last year at TBT’s Bass Hall performance but neither of us can recall with 100% certainty. If not, nothing seemed amiss and we enjoyed it tremendously.
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alexander troup, verified:
We did the NutCracker which was written in the 1840's.. While over at the Majestic., and they could not afford a house band also....but the dancers are Russian, not Ohio raised then brought to Dallas and told to work for Perot and Company for 7 dollars an hour...oh...be glad we got the events this year, while the competetion is stupid, the Arts District vrs Dallas...The Majestic may loose the 21 year event to the Big Nut Crackers at Perot and Company in the Arts District....A/T, ...Lets tell Santa who the bad boys really are...
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Travis Bush, verified:
jtmbls..that must be rather disappointing. You going anyway?
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OEsophagus, anonymous:
A/T, Tchaikovsky was born in 1840 if you believe the Internet ... O/E ... Where's a historian when you need one ... Blar blar blar...
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Mike Orren, verified:
Statement from the ballet:
Texas Ballet Theater faced a financial challenge in August 2008 that required firm action and difficult decisions. In response, the Board of Directors and staff adopted new initiatives to increase fundraising and ticket sales, cut administrative and operations expenses, and restore the fiscal stability of the organization.
These initiatives included the decision to temporarily suspend live music accompaniment by the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and the Dallas Opera Orchestra at our productions. This represented an immediate savings of over $450,000 in production expenses during the 2008-009 Season, and a projected $650,000 for the 2009-2010 Season.
This was a heartbreaking decision for us to make. We cut our expenses to the bare bones before we made this decision. Had we not done so, there would be no Texas Ballet Theater. We would have closed our doors in Dallas and Fort Worth forever.
Here are some important things to know about this issue:
Texas Ballet Theater's decision to temporarily suspend live music accompaniment is supported by the leadership of both the Fort Worth Symphony and the Dallas Opera. Texas Ballet Theater has no contract with the local musicians union.
We work directly with the Fort Worth Symphony and Dallas Opera to contract musicians to play at our performances.
No musicians for the Fort Worth Symphony or Dallas Opera have missed a single paycheck or been laid off due to the suspension of live music at Texas Ballet Theater productions.
Texas Ballet Theater dancers earn less than half of the average first year salary of a Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra musician. Our priority is to support our dancers. To reduce expenses in the 2008-2009 Season, contracts for Texas Ballet Theater dancers were cut from 38 to 35 weeks. They have suffered more financial loss than any local union musician.
Live music accompaniment averages between $10,000 and $16,500 per performance. It is approximately 30 percent of Texas Ballet Theater's production expense (sets, costumes, labor, etc.).
American Ballet Theater, TITAS and other national dance tours have performed in Dallas and Fort Worth using recorded music with no protests or demonstrations by the local musicians union.
Other major ballet companies including The Washington Ballet, Miami City Ballet, and Atlanta Ballet have been forced to make the same difficult decision. Even the New York City Ballet has performed "The Nutcracker" to recorded music. During tough economic times, dance troupes such as ours have had to temporarily suspend live music in order to provide the highest quality ballet productions. The only other alternative would have been to close or lay off dancers. We exist to provide beautiful ballet performances on stage, which we will continue to do.
Our goal is to bring live music back. We miss it too. But our first responsibility is to restore the financial stability of our organization so we can provide the quality of dance our audiences expect and deserve.
Margo McCann Managing Director Texas Ballet Theater
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Mike Orren, verified:
... and our own Teresa and Alex have a deeper look at this struggle:
http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2009/...
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jtmbls, anonymous:
Well, I was initially very pleased that we would have been sitting practically on top of the orchestra this year but I have a feeling I will be too distracted by the venue to feel too terrible about anything at all.
What is a shame is to see them bickering back and forth like this. I mean, they are on the same team after all, no? What I would like to see is these out of work musicians who have the time to stand outside the venue pick up their instruments, go inside and just play. Lend a helping hand to your struggling fellow artist and generate some much needed good will. Where is the Christmas spirit???
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alexander troup, verified:
Your right Deep Throat, but I read in the fold out the Nutcracker was written in the 1840's, it may be their mistake while the real author is....no your not wong and i am not right yet....but let this competion in the Arts District cease and desist....that is a business thing to do compeate,the Arts and Humanites is to share not nut crack...A/T, Born with balls to advocate but compasion to listen...
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rhair, anonymous:
Margo McCann recently told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the ballet company saved $600K to $700K by eliminating live music. Was this the same $700K unreported in TBT IRS filings and collected by two of the company's board members prior to its financial "collapse", just before the orchestras were silenced? Board members of non-profit groups are generally expected to serve without compensation. Not so at TBT. Are the personal pecuniary interests of two of the company's board members – one, Jean Marie Clossey, now sits on the AT&T Center's executive committee - worth an entire season of orchestral accompaniment? If you could choose, would you endorse the six-figure annual sums received by these company board members or the magic of genuine classical ballet with a live orchestra, just as the composer intended and that TBT and the AT&T Center long ago priced into the cost of admission? The box office gross potential from ten TBT/AT&T Center Nutcracker presentations is estimated to be more than $1.5 million compared to about $125,000 in orchestra costs for the run of the shows. The orchestra costs are less than 20% of the $660,000 annual salary reportedly earned by AT&T Center CEO Mark Nerenhausen. The promoters of the new Center have heralded it as a “cultural cornerstone,” yet the Center continues to advertise performances by its resident ballet company with online images of a live orchestra, despite the Winspear’s empty orchestra pit. It is against this background that we ask how $350 million can buy more glory for the Dallas Arts District but more pain for professional musicians. The facts are indisputable – the donors and patrons paid for live music, but they won't get it.
Ray Hair, President Dallas-Fort Worth Professional Musicians Association, Local 72-147 of the American Federation of Musicians
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jermski, anonymous:
I will not return to the Nutcracker Ballet until the orchestra does.
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