By Daniel Williams and Sarah Kaufman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, May 3, 2005
FLORENCE, Italy -- The Italians have a phrase for the Washington Ballet's cancellation of its summer tour to Italy: "Brutta figura." Or just "Figuraccia." Both mean doing something shameful, tacky, cutting a sorry figure, as in "Il Washington Ballet ha fatto una figuraccia."
It was not only the company's abrupt cancellation of its July performances at three Italian dance festivals that hurt. It was also the timing and the style, especially in a country and in an art where form matters. And even U.S. diplomats say that, given the political climate, the sudden withdrawal of a Washington institution from a European event can have implications beyond the dance world.
The mid-April cancellation upended a nine-day Italian tour that had been in the works since last fall, leaving festival organizers in Florence, Rome and Civitanova Marche with little chance of finding replacements because other comparable troupes have already made their own commitments. The Italian organizers are also left with the perception that the Washington Ballet didn't care about the fate and reputation of their festivals.
Echoing comments by the other jilted organizers, Keith Ferrone, a New York-born dancer and choreographer who organized the Florence Dance Festival, said, "I've never had a last-minute cancellation like this.
"We promoted the Washington Ballet as our centerpiece," he continued. "The worst part is the feeling they were not being sincere and they were undervaluing us."
As reported April 13 in The Washington Post, Washington Ballet Executive Director Jason Palmquist, in announcing the cancellations, blamed failed negotiations with the dancers over the amount of per diem allowance they were to be paid for the tour. The dancers, represented by the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA), had asked for a daily amount close to the State Department rate of about $150 to cover meals and incidental expenses, such as laundry costs and phone calls.
Palmquist said that because the company was going to lose $90,000 on the tour, no additional expenses could be budgeted. The ballet company offered $55 a day, and when that was rejected, it offered the State Department per diem rate -- but with a comparable salary cut, which company representatives said would amount to a tax savings for the dancers. AGMA representative Eleni Kallas said yesterday that she had objected to this because some dancers are not paid enough to handle such a reduction.
Ferrone dismissed the idea that an allowance for food was an insurmountable roadblock. "I think we could have found some restaurants in town to help out," he said.
Kallas said yesterday that if management had offered the dancers meals provided by local establishments or the tour presenters, "I'm sure it would have been very strongly considered." AGMA filed an unfair labor practice charge against the company the day after the tour was canceled, alleging that it had bargained in bad faith, Kallas said.
Palmquist said yesterday that as a former vice president of the Kennedy Center, he is well aware of the complications the company's pullout has caused the Italian presenters. The Washington Ballet also canceled a tour to Italy in 2004 because of financial constraints, which made preserving this year's tour even more important, he said.
"We did let the Italians know that we were going through a process but that we were all very hopeful that we would be able to come to an agreement, and we were willing to proceed under that assumption," Palmquist said.
"I can tell you categorically that we were absolutely committed to going to Italy but that we couldn't in good conscience lose any more money," he continued. "It was the rejection of the per diem proposal that ultimately forced our hand."
As for the late date of the notification, Palmquist said that "as soon as we had reached impasse, we informed the Italian presenters." Said Washington Ballet Artistic Director Septime Webre, "I'm saddened we won't be performing in these great cities -- it would have been an artistic high for the company, and I certainly regret any difficulties the Italian presenters may be experiencing because of an inability to tour there this summer."
Those presenters are now the ones bearing the greatest costs for the cancellation. But U.S. diplomats said there is a cost beyond money for the ballet's decision. William McIlhenny, the consul general in Florence, said such tours can help improve European impressions of the United States. The cancellation is a blow to that effort.
"There is a growing perception in Europe and the United States that our societies and cultures are going off in different directions," he said. "Artistic performances are subtle reminders that we speak the same idiom. They are a reality check on the more polarizing attitudes brought on by political differences.
"I'm bummed out."
The U.S. Embassy in Rome and the consulate in Florence were eager to provide financial support to the tour -- at least $10,000, said Mark Smith, the embassy's cultural attache. "Basically, the whole thing is a disappointment," Smith said.
Ferrone and his wife, Marga Nativo, a former ballerina, founded the Florence festival in 1990. Nativo placed the abrupt cancellation in the context of America's image in Italy.
In the past few years, an impression of U.S. arrogance has grown in the country after a pair of deadly actions by U.S. military personnel. In 1998, a Marine jet flying well below normal altitude cut the cables of a ski gondola at Mount Cermis in northern Italy, killing 20 people. The pilot was absolved of manslaughter charges but received six months in jail for destroying a videotape of the incident. In March, U.S. troops in Baghdad shot and killed an Italian intelligence agent who was escorting a freed Italian hostage to the airport. The Pentagon absolved the soldiers of any error.
Nativo suggested that passion seems to be missing from the Washington Ballet's thought processes. "I think if the situation was reversed, we would have died before canceling a tour like this," she said.
Ferrone said that two days before receiving word about the cancellation, he had been in contact with Webre to discuss the dances to be performed. Webre had told him that there were problems and that meetings were going on. "I assumed it was nothing real bad," Ferrone said, "but we never did get around to talking about the art program."
The festival had set aside $50,000 to $65,000 for the appearance.
Despite the Washington Ballet's pullout in 2004, the Florence, Rome and Civitanova Marche organizers were keenly interested in getting the troupe to come this year, and they say they worked for the better part of a year to organize it. Even after this year's debacle, Ferrone said he is willing to try again.
Not so Rome.
"Our losses are great," said Marina Michetti, artistic director of Rome's Invito alla Danza, which is holding its 15th festival this summer. "Clearly, it was going to be the most important event of our festival. If I were the Washington Ballet and had any doubts, I would rather make a figuraccia in January than in April." When the notification arrived by e-mail on April 12, she said, "I didn't even have the strength to send them a response. It was truly a knock to the head."
Michetti said it is difficult to estimate the amount of money lost on the project, given the number of work hours spent arranging the Rome stop.
Invito alla Danza stands to lose money from local government if authorities decide that without the Washington Ballet, contributions ought to be reduced, she said.
"The Washington Ballet doesn't have the professionalism that I had imagined," Michetti said. "Professionalism isn't just doing a good pirouette, it's management of the entire enterprise." She added that she has no desire to book the company again.
Palmquist said he is hopeful relations can be mended. "I hope that when we have a full collective bargaining agreement in place that we have not so damaged the company's reputation that we wouldn't be able to tour to Italy again."
That might not be so easy. Questions about the Washington Ballet's ability to fulfill its promises are also being raised in Civitanova Marche.
Gilberto Santini, the artistic director of the Festival Civitanova Danza, says the company "cut a rather unprofessional figure."
"It will be difficult for me to return to work with them," he said. "I could, but our world is a place of gentlemen. It is a bit 19th century, where your word is your bond."
Kaufman reported from Washington.