| Peter Martins |
eter_Martins_Shankbone_Metropolitan_Opera_2009.jpg">
|
| Born |
27 October 1946 (age 71)
Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Occupation |
Dancer, choreographer |
Peter Martins (born 27 October 1946) is a Danishballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was aprincipal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet and with the New York City Ballet (NYCB), where he joined George Balanchine, Jerome Robbinsm andJohn Taras as balletmaster in 1981. He retired from dancing in 1983, having achieved the rank ofdanseur noble, becoming Co-Ballet Master-In-Chief with Robbins.[1] From 1990 until January 2018, he was solely responsible for artistic leadership of City Ballet.[2] In December 2017, Martins took a leave of absence, and in January 2018 he retired, after accusations of physical, and sexual assault, and using his power to obtain sexual favors, from two dozen dancers within the company dating back to 1983.[3][4]
Life and career[edit]
Martins was born and raised in Copenhagen, Denmark.[5] His parents were Børge Martins, an engineer, and Tove Christa Ornberg, a pianist.[5] His maternal aunt and uncle, Leif and Elna Ornberg, members of the Royal Danish Ballet, started teaching him ballroom combinations when he was five years of age; when he applied to ballet school, however, he was the subject of discrimination because his aunt and uncle had been Nazi sympathizers.[5]
Martins began his ballet training in 1953 with the Royal Danish Ballet. He joined the corps de ballet in 1965 and was promoted to soloist in 1967.[6] Martins left Denmark in 1970 and became a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, though he had been performing as a guest artist since 1967.[7] Martins danced a wide variety of roles, but is most known for the titular role in Apollo and the Cavalier in Balanchine's Nutcracker. He danced frequently with Suzanne Farrell, though he terminated her employment with the NYCB in 1993.[8] She went on to found her own company, which disbanded in 2017.[9]
Martins retired from dancing in 1983 and assumed the job of sole Balletmaster-in-Chief in 1990. He was Balanchine's own choice to carry on the legacy of the NYCB when Balanchine himself passed. However, early in his career as balletmaster, Martins faced criticism for perceived deviations from Balanchine's style.[10] Martins also serves as the artistic director and chairman of faculty of the School of American Ballet, the training division of the NYCB and the venue through which it receives most of its dancers.[2]
He was the subject of the documentary Peter Martins: A Dancer.
Martins regularly choreographs new works for both companies. His first piece was Calcium Light Night set to music by Charles Ives and premiered in 1977. His more recent pieces includeOctet, Friandises, Stabat Mater and the full-length ballets The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake andRomeo † Juliet.[7] He also choreographed the Barbie movies Barbie in the Nutcracker andBarbie of Swan Lake.[11]
Allegations of sexual assault[edit]
In December 2017, an ongoing investigation was announced by New York City Ballet into accusations by two dozen dancers within the company of physical and sexual assault by Martin, and his using his power to obtain sexual favors, dating back to 1983.[3][4] Martins took a leave of absence that month from both the New York City Ballet and its School of the American Ballet, after the allegations came to light, and in January 2018 he retired.[12] Martins denied any misconduct.[13]
Awards, collaborations, and written work[edit]
He received a Dance Magazine Award[14] and Cue's Golden Apple Award in 1977. An Award for Arts and Culture, City of New York, 1981. The title of Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog in 1983. An award of Merit, Philadelphia Art Alliance, 1985. And a Liberty Award, 1986. He was nominated for the 1986 Tony Award for Best Choreographer for Song & Dance. Martins is a champion of contemporary music, working often with composer John Adams. His autobiography,Far From Denmark was published in 1982. Martins was named Man of the Year by the Danish American Society, 1980. His exercise regimen, titled NYCB Workout and designed with the New York Sports Club, first appeared in book form in 1997, with a DVD and a sequel produced later. Martins was inducted into the National Museum of Dance's Mr. & Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Hall of Fame in 2008.
Personal life[edit]
In July 1992, Martins was arrested (after his 28-year-old wife, ballerina Darci Kistler, phoned for help) and held for five hours, and he was charged with third-degree assault (a misdemeanor), after being accused by his wife of assaulting her, pushing and slapping her, and cutting and bruising her arms and legs.[15][16] Kistler dropped the charges a few days later.[16][17] Several people who know the two well claimed it wasn't the first time he had hit her.[18]
Kistler and Martins have one daughter, Talicia Tove Martins, born June 13, 1996.[19] In June 2017 Talicia Martins was arrested at her parents' home in Manhattan for possession of crack cocaine, heroin, and a hypodermic needle.[20] In August 2017, Talicia Martins was arrested forburglary and felony theft of three businesses in Camden, Maine.[21][20]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Martins
