The
Houston Chronicle has a report about a sexual harassment suit filed by a male dancer with the Houston Ballet. I felt like both laughing and crying when I read it; it is such a classic display of what one should expect that it is almost funny.
I've been through this, by the way, on two recent occasions, one to do with myself and one in which I tried to help another person. Regarding the first, when I told my chair about it, he responded "I think less of you for saying this." (I'm a senior person with tenure, and I have some friends in unexpected places, so for me the resolution was OK. To its credit, our affirmative action office undertook to re-educate the chair, and the perpetrator was removed from his position a little later, for a number of reasons; he was problematic in many ways.)
I moved on this morning to the New York Times, but then Allegre's diary reminded me that not everyone has had this sort of experience. And so a lot of people don't know what should be expected. Obviously, I had a reasonably good outcome; I know MANY junior people who haven't.
Here's a much snipped article from the Chronicle. Do know that the two people who have filed against the supposedly innocent man are going on to have careers. That doesn't always happen.
Houston Ballet principal dancer Zdenek Konvalina, 27, has filed a sexual harassment suit against the Houston Ballet Foundation. ... It alleges that artistic director Stanton Welch, 36, subjected Konvalina to "unwelcome, unsolicited and untoward sexual advances." The suit also states that Konvalina's complaints to Houston Ballet managing director Cecil C. Conner were ignored and that Konvalina was "subsequently retaliated against and subjected to a hostile work environment."
Welch and Conner declined comment, deferring to Houston Ballet Foundation President Jay Jones.
"These claims are baseless, and we will defend them vigorously," Jones said.
...
"We conducted an internal investigation," Jones said. "Extensive interviews were held. It was reported to the executive committee, and I visited with (Welch.) He flatly denied it."
Before coming to the Houston Ballet in 2003, Welch faced similar allegations. In 1998, Australian newspapers reported that Australian Ballet dancer Kip Gamblin and Welch, then a resident choreographer with that company, signed a confidential agreement after Gamblin complained he'd been sexually harassed.
..
Jones said the Houston Ballet Foundation was aware of the Gamblin incident when it hired Welch.
"We checked with the management of the Australian Ballet and received the director's assurance that they could find nothing to corroborate the story," he said. "What we found comforting was that they continued to employ Stanton. And they still have a very good relationship with him."
Konvalina filed a formal complaint with the Texas Workforce Commission in September. In March the commission, issued him a "right to sue" letter.
His suit, filed April 10 by lawyer Ed Hennessy, requests unspecified monetary damages, claiming mental anguish and alleging that Konvalina's "career has not been promoted as it should have been."
Contacted Wednesday night, Konvalina said, "I regret that I needed to demand justice at the courts, but all my efforts to resolve these issues professionally were rejected."
...
Jones said the Houston Ballet Foundation's executive committee supports Welch's vision, adding that season subscriptions have risen 41 percent in Welch's first three seasons.