Amar Ramasar (Jigger in CAROUSEL) suspended from NYCB over "inappropriate communications" — Page 5

The Distinctive Baritone said: "They have no legal ability to fire him, as it had nothing to do with anyone in the production."

Without having access to Ramasar's specific contract, I imagine this is the case. Of course, if the producers wanted him gone, they could try to quietly remove him from the production by offering to pay out his contract and put his understudy on for the rest of the run. I wonder if they have approached him with such an offer and whether he turned it down.

I was at the show Friday night. I found Ramasar's presence objectionable and somewhat distracting given what has been reported about his actions. I think if there were broader public/audience awareness of the situation, the producers would pull him. I'd be curious to hear how well his understudy performed. Ramasar is -- apart from his dancing -- the one weak link in the cast. But I suspect it's not easy to find someone who can dance at his level and also both act and sing well. At least Jigger is an a-hole, which avoids the problem of having to suspend disbelief.

Andy51, I was also at the show on Friday and had the same reaction you did. The audience reaction at the curtain call (though this may be confirmation bias) struck me, too — like there were pockets of people who were quiet, as if they knew what was up, and everyone else was cheering.

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KathyNYC2 said: "I saw this for the first time this past Saturday matinee and though I remembered the news about the ballet suspensions, I forgot it included the actor playing Jigger. I just kept thinking during the show that I thought the actor seemed miscast and I didn’t enjoy his performance at all. Now I’m wondering if audience reaction colored my views.

And given the scene he has to play with Carrie, it’s doubly creepy to think what’s going on in his real life. I’m kinda glad I didn’t remember."

I didn't remember the incident either when I watched the performance last weekend during a Saturday matinee. However, I did think that the scene between Carrie and Jigger - there's a bit of humor painted over the situation but I remembering feeling that the audience was oddly more quiet or held back then at other scenes.

I did enjoy his performance as Jigger.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BnwwGwUDod9/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=6ibwz2qfjvor

Can’t seem to make this clickable as I’m on my phone, but it’s him basically saying NYCB made a mistake, and apparently the union is fighting his termination.

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Updated On: 9/15/18 at 06:24 PM

His IG post isn't really surprising but some of the comments on it and previous photos are.

All of the comments on his post are shocking. Why are so many people supporting him?

starcatchers said: "https://www.instagram.com/p/BnwwGwUDod9/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=6ibwz2qfjvor

Can’t seem to make this clickable as I’m on my phone, but it’s him basically saying NYCB made a mistake, and apparently the union is fighting his termination."

That's a weird post. What could the mistake be unless he wasn't involved (which doesn't make sense if they have written communication that proves he participated in this)? I'm glad I didn't know any of this when I saw the show today. It's disappointing that he's still performing if the allegations are true.

Amar's suspension has been turned into a termination by the City Ballet.

pinoyidol2006 said: "I'm curious if he's fighting it because he's the recipient of the non-consensual photographs and not the sender?

The lawsuit says he sent photos back of a different NYCB dancer. Maybe that dancer knew and gave consent to send the pics to Finlay (the guy being sued). Otherwise, I can't fathom why AGMA would defend someone who violated one of their members.

Edit:
Statement from the AGMA (via the Daily Mail): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6172617/Two-male-New-York-City-Ballet-principal-dancers-FIRED-explicit-photo-scandal.html

'Based on all the information received from the company, the allegations relate entirely to non-work-related activity and do not rise to the level of "just cause" termination,' the union said in a statement. 'As AGMA would do for any of its members, we will soon be filing for arbitration to enforce our members’ employment rights.'

I am a fan of NYCB and particularly Amar Ramasar. He is a great dancer, tremendous charismatic presence IMHO. In any event, I completely agree with you above quoted post - we really don't know exactly what is its that the Amar and Zachary did that was so terrible to merit termination. Chase is the one who violated the privacy of the former dancer by filming w/o permission and then again w/o permission disseminating that video. She is suing him and NYCB (frankly taking advantage of the Peter Martins situation as this was 'off' job behavior that had nothing to do with NYCB I would argue). By suing NYCB she gets all this attention and possible payout. Why are the dancers named but not the donor?

I think the whole thing is terribly unfair to Amar and Zachary. I am very sad for them.

Why are the dancers named but not the donor?

I am also waiting to hear the name. I am not sure why it's not been spilled. There must be alot of people who actually know the name...so come on, who is it?

The NYT article stated the donor donated around $12k from 2010-2016 and was a member of the young patron’s circle so it sounds like he is in his 30s/40s.
Anyway, i do agree we all don’t know all the details. It would be fair to hear Amar’s side of the story and then judge thereafter.

A poster on the Amar Ramasar Facebook fan page named Lisa Mehigan posted this publicly:

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I post this template for a letter to the Board at NYCB. It's not perfect but it saves you from having to compose one of your own. If you like, alter it to suit your view. Either print and mail it or email it. I sent mine to Kbrown@nycballet.com, a guess at the company's Executive Director's email. Alternatively, you could bombard info@nycballet.com.

Mr. Charles W. Scharf, Chairman
Board of Directors
The New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
20 Lincoln Center Plaza
New York, NY

September 16, 2018

Dear Mr. Scharf and Members of the New York City Ballet Board of Directors:

I write today to object to the abrupt termination of principal male dancers Amar Ramasar and Zachary Catazaro from New York City Ballet’s roster as a result of recent allegations detailed in a lawsuit brought by Ms. Alexandra Waterbury. It is my understanding that they were not directly involved with Ms. Waterbury’s complaint but, rather, tangentially caught up in an admittedly ill-advised texting chain, conducted, they thought, privately, among friends. It seems that being tinged by the greater scandal is the reason for their firing but no one has a complete picture of what exactly occurred and won’t until all sides of the situation have been presented.

I understand that City Ballet values its reputation but shouldn’t doing so include being fair to employees who haven’t been allowed to defend themselves against guilt by association? I urge you to reconsider your stance in this matter. A penalty of temporary suspension for their poor judgment had already been imposed. That, plus the damage to their reputation, seems, in my opinion, to have been an appropriate action.

I am disappointed in what I consider to be your knee-jerk reaction and condemnation of these two dancers without adequate consideration for their long-term record of total dedication to the company. Please allow them to defend themselves.

Best regards,

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Bwayfan292 said: "I mean if he was fired, they had evidence to justify firing him. I dont get why people are defending him."

My thoughts exactly. I’m kind of horrified, especially in the climate we’ve been in for the past year in the entertainment industry.