Royal Ballet suspends its star choreographer Liam
Accused of asking his students to send him naked photographs
London: Britain’s famed Royal Ballet Company has suspended its star choreographer over allegations of sexual misconduct against students, the Times reported Thursday.
Artist in residence Liam Scarlett, 33, is accused of encouraging students to send him naked photographs, making inappropriate comments, touching them inappropriately and walking into dressing rooms while they were changing, according to the newspaper. The internal investigation is ongoing, and no conclusions have yet been drawn.
“We were made aware of allegations relating to Liam Scarlett in August 2019,” the ballet company said in a statement.
“The individual was immediately suspended and an independent disciplinary investigation opened.
“The Royal Ballet Company has a code of conduct in place to ensure staff and visiting artists are always supported.”
The allegations against Scarlett, regarded as British ballet’s “next big thing”, have reverberated globally, with Australia’s Queensland Ballet cancelling a forthcoming run of his adaptation of “Dangerous Liaisons”.
Scarlett joined the Royal Ballet Company as a dancer in 2006, retiring to focus on choreography in 2012. Rehearsals for a production of Oklahoma, set to be choreographed by Scarlett, who is artist-inresidence at the Royal Ballet, were delayed in August – around the time
that the allegations surfaced.
The company had initially said that the rescheduling was due to problems with work schedules.
One former student told the paper that Scarlett had shared sexual messages with male students on Facebook.
“Because it’s so competitive you can’t lose an opportunity, so when someone with a lot of power asks you to do something you are preprogrammed to do it,” he said.
The Royal Ballet’s soldout revival of Scarlett’s
Swan Lake is due to open in March. Scarlett enjoyed a rapid rise to dance stardom, winning the Ursula Moreton and Kenneth MacMillan awards for choreography whilst at the Royal Ballet School before joining the prestigious Royal Ballet company in 2005.
He was promoted to the role of first artist three years later, before retiring as a dancer in 2012 to focus on choreography.
His status as one of the world’s most coveted choreographers was confirmed when his 2018 production of Swan Lake, the first new production of the ballet classic at the Royal Opera House for 30 years, was met with critical acclaim.
His works for the Royal Ballet have been continually well received, being nominated for Olivier and National Dance Awards.
The Royal Ballet did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
◗ The star choreographer is accused of encouraging students to send him naked photographs, making inappropriate comments, touching them inappropriately and walking into dressing rooms while they were changing