Co-founder and artistic director Gladisa Guadalupe has been fired following the probe. Her husband, ex-CEO Michael Krasnyansky, already resigned back in November.
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Ballet has fired its remaining co-founder after an independent investigation revealed the full depths of the “toxic” environment dancers and employees have been dealing with.
The ballet’s Board of Directors announced the results of the probe Wednesday, uncovering a “pattern of intimidation and retaliation against dancers and staff, egregious misconduct, financial irregularities, and self-dealing.” Some of the most damaging allegations involve former CEO Michael Krasnyansky, with more than a dozen people accusing him of sexual misconduct.
Krasnyansky, who co-founded the Cleveland Ballet with his wife Gladisa Guadalupe, resigned back in November shortly after the investigation began. On Wednesday, the Board also officially terminated Guadalupe as its artistic director.
“This has been a very difficult and challenging time for our dancers, staff, and Board,” Board Chairman Dr. Michael Frank said in a statement. “All members of our Board, including myself, are ballet enthusiasts who have supported the Cleveland Ballet and its founders with their time and generous financial support, and now feel outraged and betrayed. For the health and future success of Cleveland Ballet, it became abundantly clear to the Board that maintaining the status quo was not an option.”
3News Investigates first reported on the ballet’s issues this past fall, speaking to a former instructor who claimed she was let go in a case of body size discrimination by Guadalupe. Both Guadalupe and Krasnyansky were suspended in the coming days.
While the Board now contends that move did not have anything to do with the body size discrimination allegations, their investigation did not begin until 3News Investigates approached them with this claim. Once the Board’s investigation started, members referred only to “serious and disturbing allegations” surrounding the ballet.
After Krasnyansky stepped down, there was more turmoil to come, starting with the ouster of interim artistic director Cynthia Graham following reports of plagiarism involving the company’s choreography of “The Nutcracker.” Then, at the start of the new year, the ballet cut ties with Guadalupe’s School of Cleveland Ballet and announced plans to start its own academy after Guadalupe let go several Cleveland Ballet Company dancers who had been employed as instructors.
All of that turned out to be mere window dressing for Wednesday’s bombshell report, with dancers telling investigators Guadalupe and Krasnyansky “fostered a toxic work environment.” According to members, even as the investigation was going on, Guadalupe was vowing to “handle the troublemakers” once the probe was over with, such as firing those who agreed to cooperate with the Board’s investigation or speak with members of the media. Per officials, this wound up being the case with the ousted teachers from the School of Cleveland Ballet.
The investigation eventually found “egregious misconduct” on the part of Krasnyansky, with at least 16 current or former dancers and staff members accusing him of inappropriate touching or sexual harassment. The Board found these accusations “credible” partly because many of those who came forward did not dance with each other at the same time, “suggesting that the misbehavior was longstanding.”
Additionally, many of these victims said they did not come forward at the time due to an “atmosphere of nepotism and intimidation” within the company, with all people in leadership either relatives or close associates of Krasnyansky or Guadalupe. Frank also asserted Wednesday that Krasnyansky’s departure from the ballet was in no way voluntary.
“The Board had a moral, ethical, and fiduciary duty to address this situation immediately, and we did,” Frank said. “Mr. Krasnyansky’s sexual misconduct was the sole reason the Board demanded his resignation.”
Krasnyansky has declined to speak to 3News Investigates in the past, but “unequivocally” denied the claims in a statement to cleveland.com.
Guadalupe is also accused of using ballet funds to pay for personal expenses, including personal car insurance, travel, meals, and lodging. Further allegations involve commingling funds between the ballet company and the School of Cleveland Ballet, which is technically a separate organization she continues to operate.
Frank praised the company for pushing through a “gut-wrenching” time during its busy holiday performance season, saying that “our wonderful Cleveland Ballet dancers pulled together and gave our community some of the most memorable Nutcracker performances ever. This is a true testament to the dedication of our dancers, whose beautiful artistry through 11 performances with strong crowds produced great reviews and sufficient revenue to keep the Company afloat when it needed it most.”
To replace Guadalupe as artistic director, Timour Bourtasenkov has had his “interim” tag removed and given the position on a full-time basis. The new Academy of Cleveland Ballet is also set to open next month, while dancers will soon begin preparing for their April production of “Sleeping Beauty.”
View the results of the independent investigation led by the Jones Day law firm in to Cleveland Ballet’s former leadership here, as shared by the Cleveland Ballet Board of Directors (only contact information has been redacted):