The repertoire of ballet fizzes with intrigue and pirouettes with passion. So it is perhaps only apt that one of Britain’s biggest troupes is experiencing some of the ingredients of a gripping drama.
English National Ballet has lost a third of its dancers in two years amid claims of verbal abuse and a hostile working environment, with some former dancers claiming they felt pressured to work while injured, The Times has learnt.
Sources said the dancers held Tamara Rojo, the artistic director, responsible for the company’s culture, adding that they felt their voices were ignored when complaints were made to management.
Ms Rojo, who became artistic director in 2012, has been praised for transforming ENB’s output, much of which has been critically acclaimed. It is