Choreographer Liam Scarlett is dead at age 35

She danced, until she could dance no more.

“ A thorough investigation found no evidence, but his career never recovered.”

Without knowing anything about the man or the accusations, I’m saddened to read that in light of his death. People need to be very careful and honest about leveling such serious charges. Imagine how you’d feel if...well. Again, know nothing of this case, just speaking in general.

An accusation now is the same a guilty.

Was he inappropriate with men or women? This is important.

R2, and now that is one of the first things mentioned in reports of his death. If it didn't happen, that's just devastating.

The announcement at the conclusion of the investigation (quoted in the article) sounds strangely evasive, and may have meant that no one was willing to cooperate with the investigators.

[quote] Was he inappropriate with men or women? This is important.

What kind of 'sexual assault? This is important.

Sucking is harmless. Buggery can be harmful

He's not even good looking. This is all meaningless.

Here’s something I always wonder about people who level false or wildly exaggerated charges for whatever reason. Do they ever consider a terrible outcome, like harm to or self-harm by the accused? Not saying this is what happened here.

[quote] I always wonder about people who level false or wildly exaggerated charges

Yes, look at what Bonita Granville did to Lillian Hellman.

A former Royal Ballet School student told The Times that Scarlett encouraged him to send him an intimate photograph, and that Scarlett had shared sexual messages with at least 10 male students via Facebook. Scarlett is also being accused of commenting on dancers' genitalia, touching their backsides and walking in on them changing. "As a dancer you are trained to say yes to everything," the former student told The Times. "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 pre-programmed to do it."

Did Liam suicide?

R10. But it got Bonita an Oscar nomination, so I’d say it worked out well for them.

R11 that’s it? A small price to pay for ballet stardom.

Heartbreaking. RiP Liam.

Awww. He used to be a delicious little ballet twink. Then he became a monstah!

Are drugs much of a thing in the UK? If not, it’s clearly suicide.

He died the day AFTER the Royal Danish Ballet canceled production of one of his ballets following allegations of misconduct.

The alleged misconduct happened in 2018 and 2019. I’m confused, were there new allegations about old misconduct? Sounds like someone had a mission to destroy the guy.

I consider that commenting on dancers' genitalia, touching their backsides and walking in on them changing is part of the job of a dance company.

Dancing is 100% about the body.

The Dancing Profession doesn't allow ugly, clumsy, freaky people. The Customers stay away.

From the (paywalled) NYT obit:

[quote]On Friday, the Royal Danish Ballet canceled a production of Mr. Scarlett’s ballet “Frankenstein,” due to be performed in spring 2022, following allegations of misconduct on his part toward members of the Royal Danish Ballet staff in 2018 and 2019.

Someone was touched three years ago. Therefore he must die!

The Danes sounded very harsh in their cancellation announcement. Maybe he had high hopes for a comeback and this was just too much.

R22 That’s what I think happened. He suicided.

[quote]I consider that commenting on dancers' genitalia, touching their backsides and walking in on them changing is part of the job of a dance company.

Walking in on a dancer changing , maybe, r19. Touching a backside unless in directing movement? Questionable.

Commenting on dancers' genitalia? Get the fuck outta here. Inappropriate.

Given his age and that his career looked ruined, suicide does look likely. It reminds me of that skater, John Coughlin.

"Scarlett had shared sexual messages with at least 10 male students via Facebook. Scarlett is also being accused of commenting on dancers' genitalia, touching their backsides and walking in on them changing. "

^ Oops, the rest of my comment didn't post. Just a quote of a quote...

[quote] Commenting on dancers' genitalia

Choreographers and costumiers have to see that the dancers present themselves properly for the audience.

They have tell their dancers to empty their bowels before rehearsals and performance.

And they forbid their dancers from releasing intestinal gas during rehearsals and performance.

RIP you beautiful soul and beautiful ass!

If only we knew some Danish ballet dancers.....

He had a hot ass but he couldn’t live forever.

OP, would it have killed you to follow the DL format and put in your subject heading Will Scarlett is DEAD to me! Would it?

Yes, you cunt, it would have.

[quote]Choreographers and costumiers have to see that the dancers present themselves properly for the audience. They have tell their dancers to empty their bowels before rehearsals and performance. And they forbid their dancers from releasing intestinal gas during rehearsals and performance.

Costumers, absolutely, r28, though that is a private discussion and not something to "comment" on. The rest of your post is nonsense.

[quote] a private discussion

… about a public display.

A thousand customers can pay per night to feast on the dancer's body. Liam Scarlett had to ensure the customers were getting what they wanted.

Cause of death: Answered prayers

[quote]a private discussion

[quote]… about a public display. A thousand customers can pay per night to feast on the dancer's body. Liam Scarlett had to ensure the customers were getting what they wanted.

I don't even know how to respond to the level of creepiness of your post, r34. A choreographer does not need to "comment on dancers' genitalia" to a dancer, ever. To a costumer, perhaps.

Dancers' bodies are to be admired, to be sure, but "thousands" of customers a night are not there to "feast" (creepy choice of word) on their bodies.

[quote] Anyone wanna bet it was drugs or suicide?

No. It sounds like your morbid speculation pretty much has it covered. I'm sure that's the direction your scripted thread will take.

Maybe someone did have a vendetta against this guy, and publicized/ pushed the allegations to ruin him.

However, given that there was clearly more than one accuser (in various dance companies), and -- as pointed out above -- dancers are used to dealing with all kinds of inappropriate behavior from people in positions of power anyway, I'm certain that he did misbehave, and did so to an extent above and beyond what's considered unavoidable by dancers. Remember, all the stories about Spacey and Weinstein for years were just amorphous and dispersed rumors too, until they blew up.

Both of the above can be true; it's just a shame that a talented and relatively young man's life ended over this. Unless he know there was something really shocking about to come out, he could have acknowledged the misbehavior and eventually come back from this with the usual apology/ therapy/ time out triad.

Did he rape young boys?

Tragic. Who knows what really happened — lots of hearsay. Another poster was right: Allegation = guilty, these days.

He might have died of a broken heart and a broken soul.

Well, abuse is often cyclical so it’s likely he was treated the same way as a young dancer.

“Alexi, your fat cock is flopping about during your pirouette! Here let me tuck it back in for you. ...Umph...fuck, this fucker is fat...ok, let’s take it from the ‘top’ 😉! 5-6-7-8...”

[quote]That’s what I think happened. He suicided.

Gee, do you really really think Mr Wizard? The Times had a front page story on the Danish cancellations the day prior. The only career he could have had was one with Bryan.

He was sacked by the Royal Ballet in the UK in March 2020 for inappropriate behaviour towards his students and his production of Frankenstein, which was to be shown in 2022, was just axed by the Royal Danish Theatre for misconduct towards their staff during rehearsals in 2018 and 2019.

There's a whole fabulous new ballet in this story!

I shall call it: HAND OF FATE IN THE JOCKSTROP

[quote]Both of the above can be true; it's just a shame that a talented and relatively young man's life ended ...

Great post, r38, but that was enough said. Whatever happened, he was too young to die.

[quote]Did he rape young boys?

wtf is wrong with you, r39?

Lindsay Kemp would have made something fabulous from it!

Lindsay Kemp enjoyed a good penis.

Curious editing at the New York Times.

At this moment at least the headline on his obituary reads, "Liam Scarlett, Acclaimed British Choreographer, Dies at 35."

But on the main page of the website, the headline is, "Liam Scarlett, Disgraced British Choreographer, Dies at 35."

R47, why the outrage? It's a legitimate question. There were many allegations from different sources. Liam Scarlett may well have done more than unwelcome touching and comments. It sounds as though he was a predator.

Because it was a blunt and prurient question, r50. Scarlett may well have done "more than unwelcome touching and comments", but I've seen no charges of anything beyond that. I haven't seen a charge of rape levelled at him anywhere. Have you? Can you point me to them?

The youngest person I have read anywhere who made any complaint was18. He was convicted of nothing, no one has made a rape claim, and no young boys have factored in any article I have read.

So where did you get the idea that he might have raped young boys? Serious question.

And for the Times to call him "disgraced" on the basis of such vague claims is itself disgraceful.

[quote]Lindsay Kemp enjoyed a good penis.

Oh, I suspect it was more than just the one.

Sad, he should have just come to Hollywood and danced on one of those competition shows and become a celebrity like that Derek or sister of his.

So did he top himself?

I don't understand why the Royal Danish Theatre hired him in the first place.

A lot of these similar incidents would be avoided if places would simply do their due diligence on someone before they hired them in the first place. To hire someone and then fire them for accusations years prior to their hiring, and to be so rude about it and make it international news, almost seems purposeful.

It's one thing to be a volatile and sexually charged artist and to live your life that way. But it's another thing to express all that as an employee in your work place. That's unlikely to ever again be tolerated. Unfortunately, dance is an insular and very small world. Young dancers spend more time in a very formal studio setting that is ultimately good for them. They miss a lot of the world around them because they are not out there having worldly experiences. They can't. They are always in class. Management is going to have to work hard to reach the dancers and help them get the message about how to behave in a company setting.

And the job of a dancer really is about the body. EVERY BIT of of a dancer's body gets scrutinized, analyzed and often criticized. There's an ongoing dialogue between the adult women and the adolescent girls about how to trim. It's just part of the job. When I was a young man in ballet school, we were told to be sure to point our feet because even the foot fetishist in the audience paid for his ticket, just like everyone else. Every member of the audience gets to decide for himself what he looks at. (All you queens ogling the boys' asses and bulges know this is true.) The girls would always squeal when this was said. We boys always giggled.

These things have to be discussed within the company setting. But even in the 70's, it was not accepted for faculty or staff to directly engage the students in anything sexual.

R57 they hired him because his work was good! I've seen 2 of his works. One showed a real ability to use a company in a sophisticated and telling manner (I linked that to having danced Ashton ballets with the Royal Ballet) and the other had gorgeous partnering. I heard his production of Swan Lake for the Royal Ballet was cold- can anyone comment on this?

R52 - you know very well that powerful people do their utmost to cover things up and silence their accusers. It's fair enough to wonder if young boys at the ballet school were seriously abused by him and if he intimidated them to keep their mouths shut.

Too young to die....................

If all he did was make comments and leer, the appropriate response was a talking-to and training on boundaries, not cancellation.

We will not look back on this era with pride.

If an adult has to be told - don't send sexual messages to your students, don't touch people's bodies for your own personal pleasure, don't watch people in states of undress or stare at their genitals...then that adult is not mature or decent enough to work in a professional environment. You don't continue to put students in a position of being sexually harassed while you work with a teacher on boundaries that he likely already knows and has chosen to overstep. Expecting people to act professionally in a work environment is not some extreme standard and firing someone who doesn't is an appropriate response.

Confirmed: media reporting that it was suicide.

[quote] And they forbid their dancers from releasing intestinal gas during rehearsals and performance.

But that's cruel and unusual punishment!

Reaction from colleagues

For the record, NYT has now changed the headline on both the obituary and homepage to, "Liam Scarlett, Famed Choreographer Accused of Sexual Misconduct, Dies at 35."

From R66:

[quote]Ratmansky’s post reads in full:” I am shocked by the news of Liam Scarlett suicide. What a tragic loss of a rare choreographic talent. How many amazing ballets he could have created yet! After allegations of inappropriate behavior less than two years ago, all companies that he worked for removed his ballets from the rep and canceled all his future contracts. I did hear one director saying: ‘I can’t program his ballets, I’ll be eaten alive’. Liam knew he has no future as a choreographer. That killed him. It should not have happened. This cancel culture is killing, it is too much!!! Would Diaghilev, Nureyev, Robbins and countless other greats, who were not spotless, be able to work today? How is it possible that the whole ballet world, all of us, turned our backs on such an amazing talent, forcing him to die so young?! Shame and sadness … RIP Liam.”

So the only thing I'm taking from that is Alexei is scared his sleazy behaviour is going to come out next.

I am completely against this modern notion of cancel culture but I am for good old school accountability and being fired for sexual harassment is accountability. The problem is that everyone runs scared of cancel culture so a step that should be about accountability becomes career ending. Very few people should be forever defined by their worst moments. There should be room for change and growth and second chances as long as there is sincerity. However now that even small missteps or mistakes get headlines across the globe and lead to social media campaigns and people being forever cancelled, I don't know where change and growth can fit. He is kind of like Caroline Flack. The public spotlight held against them made it seem impossible to ever be anything but defined by their mistakes.

It would be nice to see the return of due process.

He was likely guilty of the accusations and killed himself in shame and anger over his perversion, unprofessionalism, and destroyed career. If he was innocent - any investigation would have revealed zero proof. Did he send the messages or not? Isn't this very easy to prove or disprove? If several guys reported convincing stories of perverted touching - why would they do this if it wasn't true?

Ugh, stop with the cancel culture line. This never went viral. There was no massive clamouring for him to be fired. Some idiot just compared him to Caroline Flack despite the fact that barely anyone, relatively speaking, even knew who he was, much less heard about the allegations. Even those in the industry defending him are doing so whilst essentially admitting he did do some questionable stuff.

Has his brother Austin made a statement?

R73 It was obviously well known within the choreography and ballet world. The only world that mattered to him. And Caroline Flack was only known within the reality tv and tabloid world - but since that was her world, it mattered to her.

R75 Flack was well known in general, so your reach of a comparison does not work.

Were his shoes red?

[quote] There's an ongoing dialogue between the adult women and the adolescent girls about how to trim.

What is 'trim', R58?

[quote] Diaghilev

But you didn't follow through with your all-gay 'Jeux', R46

Three attractive men with that fascinating music by Debussy would have been delightful.

When will the circumstances of the suicide be released?

Time? Location? Method?

R78....

What I refer to there is the need for the ladies to neatly trim their pubic hair so that it never, ever, shows when wearing tights and a leotard. There comes a moment in the life of every young female dancer where it becomes known to everyone in the studio that she needs to be told to trim that thing.

A swan does not have a big hairy beaver.

If I filed charges against every fucker that groped or touched me against my will the jails would be bursting at the seams. These precious snowflakes obviously never went to Mardi Gras . I woke up one morning after a night of revelry and my ass was literally a mass of bruises from pinches and grabs. I guess I should have curled up in a corner in a fetal position and sobbed.

Yup. Have you ever hung out at Gay Pride in NYC in the 90s? I got felt up and groped all over the place the first couple times I went in college. And I'm not even anything that special. I certainly didn't respond, but I took it as a compliment. I wish they all still wanted to cop a feel.

[quote] How is it possible that the whole ballet world, all of us, turned our backs on such an amazing talent, forcing him to die so young?!

No one [italic]forced[/italic] him to die young.

That was his choice, and his alone.

Alexei Ratmansky is 100% correct in his statement. Scarlett had a rare talent and he should not have been shunned as he was. When he died, we all lost that talent. Who cares if he sometimes behaved badly or offended the middle class?

Why, back in my day, we used to LOVE being violently raped in Turkish prisons! If a 300-lb Turkish prison guard with hair growing from every single part of his body deigned to sodomize me aggressively with a bathroom plunger handle, I would take it as an enormous compliment! I wouldn't think he had done it right unless my rectum was severely bleeding!

[quote] Who cares if he sometimes behaved badly or offended the middle class?

That's what we say!

R86 Off-topic and Reductio Ad Absurdem

ffs, comparing it to Mardi Gras and recreational gay gatherings is dumb. This is a professional work setting where Scarlett was in a position of power and therefore if any dancers found it gross and intrusive (not every dancer is gay too), they probably did not feel like they could rebuff it without risking potential recriminations. It was unprofessional. I don't think he should have been shunned if he recanted and stopped doing it though.

My point was R89 that life has a hell of a lot things in store for you than an ass pinch or a dick grab, Hun. When most of those fuck nuit crybabies grow older,they are going to regret bitterly being indirectly responsible for this bright talents death. So far we havent heard that he drugged or raped anyone. Quit acting like an inappropriate advance was life shattering.

“ they are going to regret bitterly being indirectly responsible for this bright talents death”

I wonder about this sort of thing in general. Long-term regret I mean. On the part of accusers. Depends on the circumstances of each case, of course.

If they reported him, they probably won't feel any guilt. Either they genuinely didn't like what he did or they didn't like him.

R92 Yeah but...imagine having to cope with that outcome.

People can be pretty cold.. some of them will get a kick out of it or rationalise it as that he chose to deal with it that way.

I think - no, I know - when we get old we’re not so sure of some of the choices we made in life. Even when they seemed righteous at the time.

The entire situation is sad. If accusations were made about him by numerous people in different locations, then this was no vendetta on the part of a disgruntled student or co-worker. This is a story about someone who should have gotten the message the first time to tone down his behavior and he didn't get it, because he didn't change. I teach in academia. We're required to put on every syllabus, every semester, that students have the right to report any instance of harassment or sexually inappropriate touching or verbiage by us, to various entities at the university. That line is there for a reason. Wherever there is a disparity in rank or power in situations where sexual messaging and inappropriate behavior takes place, there is the real possibility that the person of lower rank will not feel safe to reject the message or report that person who is harassing him/her and could suffer some emotional harm. On the other hand, Liam Scarlett seems to have been a genuinely talented choreographer and one with a pleasant and supportive working personality - not such a common thing in the ballet world. We just had a long thread about the Metropolitan Opera conductor, James Levine. He got away with the behavior that this choreographer was accused of for over 4 decades. But times have changed. I don't think it's a disgrace that people are being held accountable for their behavior. Scarlett could have retired from the ranks of the first tier of ballet companies when this scandal broke or when it became obvious to him that his choreography would no longer be staged by major companies, and started a ballet school in some more obscure city where these scandals would never have followed him, but he obviously didn't want to do that. So we mourn the loss of a talent and art that didn't get made - but we also mourn the fact that this person didn't understand the "rules" of behavior in a professional setting that we operate under now.

R90 So now people should only complain about things which are life-shattering? Otherwise they should just stay silent?

[quote] So now people should only complain about things which are life-shattering?

In many instances, that would be a good start. There's a lot in life that can be over looked. Sometimes, it's better to just suck it up and move on. In fact, it is often better to do just that.

How? Where? Why?

R98 You sound utterly pathetic.

R100 No, he doesn't.

R100 is a child. He will learn.

R102 learn to sit back and accept all the usual shit that morons like you just took as the cost of doing business instead of actually doing something about it? Glad to say I've no interest in learning that lesson.

There may be a generational difference here - older people not understanding what the problem is because they've always sucked it up and moved on. But it's clear that cultural attitudes are changing a lot and I don't think that will be acceptable any longer going forward which is why I think R102 is wrong - people will learn the opposite; that it's not acceptable.

I understand firing him from working with the company, but I don't understand not programming his ballets at all, which seems to have been happening.

What I hear from you R104 is absolutely NO recognition of that fact that certain people are uniquely gifted. Could be any sort of artist. Could be a scientist or mathematician. Could be anyone in any field. They have something we get uniquely from them. It's valuable. We all benefit from their gifts. We have to recognize that. And, yes, sometimes we have to overlook problems. Tell them. Counsel them. Demand better next time. But with these uniquely gifted people, they should be allowed to continue in their work. If Liam Scarlett had problems with his interaction with young dancers, why in the world did the company management put him in contact with... young dancers?

This does not apply to a shitty middle manager in a shitty corporation with a shitty MBA. Tenure should not be what protects a professor in a university setting, but a great and unique gift should.

It means others in authority have to be proactive in managing the situation. But that is a valid response. It does not weaken the principle that people deserve a safe work place. It means that there are a variety of ways of ensuring that safe work place, and gifted people with troubled souls need not be frog marched into the public square for ritual crucifixion.

R106, I don't believe that he shouldn't have been allowed to carry on working if he'd apologised and stopped doing it: in fact, I said that in a previous post. But I also don't believe that 'talented' people can or should get a pass for it: it's hardly part of being able to choreograph well. Company management put him in contact with young dancers because that was literally part of his job. How do you choreograph if you can't work with dancers? So that argument doesn't make sense.

Whether the accusations and repercussions were right or not - I would argue is irrelevant to his death. He was incapable of handling the bad of life along with the good - it’s mental illness that causes suicide not events.

And what are you qualifications to make that pronouncement, R108?

[quote] What I hear from you [R104] is absolutely NO recognition of that fact that certain people are uniquely gifted. Could be any sort of artist. Could be a scientist or mathematician. Could be anyone in any field. They have something we get uniquely from them. It's valuable. We all benefit from their gifts. We have to recognize that. And, yes, sometimes we have to overlook problems.

This is exactly the same argument that's been used in the past to protect James Levine, Placido Domingo, and Harvey Weinstein.

Sorry to tell you that even talented people are subject to public scrutiny if they abuse their authority and standing. Otherwise, as all these men did, they will continue to grossly abuse them, and mistreat other people.

Harvey Weinstein is in a different category because for most of his career, he was the employer. But Levine and Domingo were employees. And their employment at the Met should have been better supervised. James Levine did respond to discipline when it came. It just took too long.

The NY Times can't keep its hands off that obit headline. It's now simply "Liam Scarlett, Choreographer Accused of Sexual Misconduct, Dies at 35." Previously he was the "Famed Choreographer."

[quote] Domingo

I refuse to spurn Domingo on some hearsay by some anonymity.

R28 "Inclusivity is something we believe in

From the time we can remember, the dancewear industry has only provided a “flesh tone” color in dance belts for lighter basically white skin tones. We noticed a lack of inclusion for dark skin tones, so we made a change.

We released the brown dance belt option February 15, 2018 (as seen on our Instagram page.)" Do brown dicks object to colours that are not brown?

Wokeness at its most ridiculous.

Whatever Domingo is accused of having done is nowhere near the same category of what Weinstein did.

R114 That decision suggests that dance belts are meant to be SEEN.

Therefore Liam Scarlett has the right to supervise (if not handle) what's being seen by the paying customers.

I think William Wyler should be cancelled for being such a tyrant!

He asked Charlton Heston and Bette Davis to repeat their scenes 28 times! 28! So evil, so wrong!

Does Gia Kourlas of The Times keep changing the headline? Has Big Al Macaulay weighed in yet?

Kubrick went up to 148 takes on "The Shining".

Kubrick = Monster.