American National Ballet Drops 23 Dancers And Loses Big-Name Talent As It Tries To Get Off The Ground

The still-gestating Charleston-based company, which announced ambitious plans to “reinvent and diversify” the art form earlier this year, asked its members last Friday to sign nondisclosure agreements. Then, on Monday, “23 dancers … were told they were demoted or fired. It was part of an effort to address financial realities.” Three choreographers and coaches, including Rasta Thomas and Octavio Martin, left the company in August; its leading principal dancer, Sara Murawski, resigned this week. (ANB says that 24 dancers remain on its roster.)