Marci A. Hamilton, a University of Pennsylvania professor who founded CHILD USA and is the author of Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect its Children, said dance is one of the last forums where adults have unsupervised access to younger students. In a series of text messages between Schaufeld and Wallace, reviewed by the AP and the Star, Schaufeld laid out his accusations and Wallace said that although he couldnt remember anything, he couldnt be more sorry.. Meismer shushed him, he remembers, warning that someone was asleep in a nearby room. Description. At Break the Floor Productions, we are committed to creating a dance culture rooted in excellence and focused on the well-being of our dancers and staff. This salary trends is based on salaries posted anonymously by Break The Floor Productions employees. Entering a BTF event is like walking into a carnival. Can a dancer do the scholarship audition through a virtual event? Break The Floor Productions - opradancewear Gabriel, when asked about Maples accusation, said in a written statement that he had been drinking heavily that night to control fears about serious health problems in his family. I was naive, and I was just letting it all happen, Lindsey said. Snapshot; Why Join Us . In his first 10 days as CEO, he said four people were let go.. On planes, Meismer would grope him in his seat, Hudson alleges. Break The Floor now draws around 300,000 dance students, some as young as 5, to packed hotel ballrooms across the U.S. and Canada for weekend workshops and competitions. One dancer said she met Stroming when she was a 16-year-old high school junior attending one of Break the Floors first events with her parents. Contact. Break the Floor has a fervent following. Break The Floor Productions Overview | SignalHire Company Profile San Jose firefighter claims sexual abuse, racism, swastikas drove her out He referred reporters to his lawyer, who didn't respond. National News | NUVO Dance Convention . Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a298e5fcfbebcbd Lilli Maples had taken classes with Gabriel since she was 10 years old. Ellis recalled that on the last night of the dance season in May 2017, when Ellis was 21, Lazzarini kissed him while they were out at a club with other staff members. Lawyers for Saradpon and the Buttons didn't respond to requests for comment. Whenever I worked with a struggling student, I always reassured them that confronting our shortcomings is not a showing of weakness, it is the beginning of strength. As I In an interview earlier this year with the AP and the Star, Wallace denied Schaufelds allegations and said nothing sexual or physical ever transpired between them. Dancers say leading company bred culture of sex, silence - The Mercury News We know this season will look a little different for now. Reviews from Break The Floor Productions employees about Break The Floor Productions culture, salaries, benefits, work-life balance, management, job security, and more. Three of them say these alleged advances happened when they were under 18. Break The Floor - Break The Floor - Break the Floor Productions Studio Owners, please contact us to confirm pricing, discounts, and incentives. In addition to competitions with cash prizes, Break The Floor conventions which cost between around $200 to $350 per student offer dozens of workshops, under strobing lights and thumping music. FREE Shipping. One staff member said Stroming showed him a nude photo of one of the students. The problems date back to the founding of Los Angeles-based Break The Floor Productions; as the company has grown into an industry powerhouse, its leaders perpetuated a culture of sex and silence . Lonetree alleges Hicks later confronted him, took off Lonetrees headset, and told him to take a walk and come back with the answer I want. Hicks strenuously denies saying this and denies removing Lonetrees headset. orlando, fl. Sexual abuse pervades the dance world, according to child advocates and industry leaders. Mega dance company bred culture of sex, silence, dancers say Headquarters Regions Greater Los Angeles Area, West Coast, Western US. Wall did not respond to detailed questions sent by The Star, and said only the accusations against me are false, in a statement through a publicist. Break The Floor (@breakthefloor) | TikTok The lawsuit and its disturbing allegations have rocked the ballet world, one populated by young dancers most of them girls who train under exacting instructors in hopes of reaching the top . And so Schaufeld stayed quiet. Former Break The Floor instructors have been accused of abusing young dancers in other settings. Our dance studio friends are finding it hard to plan for the new season. Im not a monster but I feel like one, Wallace wrote, adding that he has a lot of hazy memories and a huge list of regrets/mistakes from that time period. Hotel lobbies, colourfully decorated, are lined with vendors selling clothes and videos. Follow. Uchida is now volunteering with BTF to help further revise the dance companys code of conduct. But the secret ate away at him. For Myles Lavallee, that blurred student-teacher relationship began with BTF instructor Travis Wall. But during a 2020 in-house training, a recording of which was reviewed by the AP and Star, Stroming addressed his own past misconduct. In a written statement, he told the AP and Star, I have been very upfront that when I first started the company at 19, over 20 years ago, there were issues of inappropriateness. He didnt respond to the specific allegations. In 2019, Stroming quietly fired him after he posted, then quickly removed, a video of himself masturbating on Instagram, as the Star previously reported. The Stars prior investigation uncovered allegations that Lazzarini had subjected at least six dancers to unwanted sexual advances at Break The Floor events. Once on the convention circuit, children as young as five years old and teens spend entire weekends, from early morning to sometimes past midnight in hotel ballrooms and convention centres. The problems date back to the founding of Los Angeles-based Break The Floor Productions; as the company has grown into an industry powerhouse, its leaders perpetuated a culture of sex and silence . Schaufeld had fallen in love with tap at 7 years old, and assisting Wallace offered a chance to raise his profile and learn from one of the best. Now is the time for continued open dialogue, soul searching, and decisive action towards making amends. Man convicted of California rapes that attorney blamed on defendants twin Lavallee charges that in 2008, Wall made sexual advances on him when the two stayed at Lavalees parents home overnight while teaching a dance course close by. At the New York event in 2012, Clarke said she turned down Lazzarinis request to join him in his hotel room. The next morning, Stroming left abruptly for Las Vegas and handed her $40 for a cab ride back to the airport. Receive up-to-date schedules and info when attending any of the Break The Floor events: JUMP, NUVO, 24 Seven, The Dance Awards, DancerPalooza and Dance Teacher Summit! The combination of hyper-sexual dance content and the close contact between adult teachers and the young dancers creates an atmosphere ripe for abuse, said Jamal Story, a professional dancer who is co-chair of the National Dance Committee for The Screen Actors Guild American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). Allegations of sexual misconduct first hit the dance company in October, when the Toronto Starrevealed allegationsof widespread sexual harassment and predatory behavior by Break the Floor instructors. In 2019, according to multiple sources, Lazzarini accidentally posted to Instagram a video that appears to show himself masturbating. 5446 Satsuma Ave, N Hollywood, California, 91601, United States. On Oct. 1, BTF kicked off its fall season with an event in Toronto at an airport hotel. Others did make allegations about BTF staff to owner and CEO Stroming, but their concerns were dismissed, allege two former staffers who say they were harassed on the job. Reviews from Break The Floor Productions employees about Break The Floor Productions culture, salaries, benefits, work-life balance, management, job security, and more. Another said Lazzarini texted her a nude selfie when she was 16. 11/20/2022 12:38 PM. At 16, Hudson looked forward to the festive weekend gatherings. The company was launched 22 years ago by a charismatic dancer, Gil Stroming, who came to fame in the 1990s, performing in the off-Broadway show Tap Dogs, described in The New York Times as a beefcake tap-a-thon.. But he was uncomfortable when a dance teacher, Mark Meismer, in his early 30s, repeatedly told him how attractive he was. Eight former staff and students allege BTF employees, famous in the dance world, initiated sexual conversations, propositioned them for sex, sent them nude photos, sexually harassed them at work or engaged in sexual relationships with them. The problems date back to the founding of Los Angeles-based Break The Floor Productions; as the company has grown into an industry powerhouse, its leaders perpetuated a culture of sex and silence . Ellis started working for BTF in merchandising, selling clothing at events in 2015 when he was 19. But the secret ate away at him. Break The Floor - Break The Floor - Break the Floor Productions They typically end with parents on the sidelines shooting photos of their beaming children in leotards and makeup, striking poses alongside famous choreographers and dancers. CONTACT - Break the Floor Productions Photos: Break the Floor, Joe Corrigan/Getty Images, Jason Kempin/Getty Images, Beau Campbell, Miss Toto Rodgers, KiLeigh Williams, ngel Vasquez, Lee Gumbs, Broderick Baumann. Every year, one of the world's leading dance competition companies sells the dream of Hollywood fame to hundreds of thousands of ambitious young dancers hoping to launch careers on television, in movies and on stage. Former DancerPalooza instructor, Eric Saradpon, has been charged by the Riverside County District Attorney with perpetrating lewd acts on minors in a private dance studio, and is awaiting trial. We are working on our competition entry limits for each event and will announce them soon. California teacher who gave birth to child fathered by student hit with another sexual abuse lawsuit Soon after, Lavallee, then 16, attended a hotel-room party in California where he said Wall, who was around 20, gave him crystal meth a highly addictive stimulant so he could stay awake for his flight back home to Arizona.
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