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City Ballet Dancer Caught in Texting Scandal Will Retire 

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Amar Ramesar confirmed his retirement from Ballet at the age of 40. This retirement notice was announced after Ramasar has begun giving the New York City Ballet bad publicity for being c in a texting scandal involving explicit pictures of his coworkers.

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City Ballet Dancer Caught in Texting Scandal Will Retire (Published 2021)

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Amar Ramasar, a principal dancer who was denounced by colleagues for sharing vulgar texts, will leave the company in May.

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Amar Ramasar Leaves City Ballet, but Plans to Keep Balanchine Close 

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The scandal was publicized after another one of the company’s principle dancers, Alexandria Waterby, decided to sue her ex boyfriend. The lawsuit consisted of Alexandria accusing him of sending explicit photos of her to Amar Ramasar who then spread them around.

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Amar Ramasar Leaves City Ballet, but Plans to Keep Balanchine Close (Published 2022)

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The ballet star discusses what’s next in his first interview since he won his job with the company back after a nude photo sharing scandal.

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How a dancer involved in a #MeToo scandal staged a Broadway comeback

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How a dancer involved in a #MeToo scandal staged a Broadway comeback

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A dancer accused of sharing explicit images of another dancer is starring in this season’s splashy new take on West Side Story, leading to upset in the theater community

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Male ballet dancers fired over explicit photo scandal should get jobs back: arbitrator

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Zachary Catazaro and Amar Ramasar Patrick McMullan via Getty Images; AP

Two male New York City Ballet dancers who were fired for allegedly trading explicit photos of ballerinas should be given their jobs back, an arbitrator ruled Friday.

Zachary Catazaro and Amar Ramasar were booted from the company in September after student-dancer Alexandra Waterbury filed a lawsuit against the company and her ex-boyfriend dancer Chase Finlay.

She claims that Finlay started an explicit photo exchange of ballerinas - at one point even telling the other male dancers, "I bet we could tie some of them up and abuse them ... like farm animals," the suit says.

Catazaro, 29, and Ramasar, 37, were not named as defendants in the lawsuit.

Their union protested their firing, prompting the arbitration.

Catazaro - who worked with the ballet company for more than 10 years - said Friday that although he feels "vindicated," he wouldn't be taking his job back.

He is currently working with a dance company in Munich, Germany.

"I am grateful and relieved that the arbitrator has found the New York City Ballet's abrupt termination of my contract to be wrongful and unjust," Catazaro said in a statement. "After considering the situation I have decided to respectfully decline my reinstatement, and I will not be returning to NYCB."

Ramasar said in a statement that he would be returning to work at the New York City Ballet.

"I am beyond gratified to have been awarded through the arbitration process, immediate reinstatement as Principal Dancer with the New York City Ballet," he said.

"As I move forward, learning, and evolving, I am eager to once again dance amongst the colleagues I respect, doing the ballets I have held close to my heart for the past 18 years.

"My deepest apologies and thanks to Alexa Maxwell for her understanding and support."

The American Guild of Musical Artists - which fronted the legal bill for the pair - said in a statement, "This was a complicated situation. We pursued this case because it's important to us that your employer is prevented from taking extreme and potentially career-ending action based on non-criminal activity in your private life."

Waterbury's lawsuit claimed that Finlay, 28, sent to someone a naked photo of her captioned, "You have any pictures of girls you've f-ked? I'll send you some [hot] ballerina girls I've made scream."

Finlay - who resigned from NYCB - allegedly then sent secretly recorded video clips and photos of his sexual encounters with the women to a group of men including Ramasar, who reportedly sent back a photo of a dancer's breast, the suit charged.

Catazaro also allegedly exchanged lewd pictures with Finlay, the suit claimed.

NYCB did not return a request for comment Friday.

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Male ballet dancers fired over explicit photo scandal should get jobs back: arbitrator

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Two male New York City Ballet dancers who were fired for allegedly trading explicit photos of ballerinas should be given their jobs back, an arbitrator ruled Friday. Zachary Catazaro and Amar Ramas...

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Broadway's West Side Story Stands Behind Star Accused of Sexual Misconduct

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Amar Ramasar was a principle dancer in the New York CIty Ballet.After this scandal was released to thr public, Amar announced his farewell show would be Midsummer’s NIght Dream. After this show however, Ramasar annunced he was joining Carolina Ballet as a new coach.

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In advance of its Broadway opening on February 20, West Side Story has released a statement of support regarding its most controversial cast member, Amar Ramasar. Ramasar, who plays Bernardo in Ivo van Hove's reimagined production of the Bernstein classic, is currently a principal dancer for the New York City Ballet, having been reinstated following a dismissal for sharing nude photos of other female dancers without their consent. Alexandra Waterbury - an NYCB dancer whose photos were shared by another male dancer in the company - recently held a protest outside the Broadway Theatre. A petition calling for Ramasar's removal has garnered tens of thousands of signatures. (It was started by a Northeastern University student, Megan Rabin, who was motivated because "it just felt like no one was doing anything.")

According to the statement, the production is behind Ramasar 100 percent and has not and will not consider removing him from the cast. It notes that the NYCB is a "different workplace" with "no affiliation" with West Side Story. Ramasar is described as a "valued colleague" who is performing "brilliantly."

From West Side Story management:

The management of West Side Story stands, as it always has stood, with Amar Ramasar. While we support the right of assembly enjoyed by the protestors, the alleged incident took place in a different workplace - the New York City Ballet - which has no affiliation of any kind with West Side Story, and the dispute in question has been both fully adjudicated and definitively concluded according to the specific rules of that workplace, as mandated by the union that represents the parties involved in that incident. Mr. Ramasar is a principal dancer in good standing at the New York City Ballet. He is also a member in good standing of both AGMA (representing the company of NYCB) and Actors' Equity Association (representing the company of West Side Story).

There is zero consideration being given to his potentially being terminated from this workplace, as there has been no transgression of any kind, ever, in this workplace. The West Side Story Company does not as a practice terminate employees without cause. There is no cause here. The West Side Story Company's relationship to Mr. Ramasar is completely private to that company and exists solely between Mr. Ramasar and his fellow company members. He is a valued colleague who was hired to play a principal role in this production, which he is doing brilliantly, and which he will continue to do for the entire unabated length of his agreement."

In September 2018, Ramasar was dismissed from the NYCB after Waterbury filed a suit against him - as well as her former boyfriend, Chase Finlay, and another NYCB member, Zachary Catazaro - for sharing nude photos. (The lawsuit accused Finlay of sending nude photos of Waterbury to Ramasar. It claimed Catazaro had exchanged different images with Finlay.) Finlay voluntarily resigned prior to Ramasar and Catazaro's firings. The American Guild of Musical Artists contested these removals and, following an arbitration, Ramasar was eventually reinstated pending mandatory counseling. Catazaro was also cleared, but declined to return to the company.

Following the statement from the show's management, Waterbury, Rabin, and Change.org (the site that hosts the removal petition) released a joint statement. It calls Ramasar's behavior "vile" and says the lack of legal obligation does not nullify West Side Story 's "moral obligation to keep abusers off their stage."

From Change.

The statement released by West Side Story today demonstrates that the production cares more about money and talent than the safety of its performers. Amar Ramasar's behavior at City Ballet was vile - yet West Side Story chose to hire him anyway. Just because the production is not legally obligated to fire him doesn't eliminate their moral obligation to keep abusers off the stage. Ramasar shared explicit photos of fellow ballerinas without their consent. His behavior was disgusting, damaging and unlawful. We stand outside your theatre chanting because we have been told that Broadway is a safe, inclusive space. But with this production, Scott Rudin and his team have set a precedent that talent justifies abuse - and that's not something we intend to be quiet about. We will continue to 'enjoy' our right to assembly, and look forward to educating patrons about the sexual predator in your show again on opening night.

Update February 14, 9:oo a.m.: This piece has been updated to include a modified statement from West Side Story. An earlier statement, given exclusively to Playbill, said the "company" of the show stands with Ramasar. The amended statement, provided by the show's press agents, now says the show's "management" stands with Ramasar.

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Broadway's West Side Story Stands Behind Star Accused of Sexual Misconduct

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Amar Ramasar, the dancer who plays Bernardo in Broadway's West Side Story, will remain in the cast, the production announced in a statement. Ramasar was dismissed and reinstated from the New York City Ballet for sharing nude photos without consent.

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This scandal really could’ve affected his career but he came back as a new coach.