The news regarding dancer Nick Lazzarini’s exit from TONY Awards choreographer company choreographer Nick Lazzarini may come as a surprise to some, but his new role at Broadway’s American Repertory Theater — the latest change in an often tumultuous career — certainly wasn’t.
“It’s no secret that I’ve had a tumultuous relationship with the Tony Awards Committee. It’s time to move on. I’m happy to be at my new home at the American Repertory Theater,” said Lazzarini, who had recently choreographed an understudy part in a joint production of nine play-shows in Washington D.C.
Lazzarini, whose bio was included on a press release issued by the institution, was reported in a New York Times article back in April to have run afoul of the process regarding jury comp appointments. He also contacted the police to file a harassment complaint following what he called a “brutal two days” of intimidation over the issue.
No further details regarding the new post were disclosed by either APT officials or the theater itself. It is unclear when Lazzarini’s new role will begin.
The mention of these events was also included in a late-March story published in the Times, which revealed that Lazzarini had recently been “recalled” from the Grand Hotel Ballet after “serious allegations” of assault and/or sexual harassment. It was later reported that those allegations came from an unnamed “vulnerable figure.”
Lazzarini’s long, tenuous relationship with his employer’s dance division had sparked a year-long investigation by the Times, which focused primarily on allegations regarding an “alcohol-fueled” incident involving dancer Kate Rippy last September that ultimately led to the dismissal of the entire Grand Hotel Ballet, and the loss of another laryngologist, Jordan Reeves.
Reeves declined to comment on the details of Lazzarini’s alleged actions, but claims that he has “been the victim of un-consensual and sometimes predatory treatment by many colleagues over the years.”
In other recent developments surrounding Lazzarini’s exit, his next ballet with the company will be set in 1930s Berlin during World War II. It’s unclear whether this choreography was a direct result of current events at the company.
This story has been updated to reflect Lazzarini’s stated intentions to stay in London.