Michael Auer, who was recently fired as the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s ballet master, was the subject of at least three complaints over his 4½ years with the company.
Last month Arts Minister Carmel Sepuloni and the Ministry for Culture and Heritage confirmed they were made aware of at least two complaints of inappropriate behaviour relating to Auer, however Stuff has uncovered a third complaint.
The ballet company has been extremely quiet about Auer’s departure, not least because of the sensitivities around his appointment – Auer is married to the ballet company’s artistic director Patricia Barker, and there have been concerns about nepotism ever since his arrival.
But the company did say that it had made big strides in ensuring its staff felt a strong sense of belonging and felt comfortable to make complaints, and in ensuring those complaints are dealt with seriously, swiftly and efficiently.
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The ballet company’s executive director says wellbeing among staff is growing.
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“In our world, you’ve got to keep moving forward,” Lester McGrath, the company’s executive director, said in an interview this week. “The moment you stand still, you’re going backwards. We look at our culture in that way as well. We are 100% a people business.”
McGrath pointed to a staff wellbeing survey which showed year-on-year improvement as evidence of a changing internal culture. The overall staff engagement and wellbeing score increased from 57% in 2019 to 74% in 2021, with an 86% response rate for the latter.
But Auer’s departure and the secrecy around it threatens to again destabilise the company.
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The Royal NZ Ballet has historically received about $5m in government funding each year. This year it received a further $7.5m over four years.
Auer’s contract was terminated after at least two complaints of inappropriate behaviour were made against him this year, according to several sources with knowledge of the situation.
Another complainant has come forward to talk publicly about their dealings with Auer.
A former employee lodged a complaint with the union which represented some RNZB workers about Auer in 2017, when he was working with the company in a voluntary capacity on a technology project.
The employee left the company after disciplinary proceedings were raised related to their own behaviour, including allegations they misused sick leave and leaked information to the media.
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Unions representing RNZB staffers have worked with management on historical complaints.
They said that Auer, someone they’d never met, requested they give him access to private client information in 2017. The former employee said they asked for information about why, saying it could constitute a legal or privacy breach.
After they laid the complaint, they recalled in an interview, they started having panic attacks, and took sick leave after seeing a doctor.
Saying the former employee had been seen in a cafe and held a gathering at their home at the weekend, the company accused them of misusing sick leave, and leaking confidential information to the media. They resigned, and the allegations were dropped as they were found not to be substantiated.
The company has repeatedly said it cannot publicly comment on individual employment matters.
But McGrath, who has been with the company since 2019, said the company had a robust complaints process in place and every formal written complaint was investigated.
A 2018 review by former Deputy State Services Commissioner Doug Craig found the company’s management and board took all complaints seriously, and responded appropriately, McGrath said.
The company has also appointed a new director of people and culture, Sarah Griffiths, who started five weeks ago. Griffiths said it was “quite unusual” to have a people and culture director in the ballet world.
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One former dancer says the company doesn’t seem to be in a healthy state–but the company says its culture is improving.
“I’m excited about this company and this role because there are those dialogues about culture and culture change,” she said. “It’s about changing that mindset of what a traditional ballet company looks like, and giving the dancers a voice, but also giving everybody in the organisation a voice.”
The ballet company strictly controls access to dancers and staffers, making it almost impossible to get a frank view from inside the company today. But ballet veterans are aghast that Auer was promoted despite the 2017 complaint.
Adrienne Matheson, who was with the company in the 1980s, said the company appeared well-funded but “not healthy” and “lost”; while Patricia Rianne, who was with the company in the 1970s, said the company’s board was “in happy oblivion”.
McGrath, however, said the company was stable and received a funding boost from the Government in this year’s Budget. This would ensure dancers’ salaries were maintained at living-wage level, and the company could continue touring, he said.
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A performance of the Royal NZ Ballet’s ‘The Firebird’.
The company’s dancers could engage with and approach board members, and had a good relationship with them, McGrath said. “I’d completely disagree if anyone says the board is not in touch. They’re very engaged.”
While he was heartened at improvements in the wellbeing survey, there were still areas which needed improving, including: internal communications, connecting with the company’s alumni, solidifying the company’s core values, and being responsive to Te Tiriti. It was also looking at improving mental wellbeing of staff, and listening to the “minority voice” among staff.
“Without our people, we are nothing. … When things come up, they need to be dealt with. There needs to be a place for people to feel free to communicate and talk,” McGrath said in the interview. “To belong, you’ve got to feel that you can express yourself, and you can talk. Our business is tough, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t be fair.”
