Edward Villella Departs Miami City Ballet Early

September 4, 2012, 3:12 pm

By DANIEL J. WAKIN

Edward Villella, the ousted patriarch of the Miami City Ballet, is making an early exit from the stage. Under the hawklike gaze of lawyers, the company and Mr. Villella said on Tuesday that he would leave as artistic director immediately instead of next April.
Mr. Villella, 75, a magnetic star of New York City Ballet under George Balanchine, said he had cleaned out his office over the weekend and would return to New York next week with his wife to house hunt.
“I want to get on with my life,” Mr. Villella said in a telephone interview. “I have more to contribute and I want to start contributing.”
The development was the latest turn in the long and painful separation between the company and Mr. Villella, who helped establish Miami City Ballet in 1985 and turned it into a major regional ballet ensemble that has made its mark around the country and abroad.
But Mr. Villella's relationship with Miami City Ballet grew sour in 2011. That November, the company announced his eventual departure, calling it a mutual decision. But friends and supporters of Mr. Villella, and other sources familiar with the company's operations (who spoke anonymously to avoid damaging its reputation), said he was forced out because of frictions with an influential group of board members over fund-raising and personality issues.
An executive director, Nicholas T. Goldsborough, *was brought in that month to focus on raising money but was gone by June. Lourdes Lopez, *a former New York City Ballet dancer, was designated by the board as Mr. Villella's successor as artistic director. The board also brought in Michael M. Kaiser, *the president of the Kennedy Center and a noted turna round specialist, to give advice and hired an outside public relations firm.
On Tuesday, both sides declined to comment on the sped-up departure. A company news release said the decision was Mr. Villella's. It issued a statement under his name saying, “I have decided that with the leadership position plan well under way, it is best for me to leave the company now.”
But both sides dropped enough hints to imply that a legal tussle was involved.
“This is all a legal issue now,” said Roberto Santiago, a company spokesman. “Attorneys on both sides will take your questions.” He added that company lawyers would take queries only in writing. Mr. Villella declined to give the name of his lawyer.
When asked if the reticence was based on a confidentiality agreement, Mr. Villella said: “Certain things are obvious.” He continued, “This is something we were all aware of, that there were complications, and they have arrive d.”
Mr. Villella said no lawsuits had been filed, and that he did not want to bring a case. “I don't want to jeopardize the company in any way,” he said. “If I did that it would be a major statement and it's not what I'm about. I don't want to do anything that would be detrimental to my dancers - my former dancers. Those kids are amazing. They have made me look good. I appreciate them.”
When asked if any legal action was threatened, he said, “I will allow you to use your imagination.”