With only one month to go to the opening of Carmen at Artscape, tickets for the production are still on hold.
Presented by the Cape Town City Ballet (CTCB), the dramatic interpretation of a love triangle between the sultry Carmen, the dashing toreador Escamilo and the naïve soldier, Don Jose, is supposed to open at the theatre on Wednesday 14 June.
But as the dispute between the dance company’s board and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Debbie Turner drags on, the seams are seemingly coming undone.
Last week, the CTCB dancers went on record, urging the two parties to find a “timeous” resolution.
In a media statement released on Wednesday 10 May, the dancers expressed their concern that the dispute had the potential to jeopardise the efficient functioning and operations of CTCB.
They went on to say that they feared that, should the dispute continue, it would erode CTCB’s reputation as a professional organisation “dedicated to serving and entertaining the general public.”
Turner resigned on Tuesday 28 March with immediate effect “because of the growing occupational detriments in the workplace”.
According to the Public Service Commission (PSC) “occupational detriment” is very widely defined by the Protected Disclosures Act and includes harassment, dismissal, transfer against the will of the employee, non-promotion, a denial of appointment, or “otherwise adversely affected.”
Speaking to People’s Post on Monday 15 May, CTCB dancer Jan Kotze said they were extremely worried seeing that the tickets for Carmen had still not gone on sale.
“They are still on hold, so you can book but you can’t pay for the tickets.”
Kotze said the response from the public following the release of their statement had been good, with some members of the public even calling for the board to step down.
“The board has not responded to us yet again. This seems to be a trend that the board doesn’t respond to our concerns.”
He said while the chances of the dance company closing were minimal, they were concerned that the quality of the work that they would be doing would suffer.
“That it won’t be on the same level that it currently is.
“We take our careers seriously and we don’t want substandard work quality.”
Kotze said they were informed of Turner’s resignation on 28 March, and promised a speedy resolution by the board on 30 March.
“The board keeps on promising a speedy mediation but their actions don’t match their words.”
People’s Post has been told of at least three members of staff who resigned from the company in solidarity with Turner and the alleged way in which she had been treated by the board.
These members of staff were responsible for various production, administrative and operational activities.
“The board assured us that all of that kind of activities would be taken care of. With a month to go before we open, that is not the case,” says Kotze.
In the statement released last week, the dancers also expressed their hope that Turner would, despite the dispute, continue in her role as the CEO and that “the board would provide CTCB with support and general guidance”.
None has been more vocal in the support of Turner than former CTCB board member Dr Ismail Mahomed.
The multi-award winning and multi-published arts management strategist and playwright was appointed as a board member on 31 May 2020.
Mahomed resigned from the board on Friday 14 April in protest.
Commenting frankly on the matter in numerous Facebook posts last month, Mahomed claimed that a mediation (held on 12 April) between the board and Turner, facilitated by an independent labour specialist, ended in a mutual agreement that both parties would work towards returning Turner to her post by no later than 17 April.
However, in what Mahomed described as a complete turnaround – driven by “a few dominant voices” – the board then proposed a separate set of terms on the eve of the 17th.
Turner was appointed as CTCB’s new CEO in October 2018.
An article published on South African Cultural Society’s website (“Cape Town City Ballet appoints new chief executive”, 9 September 2018) described Turner as well-known to the dance community in South Africa as the Executive and Artistic Director of the Cape Dance Company, founding Director and owner of the associated vocational dance school, the Cape Academy of Performing Arts, and her appearance on the prestigious judging panel of M-Net’s inaugural Dancing with The Stars, South Africa in 2018.
Listing Turner’s successes during her tenure as CTCB CEO in a Facebook post (25 April), Mohamed applauded Turner for the dance company’s artistic turnaround under her leadership.
“Even under the harsh lockdown conditions during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Turner was able to lead her company of dancers in a unique online collaboration with two of South Africa’s cultural giants – the Norval Foundation in Cape Town and its exhibition of works by internationally celebrated visual artist, William Kentridge,” he wrote.
