Swiss dance scene hit by another charge of abuse

Backstage drama: Dancers and actors are less afraid to speak out Keystone / Martin Divisek

Several dancers from Bern Ballet have reported that they were abused by senior members of the company, following similar cases throughout Switzerland. Are harassment cases on the rise, or is the dance community more willing to risk breaking its silence?

On October 9 another case of harassment came to surface in the Swiss press, with accusations of bullying in one of the country’s top theatres, the Zurich Schauspielhaus. It follows a fresh harassment scandal in the dance scene, this time at the Bühnen Bern Ballet.

The controversy was sparked by an abuse claim filed by a dancer in spring 2021, which was joined by colleagues. The company reacted immediately by launching an external investigation and temporarily suspending the accused, the director of rehearsals.

Last week the company confirmed that verbal sexual harassment by the man had taken place. However, there was no physical sexual abuse, according to the head of the investigation. “The rehearsal director will therefore be allowed to continue working at the ballet,” said artistic director Florian Scholz.

The Swiss capital woke up to a barrage of media criticism from newspapers including the Berner ZeitungExternal link, the Neue Zürcher ZeitungExternal link, the Basler ZeitungExternal link and BlickExternal link.

The dancers’ union was outraged and protested against the decision to keep the rehearsal director in his post. “How can you support someone who abuses his power? If nothing changes, it will happen again,” Salva Leutenegger from the association Szene Schweiz told Swiss public radio, SRF.

Then, on Monday, October 17, the Haupstadt newspaper reported that the company had finally decided to dismiss the rehearsal director and thus put an end to the controversy. For its part, the state-owned Bühnen Bern said that it would not make any further statements until all investigations had been completed.

Florian Scholz, director of Bühnen Bern (centre), Isabelle Bischof, dance director Bern Ballett (left), and lawyer Monika Hirzel, comment on the accusation of sexual harassment in the ensemble during a press conference on September 29 © Keystone / Peter Klaunzer

Anonymous testimonies

Sadly, this is nothing new. In June 2021 the renowned Béjart Ballet in the city of Lausanne was embroiled in a scandal involving allegations of harassment and abuse of power.

The Béjart Ballet Foundation announced at the time that “an audit of health and safety at work, the working environment and the management of the company was necessary”. In the most recent development of the case, the Foundation’s council determined that he could continue in his position, but under supervision.

Numerous anonymous testimonies collected by Swiss public broadcaster, RTS, reported psychological harassment by Gil Roman, the artistic director of the institution since Maurice Béjart’s death in 2007.

According to RTS, Roman had been the subject of similar accusations before, the first ones as early as 2008. But then, the Béjart Ballet launched a petition in support of Roman, which was signed by 82% of the company’s members and he was able to continue in his position. “It is difficult to understand how the audit cleared the artistic director of the company at the time,” said Anne Papilloud of the Swiss performing arts union.

However, the offence of physical harassment has no legal basis in dance labour law, explained Monika Hirzel, head of the investigation at Bern Ballet.

Other Swiss dance companies, such as Interface in Valais or Alias in Geneva, have attracted media attention on several occasions for abuse of power towards dancers.

In June this year, the Zurich Dance Academy also generated several embarrassing headlines. Oliver Matz and Steffi Scherzer, director and artistic director respectively, and other teachers were accused of abuse of power, for insulting and humiliating dancers on the basis of statements from 13 former students. The result of the investigation will be released in early 2023. 

Appeals unit

But why is the dance scene particularly affected by harassment cases?

In this profession the body is the main working tool. Physical proximity is part of the daily life of dancers. “In such an environment boundaries can blur and create a breeding ground for sexual predation,” Anne Davier, director of the Pavillon ADC, an association for contemporary dance in Geneva, told SWI swissinfo in December last year.

Many artists do not report it out of fear and to avoid putting their careers at risk, says Anne Papilloud.

The Swiss unions have set up an appeals unit, which came into force on November 1, 2021. The aim of this unit, unique in Switzerland, is to offer neutral support in the event of suffering or difficulties at work such as psychological or sexual harassment and pressure.

Although cases of abuse in the dance scene continue, dancers have recently decided to break the silence and speak out, taking the first step in what seems to be a long fight.

“We are saddened and dismayed to learn of the working conditions to which the ensemble of the Bern Ballet has been and continues to be subjected,” said the board of the Bernese dancers’ association BETA. The board also thanked them for their courage in standing up to the attacks.

Edited by Virginie Mangin

*Article updated on October 18