Dancer Accuses Bolshoi of Bribery

The first American on the Russian Bolshoi Ballet has quit, alleging that the ballet took bribes from its dancers in exchange for better roles, she told The New York Times. Joy Wormack, who moved to Moscow at the age of 15 to attend the Bolshoi school, and she said she was repeatedly denied opportunities to perform—and then told that she could get a solo role if she paid $10,000. “This institution that I love and I really dreamed about,” Wormack said. “I really, really hoped I could have broken these barriers.” This is hardly the first scandal to hit the Bolshoi: a former principal dancer, Pavel V. Dmitrichenko, is currently on trial for allegedly throwing acid in the face of Sergei Filin, the company’s artistic director.