Frank Augustyn didn’t sugarcoat anything in his autobiography. As evidence of Augustyn’s frankness, I extracted the below from his book:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR> “Daniel Seillier practiced a finely tuned art of intimidation. I saw him hit people. I saw him take a lighted cigarette and place it under a student’s leg so that she or he would hold the leg up à la seconde. Linda Maybarduk, one of the students in class above me, complained one day that her foot was sore and she couldn’t do the class. Daniel got really upset, yelling and screaming—all in French, of course, because he refused to speak English. He emphasized that, in order to be a dancer, you have to be able to endure pain, and he took a darning needle that the girls used to darn the tips of their shoes, and he pinched the skin on his arm. He then took the needle and put it through the fold of his skin.” <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>It doesn’t get any more frank than that! What makes the above all the more disturbing was that Augustyn was reminiscing about his days at the National Ballet School. Augustyn also admitted to believing in spirits and claims to have seen a UFO! Given how small the dance world is, I was very surprised he revealed what has long been rumored: Karen Kain is far from sugar and spice and all things nice. I’m sure the powers to be that run the National Ballet of Canada are grooming her for the position of Artistic Director. A position I thought might one day go to Frank Augustyn. Given his strong people and communication skills, Augustyn would be a much better choice. I was surprised he didn’t make mention of such aspirations. I was also surprised by the lack of humor in the book. I expected much more. Perhaps there wasn’t anymore to relay. I was even more surprised so little was written of Kimberly Glasco given they worked together on a TV program called Footnotes. Overall it was a very good read—though it was a bit short at 277 pages. <P>------------------<BR>Michael Goldbarth

Michael or dirk, when would the alleged Sellier incidents have taken place? Does anyone know if he is he still alive or, God forbid if they are true, teaching? <P><p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited October 29, 2000).]

The incidents took place during Augustyn’s schooling at the National Ballet School between 1965 and 1970. I have no idea if Daniel Seillier is still alive, or if he is, if he’s still teaching. According to Augustyn, Seillier came from the Paris Opéra Ballet and was all of four foot nine. <P>------------------<BR>Michael Goldbarth