Former DancerPalooza instructor, Eric Saradpon, has been charged by the Riverside County. Its touring conventions will make numerous stops this year, from Miami to Vancouver and Calgary to Anchorage, Alaska. Wallace was already a star in the dance world and would later go on to be hired by Gil Stroming to direct Break The Floors 24 Seven. Travis Wall Dismissed From Tour After Sexual Misconduct Allegations But as Stroming grew the company from a dance convention into an industry powerhouse, he also allegedly perpetuated a culture of sexual misconduct and silence, where dancers were assaulted, harassed and manipulated, according to interviews with dozens of former and current staff and students. "The problem was not [the taking of his own life]. On Oct. 1, BTF kicked off its fall season with an event in Toronto at an airport hotel. Updated: This article has been updated to include a comment that Break The Floor provided after the article published. Warning: This article includes accounts of alleged sexual harassment that some readers could find distressing. Schaufeld had fallen in love with tap at seven years old, and this opportunity offered a chance to raise his profile and learn from one of the best. He said he found the work climate to be too sexualized to continue there. The problem was the three-year-old boy that was in the video with this guy. He was a teenager in 2004, assisting a successful tap dancer named Danny Wallace, who was not with Break the Floor at the time. These alleged relationships took place between 2000, a little after Stroming launched the company, and around 2008, when Stroming would have been in his late 20s. Afterwards, Schaufeld said Wallace told him never to say anything; it would be bad for both of their careers. We could have and should have done better, he said. A dance instructor alleges Stroming offered her $500 to come to his hotel room. Newspapers Limited, 8 Spadina Avenue, 10th Floor, Toronto, ON M5V 0S8, allegations of widespread sexual harassment and predatory behaviour. The Break the Floor dance company is parting ways with the dancer after he and others were accused of a range of sexually inappropriate conduct while on tour. BTFs website shows the company still employs Wall, who is currently scheduled to be part of a BTF-affiliated dance conventions 2021-2022 faculty. Travis Wall Cut From Break the Floor Dance Company Tour Amid - Yahoo In the months that followed, Ellis said he began accepting Lazzarinis advances, once making out in the choreographers hotel room during a work break. Wallace did not respond to questions about those texts. We could have and should have done better. Instagram This site uses cookies for analytics, personalized content, and ads. Lonetree was 19. His mental health deteriorated. "In the past, Break The Floor's policies and procedures did not focus on these issues as closely as they could have. Two dancers said they complained about sexual harassment on the job to Stroming directly. Former Break The Floor instructors have been accused of abusing young dancers in other settings. By the mid-2000s, dance exploded into the mainstream with the debuts of popular television shows So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing With The Stars. They brought fame to dancers Nick Lazzarini, the first-ever winner of Americas Favorite Dancer in 2005, Travis Wall and Misha Gabriel, who would all later become big-name attractions as Break The Floor instructors. Wall cut off ties with Lavallee, which Lavallee said was due to him not accepting Wall's advances. In dance spaces, students are in frequent and close contact with their teachers, spending long hours training and rehearsing with them. To order So I think I always kind of accepted it as, it is what it is, you cant do anything about it. . Lazzarini has denied subjecting anyone to unwanted sexual advances. Break the Floor is investigating an allegation of sexually inappropriate behaviour raised in a Toronto Star investigation. ISLA CLARKE WAS 16 WHEN SHE ALLEGES SHE RECEIVED A NUDE PHOTO TEXTED BY ONE OF NORTH AMERICA'S MOST FAMOUS DANCE CHOREOGRAPHERS, A MAN NEARLY TWICE HER AGE. And whats egregious about seeing it in the context of conventions is that it happens to kids. Dancers repeatedly described feeling sexualized in their learning space, and multiple dancers said they felt leered at by some choreographers who would message them compliments on their appearance, sometimes immediately following classes. Stroming declined interview requests and did not respond to the specific allegations. Mega dance company bred culture of sex, silence, dancers say One dancer said she met Stroming when she was a 16-year-old high school junior attending one of Break the Floors first events with her parents. Male Dancer Accuses Travis Wall of Sexual Misconduct and Grooming "The dance community has long dealt with issues of inappropriate power dynamics as well as overt unacceptable behavior," Break the Floor said in a statement posted to Instagram Thursday. "We take this very seriously and will take further action if necessary. By clicking accept, you agree to this use. Lindsey alleges Lazzarini sent him nude photos of himself. It is one of the most exciting events of a young dancers life, recalled Keanu Uchida, a professional dancer from Ottawa. New students poured into dance studios, along with a growing number of health and fitness aficionados. Entering a BTF event is like walking into a carnival. The next morning, Stroming left abruptly for Las Vegas and handed her $40 for a cab ride back to the airport. Wallace was already a star in the dance world and would later go on to be hired by Gil Stroming to direct Break The Floors 24 Seven. Thousands of. Travis Wall Allegations : r/DCCMakingtheTeam - Reddit He won the best dancer title in 2014 and worked for BTF for two years as a dance assistant, travelling across Canada and the United States. "In. ","type":"genericimage","credit":"John Minchillo","url":"/content/dam/thestar/news/investigations/2022/04/20/break-the-floor-dance-company-new-sexual-misconduct-allegations/gary_schaufeld_portrait_2.jpg","crop":"0,0,960,1200","renditions":[{"url":"https://images.thestarimages.com/XpkVdH8hhq08GWvySqgACjErUWQ=/0x0:960x1200/1086x1358/smart/filters:cb(1650411169104):format(webp)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/investigations/2022/04/20/break-the-floor-dance-company-new-sexual-misconduct-allegations/gary_schaufeld_portrait_2.jpg","nonWebPUrl":"https://images.thestarimages.com/YKtR3ajTCoKaUyZg5byVLN2tiuI=/0x0:960x1200/1086x1358/smart/filters:cb(1650411169104)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/investigations/2022/04/20/break-the-floor-dance-company-new-sexual-misconduct-allegations/gary_schaufeld_portrait_2.jpg","width":1086,"height":1358,"scalefactor":113},{"url":"https://images.thestarimages.com/Fp522CQvcGywmcruYFgjUyqqIQM=/0x0:960x1200/968x1210/smart/filters:cb(1650411169104):format(webp)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/investigations/2022/04/20/break-the-floor-dance-company-new-sexual-misconduct-allegations/gary_schaufeld_portrait_2.jpg","nonWebPUrl":"https://images.thestarimages.com/zuc37Eu4pfx6WFysg0knYQwxoj0=/0x0:960x1200/968x1210/smart/filters:cb(1650411169104)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/investigations/2022/04/20/break-the-floor-dance-company-new-sexual-misconduct-allegations/gary_schaufeld_portrait_2.jpg","width":968,"height":1210,"scalefactor":101},{"url":"https://images.thestarimages.com/RvJ_imtY9UtoxoHSlv9_shdtQ2o=/0x0:960x1200/960x1200/smart/filters:cb(1650411169104):format(webp)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/investigations/2022/04/20/break-the-floor-dance-company-new-sexual-misconduct-allegations/gary_schaufeld_portrait_2.jpg","nonWebPUrl":"https://images.thestarimages.com/zCyptdVdU1v5N8s8aQE_y7a7T7U=/0x0:960x1200/960x1200/smart/filters:cb(1650411169104)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/investigations/2022/04/20/break-the-floor-dance-company-new-sexual-misconduct-allegations/gary_schaufeld_portrait_2.jpg","width":960,"height":1200,"scalefactor":100},{"url":"https://images.thestarimages.com/F_xvPDArbv6TZkZTu4bkXxQAC7U=/0x0:960x1200/850x1063/smart/filters:cb(1650411169104):format(webp)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/investigations/2022/04/20/break-the-floor-dance-company-new-sexual-misconduct-allegations/gary_schaufeld_portrait_2.jpg","nonWebPUrl":"https://images.thestarimages.com/YIfnaWQJQQ93JrOCHGP8M1xs_eY=/0x0:960x1200/850x1063/smart/filters:cb(1650411169104)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/investigations/2022/04/20/break-the-floor-dance-company-new-sexual-misconduct-allegations/gary_schaufeld_portrait_2.jpg","width":850,"height":1063,"scalefactor":89},{"url":"https://images.thestarimages.com/r-o6OmveBMVIR83K7odTxwuzMCg=/0x0:960x1200/650x813/smart/filters:cb(1650411169104):format(webp)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/investigations/2022/04/20/break-the-floor-dance-company-new-sexual-misconduct-allegations/gary_schaufeld_portrait_2.jpg","nonWebPUrl":"https://images.thestarimages.com/C4fO0mOuztHo7XUJC8Wdz35dx0Y=/0x0:960x1200/650x813/smart/filters:cb(1650411169104)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/investigations/2022/04/20/break-the-floor-dance-company-new-sexual-misconduct-allegations/gary_schaufeld_portrait_2.jpg","width":650,"height":813,"scalefactor":68},{"url":"https://images.thestarimages.com/bLzf2REzAgbRRCgHEXPARfC5A-w=/0x0:960x1200/605x756/smart/filters:cb(1650411169104):format(webp)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/investigations/2022/04/20/break-the-floor-dance-company-new-sexual-misconduct-allegations/gary_schaufeld_portrait_2.jpg","nonWebPUrl":"https://images.thestarimages.com/K5U_ow0SNaNAigm3t7vnqlMFSpc=/0x0:960x1200/605x756/smart/filters:cb(1650411169104)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/investigations/2022/04/20/break-the-floor-dance-company-new-sexual-misconduct-allegations/gary_schaufeld_portrait_2.jpg","width":605,"height":756,"scalefactor":63},{"url":"https://images.thestarimages.com/BwnIx5OjGj5pfxgVKEHIxeP8Viw=/0x0:960x1200/480x600/smart/filters:cb(1650411169104):format(webp)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/investigations/2022/04/20/break-the-floor-dance-company-new-sexual-misconduct-allegations/gary_schaufeld_portrait_2.jpg","nonWebPUrl":"https://images.thestarimages.com/MjqOoaq1YdXM9mL5WKYsC0xJ00Q=/0x0:960x1200/480x600/smart/filters:cb(1650411169104)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/investigations/2022/04/20/break-the-floor-dance-company-new-sexual-misconduct-allegations/gary_schaufeld_portrait_2.jpg","width":480,"height":600,"scalefactor":50},{"url":"https://images.thestarimages.com/WtHeH7OSclW9mpjIV4fK-SD_pmo=/0x0:960x1200/400x500/smart/filters:cb(1650411169104):format(webp)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/investigations/2022/04/20/break-the-floor-dance-company-new-sexual-misconduct-allegations/gary_schaufeld_portrait_2.jpg","nonWebPUrl":"https://images.thestarimages.com/F3m-5uciNuH48oDuLtSC2y4VZjM=/0x0:960x1200/400x500/smart/filters:cb(1650411169104)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/investigations/2022/04/20/break-the-floor-dance-company-new-sexual-misconduct-allegations/gary_schaufeld_portrait_2.jpg","width":400,"height":500,"scalefactor":42},{"url":"https://images.thestarimages.com/z5_pwFVGsGreRkxoQOqSh2mupK0=/0x0:960x1200/320x400/smart/filters:cb(1650411169104):format(webp)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/investigations/2022/04/20/break-the-floor-dance-company-new-sexual-misconduct-allegations/gary_schaufeld_portrait_2.jpg","nonWebPUrl":"https://images.thestarimages.com/yUMNAJqUAxJR1YqNS0m4Z7v3yTY=/0x0:960x1200/320x400/smart/filters:cb(1650411169104)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/investigations/2022/04/20/break-the-floor-dance-company-new-sexual-misconduct-allegations/gary_schaufeld_portrait_2.jpg","width":320,"height":400,"scalefactor":33},{"url":"https://images.thestarimages.com/Xmi2uXUMWBvQHOCtVCSUNdrwpBM=/0x0:960x1200/93x116/smart/filters:cb(1650411169104):format(webp)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/investigations/2022/04/20/break-the-floor-dance-company-new-sexual-misconduct-allegations/gary_schaufeld_portrait_2.jpg","nonWebPUrl":"https://images.thestarimages.com/7lBOOrYVeSi6IYm53XfgHOL4A_U=/0x0:960x1200/93x116/smart/filters:cb(1650411169104)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/investigations/2022/04/20/break-the-floor-dance-company-new-sexual-misconduct-allegations/gary_schaufeld_portrait_2.jpg","width":93,"height":116,"scalefactor":10}]},{"text":", Dancers say they were sexually harassed or groomed by famous choreographers and the dance company failed to protect them, Choreographer Nick Lazzarini pulled from dance company tour following Star investigation, The CEO of Break the Floor where famous dance coaches were accused of sexual misconduct says he is selling the company, This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only.