Ballet troupe cancels tour in per diem dispute

The Washington Ballet, embroiled in a bitter union dispute, has canceled its first foreign trip in five years because it couldn’t reach an agreement with its dancers over meal money.

The nine-day tour of Italy, planned for July, was intended as the grand finale to an unusually successful season for the Washington, D.C., troupe. But Executive Director Jason Palmquist said this week that he had canceled the tour after a breakdown in negotiations with the American Guild of Musical Artists, AFL-CIO, which has represented the company’s dancers since February.

The main issue, both Palmquist and guild Executive Director Alan Gordon say, was the amount of the per diem the dancers would receive to cover meals in Rome, Florence and the seaside resort of Civitanova Marche.

The dancers’ original contract provided $40 a day; the union requested the State Department standard of around $150. Ballet management offered $55, and that was rejected too.