A story about legwarmers, as promised. So, Kevin McKenzie is the current (creative) director of American Ballet Theater. The position was previously occupied by Michail Barishnikov, for those of you keeping score at home. My father has been the principal timpanist in the NYC orchestra for about 26 years, and I've been to the ballet pretty much every spring since. (ABT is at the Met Opera House for 2 months every spring. The rest of the year, they tour and play with local orchestras.)

In 1982 or thereabouts, when McKenzie was still just a lowly (principal) dancer with the company, PBS broadcast a performance of Romeo and Juliet live from (I think) the Met. Live. During the third act, ol' Kevin pranced onstage still wearing his legwarmers. Live on television! He apparently never got over the embarrassment. Poor slob.

He did, however, exact his revenge on the world by re-choreographing The Nutcracker, and making its target audience the Ballet-Illiterate Retards of the world. Bastard.