Atlanta Ballet says OSHA has cleared it in dancer’s fall

Atlanta Ballet’s wrangling with the federal government over a 2007 “Nutcracker” accident might finally be coming to an end.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has withdrawn punitive action against Atlanta Ballet for a case involving a 17-year-old dancer who fell about 12-feet into the orchestra pit at the Fox Theatre, according to ballet executive director Barry Hughson.

Hughson said he is “very happy” about the ruling.

However, OSHA spokeswoman Leni Fortson said Friday that the case is still open. It is OSHA policy not to comment on open cases, she said.

Leah Boresow, who was then a high school senior from Alpharetta, was dressed in a panda costume with limited visibility during a December 2007 performance of “The Nutcracker.”

Although the ballet at the time was performing to recorded music, the pit floor was lowered as if an orchestra had been there. Boresow required spinal surgery at Atlanta Medical Center from injuries she sustained from the fall.

Last year, OSHA fined the ballet $3,500 for failing to have a guardrail or equivalent system in place while the pit was lowered. The citation stated that any open-sided floor or platform that is 4 feet or more above the floor must have railings or the equivalent system.

Installing a guard rail would block the audience’s view, however.

After more than six months of legal discussions, OSHA and the ballet came to an agreement, said Hughson. The fine was canceled, he said Friday. The only steps the ballet company needs to take now, he added, “is to put its long-standing safety procedure into the employee handbook.”

Boresow has since graduated from Chattahoochee High School and is now in college.