New York City Ballet master arrested on DWI

[January 07, 2011]  YONKERS, N.Y. (AP) -- The head of the New York City Ballet has been charged with driving while intoxicated.

The New York Times and Wall Street Journal say Ballet Master Peter Martins was stopped at a DWI checkpoint in Yonkers, about 18 miles north of New York City, around 2 a.m. on New Year's Day.

Westchester police spokesman Kieran O'Leary said Thursday he could only confirm that an Irvington resident named Peter Martins had been charged with DWI.

The ballet master issued a statement through a spokesman, saying it was a legal matter and he had been advised not to discuss it.

Martins joined the company as a principal dancer in 1970. He assumed sole directorship in 1989.

[Associated Press]

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