Hope for Kathy Russell – as a Ballerina

Kathy Russell aspired to be a ballerina from at least the time she came to Nxivm in the early 2000s.

She left Alaska to come to Albany to learn directly from the master himself, Keith Alan Raniere.

Although Raniere was not known to have ever been a ballerino, he nevertheless was said to be the smartest man in the world – based on his taking a take-home IQ test, then doing his own study that proved the rarity of his IQ based on the score he got on his take-home test.

Russell believed.

For years, Russell was told – by Nancy Salzman and Keith – that if she paid for and took enough Nxivm classes, and fucked Raniere upon demand – even joining in threesomes with him – and if she helped woman such as Loreta Garza and Daniela illegally get into the country – so he could fuck them – with or without her joining in – and if she could rent a townhouse under a phony name so it could house another illegal Mexican, Camila Fernandez, so he could fuck her – if she did all this and more – Raniere would help Kathy achieve executive success.

And that included Miss Kathy [as she was nicknamed by Raniere] becoming a world-class prima donna and performing around the world with leading ballet companies.

It was a wonderful ambition.

The only challenge was Kathy was in her 40s when she came to Raniere.  Most ballerinas achieve their peak before they turn 20.

But this was no ordinary teacher Kathy had gone to – it was the Vanguard – the world’s smartest man and most ethical too.

And Kathy was lithe and nimble – [and fuckable too – at least at first – by Raniere’s standards – and she was thin, did not cut her hair and ate no garlic – all requirements of the Vanguard].

So Kathy went to work for Nxivm – at modest wages – as their bookkeeper. And it must be admitted that she was not well paid considering she had to do more than most bookkeepers do since she had to keep two or more sets of books for hundreds of companies for the tax evasion-loving Raniere.

But she did it, working for years at low wages, and spending most of her earnings on more Nxivm courses so that she could learn the one thing she really wanted – to become a world-class ballerina.

And the years passed.

Russell left her 40s behind; then she left her 50s behind, and still, she was just always one Nxivm intensive away from removing her disintegrations – and becoming a world-class ballerina.

It was embarrassing to some to see Miss Kathy on stage with 8-12-year-olds doing recitals with the amateur Saratoga Ballet company – performing before an audience of parents who were younger than Kathy.

But these parents who thought it odd to see an old lady dancing and trying to upstage their daughters did not understand that Kathy was rehearsing for the great day when she would appear at The Royal Opera House, or the Palais Garnier, or the Metropolitan Opera House.

That day was coming.

And she was just about there when unhappily she chose not to take an immunity deal offered by the feds in return for her testimony – and, consequently, was arrested last July for being part of the racketeering enterprise the feds accused Nxivm of being.

After being indicted, Kathy took about nine months to make up her mind to plead guilty to visa fraud. She is scheduled to be sentenced in January.

Because she is subject to house arrest only at night – she is free to move about during the day – Russell has reportedly kept up with her ballet practice.

Armed with Raniere’s teachings, she can pursue her ballet once she gets out of prison. Sentencing guidelines suggest a prison term of 6-12 months for Kathy – who is 61.  But even if she does a year in jail – she will be only 62-63 when she gets out.

There is still plenty of time to fulfill her Vanguard’s faith in her – with many rich years ahead of her as a top ballerina.

As proof of this, we have a nice story about Suzelle Poole who is still teaching ballet at age 79.

Granted Poole is not a prima donna – and does not appear on stage around the world – but she does have seven decades in dance and is still on her toes.

Born in London, Suzelle started dancing at the age of 7 and eventually performed around the world. Today, she still does guest appearances with local dance companies. She teaches in Dallas.

But – and here’s the difference – Russell had something Poole will never have – the teachings of Vanguard.

That’s why Russell is headed to prison, while Poole is still teaching ballet.

In the past, we have published MK10ART’s painting of the hapless Kathy Russell headed to court with her lawyers. It is worth republishing for it represents the essence of this marvelous lady: She threw her life away on a scoundrel named Raniere and a fool’s dream.

It was something Raniere specialized in – making fools believe in impossible dreams and laughing at them behind their backs.

Kathy did not in her allocution say one word against Vanguard. She may still ardently believe in him.

Somehow, this fool believed and gave the best years of her life to utter nonsense and a lot of deceit – of others and herself.

Wake up, Kathy Russell.

MK10ART’s splendid interpretive painting of Kathy Russell headed to court.

Frank Parlato