At Interlochen, former student says abuse hid behind a dream of stardom
A former Interlochen Center for the Arts student has gone public for the first time about being sexually abused as a teenager, adding a personal
A former Interlochen Center for the Arts student has gone public for the first time about being sexually abused as a teenager, adding a personal account to a sweeping report that says decades of abuse allegations were allowed to pile up at the Michigan arts school.
Paul Busch was 16 when his ballet teacher abused him in 2005. He told NPR he was living away from his parents, desperate to become a professional dancer and deeply attached to the teacher who hurt him. “A lot of my desire was to prove that I was enough,” Busch said. “That I was good enough and that I was worthy of love.”
A school with an idealized image
Busch’s account lands at a painful moment for Interlochen, long known for its polished reputation as a place that launches performers into major careers. Alumni include Josh Groban, Norah Jones and Chappell Roan. For many families, the school’s name has stood for talent, discipline and opportunity.
The independent report, released last month, tells a much darker story. Former students described some 70 allegations of sexual abuse involving nearly 50 adults who worked at or were affiliated with the school from the 1950s through the 2010s. The accounts span decades. They cut across generations.
Pressure, trust and access
Busch said his age, distance from home and ambition made him vulnerable. He wanted the approval of a teacher he admired. That dynamic, he said, created “the perfect condition” for someone to prey on him.
His comments reflect a broader pattern often seen in institutional abuse cases around the world: children and teenagers placed in settings built around trust, training and aspiration can be left exposed when authority figures abuse their access. Boarding schools, music programs and elite arts camps can be especially fraught because students often live on site, far from parents and the normal checks of daily life.
What the report means now
The new testimony adds weight to the report’s central finding: the abuse allegations were not isolated. They stretched over decades and involved many adults connected to a school that cultivated an idyllic image.
Busch has spent 21 years reckoning with what happened to him. Now, by speaking publicly, he has placed his story inside a larger reckoning for Interlochen — one that is unlikely to fade soon as former students continue to confront what happened behind the school’s celebrated façade.
