Performing Arts

Threatened by bankruptcy, the Texas Ballet Theater must raise $1 million to $1.5 million within the next 60 days or it will be forced to close.

Suzanne Charriere, president of the board of directors, says the theater currently owes about $800,000 for bills and has been unable to pay the costs needed to stay in business. It is three months overdue on rent, for instance, and owes $150,000 to Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth where the company regularly performs.

Ben Stevenson

"Everything just kind of snowballed," Ms. Charriere says. "We're just living from one payroll to the next and not getting enough money."

Ms. Charriere cites several reasons for the company's financial woes. One of the Texas Ballet Theater's longtime donors who gave $1 million to the company each year, she says, stopped donating two years ago because of personal reasons. The company has also been without a development director after eliminating the position three years ago. To help raise money, the company is organizing a "Save the Ballet" campaign, the details of which are still being discussed.

Of the dance company's $6.5 million yearly budget, about $3.5 million comes from ticket sales, $2 million from contributions, and $1 million from fundraising. Each dance production, Ms. Charriere says, generally costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. The company's performance of The Nutcracker last year cost $400,000, while Dracula and Cleopatra each cost about $275,000. A costume alone can start at $1,000.

Ms. Charriere notes that ticket sales and donations from Dallas residents could increase once the company's dancers start performing in the Winspear Opera House, which is scheduled to open in downtown Dallas in fall 2009. Typically, Dallas residents donate about 25 percent of the company's contributed revenue, and Fort Worth residents donate the other 75 percent, she said.

"If we can just hang in there and get us enough money to get us through the year," Ms. Charriere says, "I think Dallas will sell out at the Winspear."

Ben Stevenson, the Texas Ballet Theater's artistic director, says he believes some of the donations that might have otherwise been made to the dance company went to the Winspear instead.

"We find ourselves in a desperate situation," Mr. Stevenson says. "So many people weren't aware of how bad our financial situation was, and now we're faced with trying to repair the damage and move forward."

This isn't the first time a local dance company has been faced with the threat of having to close because of financial woes. Less than two years ago, Fort Worth's Bruce Wood Dance Company closed because of a lack of corporate support.

Closing the Texas Ballet Theater would mean displacing the company's 39 dancers.

"It would be heartbreaking," says Robin Bangert, who is starting her fifth year with the company. "We're such a big family here, and we'd all have to split up. There would be 39 of us trying to find a job in the middle of the season."

For now, Ms. Bangert and her fellow dancers are continuing to practice for the company's upcoming ballet gala, which is scheduled for the Majestic Theatre in less than a month.

For more information, contact the Texas Ballet Theater's administrative office in Dallas at 214-369-5200 or its Fort Worth office at 817-763-0207.