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And another one bites the dust...


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The news today is that Oakland Ballet is calling it quits. In the last couple of months there has been Ballet Internationale and an Ohio Company (Cleveland?) and then there are the labor issues at Washington.... and I'm sure I'm missing others.......... I have a daughter in her last years of residency... pouring everything she's got into it. This all makes me crazy. What does the future hold? I'd love feedback from those of you who know more than just a "ballet-mom"

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It is indeed Ohio Ballet that is having bad times. And of course Dance Theater of Harlem is in a precarious position still.

I am so sad to learn that Oakland Ballet is closing its doors. I saw one of their Nijinska programs in the 80's and was thrilled that someone would bring attention to that repertory -- this is a real loss for the field.

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The initial board of directors is generally selected by the founders of the company & usually includes at least one of the founders

As the company grows, new directors are appointed to the board by suggestion of founders, other board members or, sometimes, company members.

A company raises grants money (as opposed to personal donations) by writing grants applications. This may be done by an employee, generally a Director of Development or similar title, or, in the case of a small company, by a qualified board member or dedicated volunteer. A professional fund raiser may also be an option.

The development person then creates a Mission Statement, describing the purpose of the company, reasons it was founded & what differentiates it from other similar groups.

The grant application proper proposes the grants giver give X amount of money to the company to be used for Y in period Z. This may be for general company expenses, specific projects, balancing a budget, expanding outreach programs .. whatever.

Depending on the type of grant: government (city, state, national), corporate or foundation the grant application boilerplate is then tailored to the particular organization applied to.

Then they keep their fingers crossed. It is not uncommon to re-apply several times to the same grantor over a period of years before succeeding.

If a grant is received, it needs to be justified, generally within a year's time. This involves a breakdown of the use of the money received.

I hope this answers the questions.

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Another question: are there lots of companies in the Bay Area?

Lots of companies -- yes. The Bay Area probably has the largest dance community on the west coast.

Lots of companies doing this kind of repertory -- no. San Francisco Ballet does a bit of the historical work that Oakland performed, Lines is a contemporary ballet company run by a single choreographer, the other small ballet companies in the region don't have the same focus on their rep. Oakland filled a very special niche, which likely will be empty for awhile.

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Oakland filled a very special niche, which likely will be empty for awhile.

Was that niche similar to the Joffrey Ballet, before pop?

Actually, Joffrey (at least during Robert Joffrey's life, and for some time afterwards) programmed the historical materials alongside the pop work, which sometimes made for some twisty evenings, but they were usually very able to carry it off.

(and they still do have a commitment to historical rep -- their schedule next year includes some of their very riskiest revivals)

Between the Americana work and the Ballet Russe rep, Oakland kept a big chunk of the heritage alive. I was always grateful to them for that.

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The news today is that Oakland Ballet is calling it quits.  In the last couple of months there has been Ballet Internationale and an Ohio Company (Cleveland?) and then there are the labor issues at Washington.... and I'm sure I'm missing others..........  I have a daughter in her last years of residency... pouring everything she's got into it.  This all makes me crazy.  What does the future hold?  I'd love feedback from those of you who know more than just a "ballet-mom"

It is time that communities take action about what is going on with the art organizations.

Some problems are related with very unusual years. From the 9/11 catastrophic events, the tsunami, Katrina etc. Corporations consider money for art a vanity, so art are dying but also ballet companies are doing a bad job creatively the level of the product are really bad, horrible versions of the classics and lack of creativity in the contemporary side so people are not going to shows either. But all of us we should l call every representative and demand more art funding in your area. (Cleveland Ballet was hold by two boards one in OH and another in San Jose California the OH board quits but that happened few years ago). No only the problem are in the companies that folded, also ballet companies around the country are cutting short season, reducing company members and repeating repertoire because they lost a lot of funding.

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