End of Ballet Gulbenkian (Portugal)

[Estelle]

It seems that the Ballet Gulbenkian, one of the main Portuguese dance companies, created in 1965 (I think that now its repertory included mostly modern/ contemporary works) has just stopped functioning (thanks to ballet.co for the links):

http://www.ecotopiadance.com/2/biographien2_de.htm

The website of the company doesn't seem to have been updated yet:

http://www.musica.gulbenkian.pt/ballet/

There is something about it on the site of the Gulbenkian Foundation, which finances the company (and many other cultural institutions in Portugal). But it is only in Portuguese, and I don't speak Portuguese:

http://www.gulbenkian.pt/noticias/destaque...id=329&lingua=1

Also there's the following brief article in Spanish,which says that the demise of the dance company is part of a "restructuration" because of the changes of the dance scene in Portugal.

http://actualidad.terra.es/cultura/articul...kian_387426.htm

[edited to add]

It also seems that the Ballet of Saragossa (Zaragoza, Spain) ceased existing a few months ago. Its web site isn't active any longer. That's really sad for the audiences, and also for all the unemployed dancers. The only articles about it that I've found so far are some articles iin Spanish:

http://www.elperiodicodearagon.com/noticia...asp?pkid=165574

The mayor of Zaragoza, Mr Belloch, decided in February that the company would be dissolved at the end of June, saying that the company didn't earn enough money and cost too much.

http://www.20minutos.es/carta/10804/0/BELLOCH/BALLET/CARTA/

An open letter from the choreographer Mauricio Wainrot to Mr Belloch.

[Alexandra]

Thank you for letting us know about this, Estelle. America always looked to Europe as a model of arts funding -- now globalization may have affected this, as well!

[sandik]

"didn't earn enough money and cost too much."

Bother -- name me a dance company that doesn't.