The Charleston Ballet Theatre made its first public plea over the weekend during a performance of its annual Nutcracker. Charles Patrick, board president, and Jill Eathorne Bahr, CBT’s long-time choreographer, told the audience that the dance company needs $180,000 by the end of the year. They did not say what would happen without the money, except that 2009 programs might be “curtailed.”
In an interview with City Paper, Patrick said the dance company anticipates a fund-raising shortfall of as much as $270,000. If $180,000 is not raised now, he said, CBT might not be able to pay employees, adding, “we’d hate to do that.” CBT may also have to get by with fewer dancers. How many?
“At least two,” he said.
The means would be attrition, but Patrick did not rule out layoffs. Current Ballet Mistress Jessica Roan is planning to relocate with her husband at the end of the season. Another dancer is expected to retire. They probably won’t be replaced, Patrick said, if $180,000 is not raised in the short-term.
“We need that to survive the next couple of months,” he said.
Patrick said this weekend’s plea for support yielded $10,000 from a former board member and $5,000 from a former associate of the board. Other donations, likely smaller, were collected but have not been counted, he said. Patrick surmises that $20,000 to $30,000 was raised due to the “special requests” made over the weekend. The total will be tallied by 6:30 p.m. tomorrow in time for an emergency brainstorming meeting of ballet lovers and supporters to figure out ways to boast contributed income.
“We’ve already cut the budget to the bone,” Patrick said.
Though supporters were warned that 2009 programming may be “curtailed” if $180,000 is not raised by the end of the month, an inside source, who did not want to appear at odds with CBT’s leadership, said that no programs are likely to be canceled, nor are there signs thus far that dancers’ jobs are in jeopardy.
What’s likely is that CBT dancers will be expected to dance more. The Gaillard and Sottile costs too much. CBT’s King Street venue holds fewer people, so more performances would be necessary. Case in point is the reprisal of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, which was first performed in November but was so popular that additional shows were added on Dec. 20-21. See CBT’s website for more information.
The CBT is the last of Charleston’s Big Three to go public with its financial woes. Like the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and Charleston Stage, the CBT has suffered from budgeting that assumed too much from an economy in deep recession. The company based its 2008-2009 budget on sponsorships that did not materialize, on charitable contributions from reliable patrons that were not forthcoming, and from grants from foundations that were smaller than expected.
Like the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, the CBT’s biggest outlay is its artists. If I’m reading this right, dancers cost $318,460 in the 2006-2007 fiscal year, according to the Form 990 IRS document for that year. Compensation for “officers, directors, key employees” was $108,000 (Jill Bahr draws $60,000). Rent of its King Street black box was $70,299. Postage and shipping cost $5,356. And so on.
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