Arts institutions around the world are getting hit hard by the U.S. recession, and dance companies are no exception. Two major dance companies walking the tightrope between a huge deficit and bankruptcy cited a decrease in donations and ticket sales as the culprits. But according to a recent survey, Columbia students’ commitment to dance performance remains relatively unchanged.
Among the companies in jeopardy are the Canadian dance troupe Ballet British Columbia and Miami City Ballet. Ballet British Columbia, on the edge of filing for bankruptcy, recently announced the cancellation of their spring tour. The company accumulated a debt of up to $400,000 and laid off 18 dancers on Nov. 28 of last year in addition to 20 other staff members.
The cause of the companies’ financial trouble has been due mainly to decreases in donations, although a drop in ticket sales contributed to the turmoil as well. Having recently put a repayment plan into place, Ballet BC was able to rehire the dancers, but rehiring staff members still proves to be a challenge.
Miami City Ballet, making its New York City debut at City Center next week, is facing debt as well. In December of 2008 the company stopped employing musicians for live music and instead is now using recordings. It laid off two teachers and has recently exhausted a $2 million reserve. Ballet administrators also point to decreases in donations and ticket sales as the main causes of financial distress. As the company declared in a statement, “Miami City Ballet, like many other small and large businesses across this nation, has been negatively impacted by the global financial crisis.”
In the midst of a decline in both single ticket sales and subscription sales, Spectator conducted a survey among readers who attend dance performances on a regular basis. The results were surprising considering the two companies’ reports: 80 percent of students said that they purchase the same amount of tickets per year now as they did before the recession. Twenty percent said they buy half as many tickets or less now. One hundred percent of the students said that tickets are generally affordable, especially with student discounts.
When asked how dance companies can increase their ticket sales, students had comprehensive and creative ideas. Caroline Walthall BC ’11 said, “That’s very tough, but I think that co-presenting is a good idea. Instead of having half-empty theaters, why not bring these audiences together and create some positive energy while extending both companies’ audience/donor base?”
Other students, like Amanda Kostreva BC ’11, were more concerned with accessibility. “One way to encourage ticket sales would be to offer easy-to-access student discounts such as the peer-to-peer network at City Center and the NYCB [New York City Ballet] online accessible student rush day of ticketing service,” Kostreva suggested.
It’s hard to remember the dire situation of dance companies as well as other venerable performing arts institutions in light of the optimistic outlook of New York City students. But the reality of the situation only points to the fact that the problems are much deeper than a small decline in ticket sales, and that a return to stability is reliant on larger-scale donations from more wealthy dance patrons.
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