Drop in revenue explains cutbacks at Nevada Ballet

Sam Morris

Contributions to the Nevada Ballet Theatre are down 20 percent compared with last year. “We’re tightening our belt,” Beth Barbre, the executive director, said.

By Kristen Peterson (contact)

Thursday, March 12, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Nevada Ballet Theatre’s announcement Tuesday that it would let go nine dancers and cut its final concert of the season came as almost no surprise.

The 37-year-old dance company is one of the city’s big three cultural institutions, two of which had previously taken hits from the bad economy. The Las Vegas Art Museum closed its doors indefinitely and the Las Vegas Philharmonic is bouncing back from a $200,000 deficit after almost canceling youth concerts.

Reeling from the recession, ballet companies across the country are reducing staffs and canceling performances.

Nevada Ballet took its actions to cover budget shortfalls caused by a drop in revenue from ticket sales, contributions, academy tuition and special events.

The moves were made to try to stave off more drastic measures, said Beth Barbre, Nevada Ballet’s executive director.

Additionally, the company had no underwriters or sponsors for its season finale in May and ticket sales cover only 23 percent of the company’s $3 million budget.

Barbre said contributions and event revenues are down 20 percent from this time last year. The first signs came in December when revenue from “The Nutcracker,” the company’s main fundraiser, came up $100,000 short of projections. Gross ticket sales came in at just under $320,000, nearly 27 percent below the budgeted goal for the production. “The Nutcracker” represents more than 50 percent of ticket sales for the season.

To help the company, an anonymous donor has offered a $50,000 contribution that must be matched by June 30.

Cuts to the company reduce the number of dancers from 31 to 22. No soloists or principals were let go.

The remaining dancers remain under contract but won’t be paid for the four to five weeks of rehearsals and the May performances.

Nevada Ballet will dance its April 10 and 11 concert “American Masters,” featuring New York City Ballet principal dancers Wendy Whelan, Albert Evans and Sebastien Marcovici.

Attendance at that concert will give the company a better idea of its health, Barbre said. That contemporary program is designed to reach out to broader — particularly younger — audiences and the company will sell balcony seats discounted to $10 to make them more affordable.

Artistic Director James Canfield will announce the 2009-10 season shortly after that performance. In terms of how the cuts will affect programming, Barbre says the focus will be on high-quality performances.

“We’re tightening our belt, but we will get through this,” Barbre said. “We have a facility. We have a strong, loyal base and board. We’re very established. We have an academy and a very small endowment. I know that the community wants us here. We’ve been here for almost four decades.”

The company was formed in 1972 by Vassili Sulich, a principal dancer with the Tropicana’s “Folies Bergere” and the company’s first artistic director, and Nancy Houssels, a former dancer who remains active on the board.

Bruce Steivel became its second artistic director in 1997.

In 1999 the company moved into a 36,000-square-foot facility in Summerlin, which was built using a grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation on land donated by the Howard Hughes Corp. The facility has an academy that serves 450 students.

Barbre joined Nevada Ballet in 2006 after serving seven years as managing director of the Oregon Ballet Theatre. Before that, she was administrator of the George Balanchine Trust. Canfield, a choreographer well known for his edgy and contemporary works and athletic dancers, was named artistic director in January. He founded the Oregon Ballet.