In the Arts: Troubled Calif. Ballet Hopes to Rebound With New Partnership
January 6, 2012 | Read Time: 1 minute
Ballet San Jose, which dropped the first half of its 2011-12 season amid budget, management, and labor woes, has forged a partnership with the prestigious American Ballet Theater, writes The Bay Citizen.
Stephanie Ziesel, executive director of the California group, said the companies are not merging, but the arrangement will give the regional organization access to the American Ballet Theater’s sets, costumes, teaching curriculum, and network of contacts.
After canceling fall productions Ballet San Jose ended 2011 in the black but it has run deficits in most recent years, and media accounts have highlighted rocky negotiations with dancers and disagreements between the organization’s founding artistic director and main benefactor.
Ms. Ziesel said the ballet will soon announce a revised spring schedule, adding, “I believe this is a new day for Ballet San Jose.”
In other arts news, the Pasadena Symphony and Pops has sealed a deal with musicians that will see their base wages rise by 5 percent over four years, writes the Los Angeles Times.
The orchestra, a single entity that ran into budget troubles after the 2007 Symphony-Pops merger that created it, successfully paid down its $1.2-million debt last year and has seen strong ticket sales and sponsor support, CEO Paul Jan Zdunek said.
