Andrew Weeks
Matthew Linzer in the Madison Ballet's 2013 production of "Dracula."
We’re not losing our ballet company.
But there’s cause to worry, as Madison Ballet is canceling the balance of its season due to financial concerns. The staff points to an immediate shortfall of $70,000-$80,000 in operating funds, projecting another $100,000 of debt if the season proceeded as planned. The decision to opt out of most of the remaining productions was made at the nonprofit’s Jan. 25 board meeting.
The troupe will still perform its repertory concert at the Bartell Theatre this weekend, but has canceled another repertory concert in April, a spring production of Peter Pan at the Overture Center and a Missouri tour of the ballet’s original production of Dracula.
“This is such a sad situation for the ballet and their audiences,” says Anne Katz, executive director of Arts Wisconsin, a statewide advocacy organization based in Madison. “Like all of our community's arts treasures, their work is so important. We can't take any of these resources for granted.”
Karin Wolf, program administrator with the Madison Arts Commission, says that the city is pleased that the organization has taken a proactive approach and that it is looking for ways to assist the troupe. “Madison Ballet is a critical arts resource for our community,” she says.
The organization’s immediate concern is the lack of operating funds. “And then when we were looking at the budget to the end of our fiscal year, we were looking at another $100,000 of debt,” says general manager Gretchen Bourg. The organization has an annual operating budget that exceeds $1 million.
The ballet, which formed in 1981, finishes its fiscal year Aug. 31. Bourg estimates that the company finished its 2014 fiscal year with a $31,100 loss. That’s significantly better than fiscal 2013, when the ballet’s tax return showed $101,000 of debt.
Arts groups nationwide have had fundraising problems since 9/11, and even more since the recession. The same has been true here. In local arts circles, Madison Ballet has ironically been seen as a model of financial caution. It survived a 2009 crisis by reorganizing and partnering with Madison Youth Choirs, sharing space and personnel.
Bourg characterizes the recent decision as another example of the ballet’s cautious approach. “I applaud the board,” she says. “They took a proactive stance on this, rather than plod away until the fall and be in real trouble. We talked about the various arts groups in Madison that just said, ‘We can soldier on. We can do it.’ And they don’t exist anymore. We were not about to take that path.”
The problem, says Bourg, is the lack of staff and time to do fundraising. Besides gifts, grants and performances, the ballet earns revenue by operating its own dance school. A look at the organization’s publicly available tax returns reveals that, until recently, the ballet had been operating on a nearly break-even basis.
The fiscal years of performing arts organizations typically do not follow calendar years, owing to the seasonal nature of their work. The ballet finishes its fiscal year in August. Its last publicly available return, for 2013, was filed Aug. 31, 2014. Total revenue was $1.07 million. Total expenses were $1.17 million. The organization’s assets remained fairly robust, totaling nearly $820,000.
Earlier years were mixed. The organization finished fiscal 2010 with nearly $80,000 of debt. The situation improved, however. In 2011, the ballet made up the loss and had revenue less expenses of $4,560; in 2012, $31,202.
“We have been in worse situations,” says Bourg. “We’ve been through some really bad times and made it just fine. We’re not going anywhere.”
For information or tickets for “Repertory I,” Feb. 5-6, the ballet’s final concert of the season, visit bartelltheatre.org or call the box office at (608) 661-9696.
