This Week in the Mercury
Monday, June 1, 2009
Artsy Why Save OBT? An Impassioned Screed
Posted by Stephen Marc Beaudoin on Mon, Jun 1, 2009 at 11:48 PM
In case you missed it, Portland’s Oregon Ballet Theatre is at risk of closing up shop at the end of this season unless they raise three quarters of a million dollars by June 30. That’s in twenty-nine days. That would leave Oregon without a full-time resident ballet company.
You should care about this because the ballet company’s future is inextricably linked to Portland’s future, too. And if OBT were to close, Portland would lose one of its most vibrant and promising arts institutions, and the city’s reputation would suffer as a result.
I could make arguments about the myriad ways our flagship dance company contributes significantly to the local economy, the thousands of school children the company serves through its school and educational programs, or the nearly 100 dance artists and administrators it attracts and employs here. And I understand it’s entirely possible that zero of this matters to you if you haven’t actually been out to see Oregon Ballet Theatre in action. Let me put it to you this way: the company is white-hot right now, and has got to be seen to be believed (it made an auspicious Kennedy Center debut last summer).
Under the guiding hand of artistic director Christopher Stowell, OBT has made enormous artistic strides over the last few years: Stowell has done nothing less than transform a ragged regional dance outfit into a sleek, head-turning twenty-first century ballet machine. Yes, there have been artistic and administrative missteps along the way: I wonder if the company doesn’t now regret pumping money into its glossy “Who’s Your Dancer” promotional campaign, or commissioning lame new ballets like Kent Stowell’s “Eden’s Gates.”
But let’s be frank: it’s some kind of crime that major Portland-based corporate philanthropy has never stepped up to sponsor the Ballet (hello, Nike! Hello, Adidas!). Now is not the time to bully those companies into doing so — if OBT does solider on, it will have to show Portland that it can get its organizational act together — but it does once more illustrate how abysmal corporate support for the arts is here. Oh yeah, and there’s no sign yet that Portland city government, headed by friend-to-all-artists mayor Sam Adams, is willing to step up with ballet bailout money, either.
Here! In idyllic, innovative, up-and-coming Portland! It sure makes me wonder about our priorities as a city. I do think OBT is the tops on the PDX arts scene, and certainly worthy of support as they lie on the brink of extinction in these troubled times. But with this latest crisis, we’re finally facing head-on an ugly and unspeakable truth: maybe Portland as a city doesn’t want or need our own full-time resident ballet company. Maybe it’s asking too much to sustain OBT — or for that matter, the Oregon Symphony, which faces its own financial woes, though on a smaller scale — in the way it wants to be sustained.
For those who want to see Portland continue to blossom as a city to be taken seriously, I say this: stick a crowbar in your wallet, people. Pony up already, Portland corporations. Whether we can sustain fine arts institutions like OBT is one major indicator of what will ultimately distinguish us from Memphis or Detroit. It’s what will set us apart from San Diego or Miami.
Portland is at a crossroads. It can be the kind of city where a homegrown, innovative young ballet company flourishes — or fails. Part of the onus is on OBT: to emerge from this crisis a better and smarter arts institution; one as sustainable as the city that supports it. But part of the onus is on us, Portland.
Oregon Ballet Theatre presents “Dance United,” a benefit performance for the company, on Friday, June 12 at Keller Auditorium. Tickets have just gone on sale, and are available online here, or by calling 503-2-BALLET.
Showing 1-9 of 9
To do my part to help the ballet, I'd like to open up my home to the ballerinas. They are free to come stay as long as they like, they can lounge around the pool, do warmups in the living room, even to housework in costume, if they prefer. It's the least I can do.
Why should OBT receive special treatment? Almost every other arts organization in town has had to raise funds in this economy. OBT should have realized that there was a deficit a long time ago and worked to fix the problem. I love the ballet but I blame their situation on their inability to raise funds. It is the law of nonprofits.
The ballet should receives "special treatment" because the ballet is the only arts org in Portland currently on the brink of closure. A broad show of public support for this institution now will build the groundwork for a network of support for other institutions in need of help in the future.
I don't personally go see a lot of live music, but I can tell you that if someone who contributed to the Ballet now, in their time of need, later asked me to contribute $5 to $20 help one of our storied music institutions stay afloat, I sure as hell would. Same applies here.
Engage now in supporting this art form (regardless of your personal preference for it) and you earn the right to request Portland's support for your own pet form of Portland based creative expression. Zoobombers? Open Studios? PIFF? Whatever your passion is, contribute to building a network to save OBT now, and it will be there for you should your institution suddenly find itself in need of support.
Why should OBT receive more support than a sports team? That also employs and entertains people and does just as much for Portland's reputation? I think a public debate between you and Matt it called for...
I have a strange attraction to that girl on the left. I think it's her shoes.
I don't think the ballet should receive MORE support than sports, but parity sounds good to me. Major League soccer is getting millions.
In fact, I think Merritt Paulson should pony up the $750k in exchange for free ballet lessons for his soccer players.
It is a proven fact that pro athletes who take ballet increase their flexibility, core strength and agility and decrease their on field injuries. It would be a good investment on his part.
Plus I bet the arts community would officially stop pitching a fit at the whole MLS craziness if Paulson showed a little karmic generosity. Matt! Get on it!
Lots of good comment and discussion here.
The "sports versus arts" debate is fruitless. Ballet is not a major league sport, and major league sports are not ballet. Each serves a unique and special function in the life of a city.
Now: whether every major American metropolitan city can sustain all forms of arts institutions AND major league sports team is the real question. Does Portland have the capital and the desire to sustain these things?
Let's also be clear: the type of support OBT is seeking is out-of-pocket financial support from citizens: NOT new government funding, additional tax breaks (they're already a non-profit), or a diversion of funds from other city programs/projects.
I don't have a close reading of how "the arts community" feels on the Paulson/Major League Soccer deal, but to suggest that a paltry $750k tip from Paulson would be a) healthy for OBT to accept, or b) be a miraculous salve for the organization is an argument I don't buy.
This is the type of situation that truly tests the mettle of any arts organization. OBT needs to *work* to raise the $750k to finish this season without closing. It should also be completely transparent with the arts and arts philanthropy communities about what it's doing to avoid disaster in the future (in addition to the huge budget cuts it has announced for next season).
I *do* very much agree with Portland Center Stage's Trisha Pancio, when she writes that contributing to saving OBT now shows a commitment to supporting an arts organization in need, and that investment always pays dividends.
Also, I find it interesting that the company made a big deal out of hiring a new Director of Development (fundraising), Michelle Reynolds, only last September - OBT touted her hire as a way it was showing its organizational strength and fundraising savvy. Reynolds left the organization without explanation after only six months on the job.
That's cause for concern.
If you'd like to put a face (errr...voice) to the name. Here's a radio interview I did last week with Christopher Stowell, OBT's artistic director. http://www.metroscopepdx.com
Ballet is a form of entertainment utilizing the art form of dance. Another example: The city and local businesses don't subsidize local jazz clubs. Isn't jazz a form of entertainment utilizing the art form of music? Do we see public appeals for $250,000 donations to local jazz clubs to keep their doors open? No. The Mercury's editor would probably laugh at such a suggestion. Ballet does NOT appeal to the masses. It is something supported by those with too much disposable income who want to feel self-important. If the OBT cannot support itself, then it is time for it's curtain call.
beautiful kitty has gone missing from SE 35th & SE Morrison
Keep an eye out for our dear kitty!
Her name is Bramble Rose & she is a torti with long hair and a white face/chest & paws... pink nose..
She is extremely cute & affectionate- please call 503-913-1937
Band of the Week
Point Juncture, WA
About Portland Mercury
RSSGoing to Seattle?
Comments (9) RSS