| Daily Freeman Article |
| Raising the bar |
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By:Bonnie Langston, Freeman staff "In Europe and Russia, they're appreciative of ballet. Everybody goes. Everybody," said Peter Naumann. "(In the United States) it's developed an audience, but it's not like baseball. Fifty thousand people go to see a baseball game, not to put down baseball. "For both, you go to be entertained. Well, ballet is quite entertaining." That's what all three ballet companies in Ulster County - New Paltz Ballet Theatre, the youngest; Catskill Ballet Theatre in Kingston, the oldest; and Ulster Ballet in Saugerties - want the public to know. All struggle to stay in the black, and all work to draw, develop and maintain audiences. The love of the art form, not to mention untold parental and other volunteer hours coupled with goodwill from other dance professionals, help to keep the companies afloat. But can they survive? Martine van Hamel, who directs Extreme Ballet workshops for pre-professionals at Kaatsbaan International Dance Center in Tivoli, said the existence of three ballet companies in one county is not unusual, especially if the companies bring in outside professionals for their performances as those in Ulster County do. Major cities, in fact, have so many companies, she said, that the competition can become counterproductive. "It's always kind of a heartbreak that that is so often the case," she said, "not in Ulster County necessarily, but I see it in metropolitan areas." As for the local ballets, their leaders say three is not a crowd. "I honestly don't find that it's problematic," said Scarlett Fiero, director of the Ulster Ballet Company, along with her husband, Quiedo Carbone. "I think we all are respectful of each other, and the things we produce are all complementary to each other .... We each have a following." Still, keeping afloat and bringing in audiences is not easy. "You have to be out there, and you have to be applying for grants," said Theresa Vanyo, president of the board of the Catskill Ballet Theatre, "but also, in challenging times, you have to get out and let people know you're here. We've been here for 28 years, and I think folks are still surprised that we have a ballet company." All three companies have been working hard to attain visibility as well as funds through programming, much of it now a tradition. Catskill Ballet Theatre has been presenting Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Ballet" for 25 years at Ulster Performing Arts Center in Kingston and the New Paltz Ballet Theatre has performed the same for a decade at the Bardavon Theater in Poughkeepsie. Ulster Ballet has presented "A Christmas Carol" a dozen consecutive years as well as its "Festival of Dance," started 25 years ago by the late Fred Douglass de Mayo, founder of the original New Paltz School of Ballet, site of the current school by the same name. None of this comes cheaply. Productions cost thousands of dollars, and for companies strapped for money - meaning most any company in the United States, let alone Ulster County - the challenges are enormous. Most get by with more than a little help from their friends. Catskill Ballet Theatre, for instance, received a $60,000 grant from Judy and Peter Hauser, of Accord, to commission an original interpretation of William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," slated evenings today and Saturday as well as Sunday afternoon at Ulster Performing Arts Center in Kingston. When Vanyo took office two years ago, the company had a deficit of at least $5,000 despite hard-working, dedicated people who comprise the organization, she said. To gain visibility and work its way back to the black, where it currently resides, the young dancers began "can-shakes" at large businesses like Walgreens in Kingston Plaza and Wal-Mart in the town of Ulster. The dance company continues with numerous fundraisers as do the other two companies who also struggle to meet the bottom line. All find volunteers indispensable. "If you had to pay all those wonderful people who volunteered it would be phenomenal, the amount of money we would have to find,"said Anne Hebard, artistic director of the Catskill Ballet Theatre. Her appreciation also extends to friends like Maja Tibbling, who choreographed the company's first ballet "Snow Queen" as well as the "Nutcracker" and the more recent production "Dracula." Tibbling's pay, Hebard said, was a pittance. The same goes for other friends. "I think I've sort of run out of those now," Hebard said, with a laugh. She said some people have asked, because of the struggles for finances and audience, why the three companies don't unite. Among other factors, Hebard said, each company has its own method of teaching and philosophy. "I agree with her in that everybody has their style and their choice of direction," said Fiero, who in earlier years, when she headed a school in Highland, joined forces in a performance with a company in Beacon. "It worked. We did it once, but we didn't do it again because it was difficult to get on the same page," she said. "(But) we're still friends with that company." So the companies continue to go forward, while meeting challenges. As for New Paltz Ballet Theatre, Naumann, artistic director along with his wife, Lisa, said the company does "everything" to raise money. And it's necessary. For one thing, the former $2,000 grants from the state art's council stopped coming in. "I support a lot of it myself," he said. "I pay for a lot of stuff out of my own pocket." Naumann was euphoric about the company's recent spring gala at the Bardavon, a program that included a ballet version of Sergei Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf" and "Firebird," with music by Igor Stravinsky. "One of my young dancers got to be partnered with (New York City Ballet principal dancer) Daniel Ulbricht, one of the best dancers in the world," he said. "How better can you get than to bring that opportunity to a dancer?" On the other hand, attendance was about 750, close to 200 shy of capacity. "It is a pretty good audience," he said, "but for what was done, for a ticket price of $15, it was a giveaway. I'd like to have done two shows, but if you're not filling one, how can you do two?" Hebard said her company's "Nutcracker," which is "supposed to be the bread-and-butter" of ballet companies, fails to live up to that expectation. "If we come out with $5,000, for us that's good," she said. The initial two performances of the ballet, with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, earned nothing, she said, because the orchestra had to be paid $10,000. The company switched to recorded music. Fiero said Ulster Ballet is not exempt from financial struggles, but grants from the decentralization program of the Dutchess County Arts Council, donations and fundraisers all help. "We're not sitting by with our feet up. We're working hard," she said. "The board is hustling all the time. But we are managing to be in the black, and keeping our head above water." Among Fiero's goals, is to nurture the love of ballet in the area as well as dance in general. The latest Festival of Dance, presented the end of March at Ulster Performing Arts Center, featured Ulster Ballet as well as dancers from the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company, Tango Y Mas, Vanaver Caravan, Energy Dance Company and more. Professional dancers who took part, Fiero said, received a token amount of money. "They all do it for the love of dance," she said. "It's like a donation on their part." Fiero noted, too, the large number of local people who are artists themselves or care about the arts and that more like-minded individuals are coming from New York City. The results, she said, could bode well for the future of dance "Maybe it's just a matter of time," Fiero said. Hebard said she hopes Catskill Ballet Theatre will continue into the future, and she expects it will as long as the funds keep flowing. As for Naumann, his plan is to continue and expand - to offer ballets that are even "bigger and better." After a 26-year career with the New York City Ballet, he doesn't expect to step away from the dance form he loves. "It's really who I am," he said. "I think of it as almost like my religion. It's what I do. It's what I practice."
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