The Haywood County Arts Council may be redefining its role, but supporters of the Atlanta Ballet say the 10th summer residency planned for this September will not be sacrificed during that process.

In fact, arts council ballet committee members already planning for this year’s program say they will just have to work harder to gain sponsors and grants.

“We are going to really pay attention to the bucks,” said Barbi Bennett, the chair of the ballet committee. “We are going to visit our corporate sponsors and do a lot of high-level stuff to get people to come on board at a level of $5,000 or more.”

In addition to the corporate sponsors, the committee also says it will use the 10th anniversary of the ballet’s Haywood residency to lure state grants.

“There are just a lot of things that make this a very attractive program for grants,” said Joe Sam Queen, an arts council member and supporter of the ballet.

“This is a North Caro-lina-related program. It is the tenth year, it has been at Haywood Community College all those years, this summer’s program will use a North Carolina string band, and we have a tremendous outreach program to our schools,” Queen said. “In addition, there is this relationship we’ve built between this urban dance troupe and this rural community. It is just very attractive as far as grant funding.”

The Atlanta Ballet has for years been one of the centerpieces of the programming sponsored by the Haywood County Arts Council. However, two weeks ago the arts council voted to slash its 2001 budget by half to $136,530. That decision came on the heels of several funding shortfalls from a decrease in overall ticket sales, a drop in business support, and decreased support from local government. That left major funding shortages and put the future of the ballet, the Razzle Dazzle Children’s Festival, and the Haywire summer music series in jeopardy.

Fred Baker, arts council president, said Monday it appears likely that the arts council board will at least discuss putting the ballet back into its budget when it meets Feb. 15.

“It looks promising, but no decision will be made until we have all the numbers from our revised budget,” Baker said. “There’s a good chance we’ll put it on.”

Baker said the enthusiasm of committee chair Barbi Bennett, the committee organization, and the decision by Hale’s Fashions to donate proceeds from a fashion show are all positive signs. Now, Baker said the arts council will need to know exactly how much the Atlanta Ballet will charge for their program. Budget figures discussed last week by the committee shows it will need to raise a minimum of $42,000 - probably more - to bring the ballet to Haywood County.

“That price they have charged us has not gone up in the nine years they’ve been coming,” said Queen. Ballet officials have vowed to make the summer residency a reality, Queen told the committee, but they have also said that some additional money would be helpful.

Another committee member, Waynes-ville Middle School music teacher David Teague, said the importance of the ballet’s impact to students in Haywood County should not be underestimated.
“We’ve got to keep this here for the students and the kids. You just can’t gauge its impact. It is changing the landscape,” Teague said.

In addition to the ticketed performances and events for donors, dancers visit schools, perform for eighth-graders, visit Central Elementary as part of the A+ program, hold open rehearsals and student workshops, and arrange workshops at local dance studios.

Queen said just as many people interact with the ballet members through outreach programs as see them at ticketed performances.

Bennett even suggested getting donors to purchase tickets at special prices and distributing them to students who might not be able to afford to go to a full performance.

“We will fill that auditorium up,” she said.

Bad time to drop the ball
When the ballet does perform in September at Haywood Community College, those attending will see the world premiere of an Appalachian dance and music-inspired ballet by Diane Coburn-Bruning that will use music by the Red Clay Rambers, a well-known string band. The Ramblers will perform with the ballet.

The dance will embody “the soul and spirit of the collaboration between North Carolina and Atlanta,” according to Heather Berry, marketing director for the Atlanta Ballet.

Coburn-Bruning is a guest choreographer working with the Atlanta Ballet on this piece only.

“What’s really cool about this is that you all are going to see it before anyone - before the dance capital of the world, which is the New York audience,” said Heather Berry. The Atlanta Ballet is expected to present Coburn-Bruning’s piece in New York three weeks later.

Coburn-Bruning is going to put an Appalachian twist on classical ballet, something that has rarely, if ever, been tried.

She came to the mountains and spent time with Queen, whose grandfather was one of the most famous of the old-time cloggers. Queen also took her to the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival in Asheville, and then sent her home with a box full of CDs, tapes and records.

Aside from this unique collaboration, another new work by North Carolina resident Laura Dean will also be performed. That dance will premiere in March 2001.

 

Home
The Smoky Mountain News