The departure of Colorado Ballet’s executive director two weeks ago has set off a chain reaction of resignations, including the company’s board chairwoman, its head of sales and marketing and five other board members.
At the same time, the company still owes the city of Denver $146,629 in rent and other fees from its fall production of “Dracula” in the Buell Theatre. And it will owe about $150,000 more at the end of the current run of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”
As a backdrop to all this, Jane Hermann, the New York agent for internationally renowned choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, said the company is in breach of contract with him. According to Hermann, the ballet signed an agreement last year with Wheeldon to create a $1 million dance version of “Alice in Wonderland,” which was to be a centerpiece for this fall’s opening of the Ellie Caulkins Opera House.
A little more than a week ago, Martin Fredmann, the company’s artistic director, told The Post that Wheeldon’s ballet was “wishful thinking” on the company’s part and that it would present a revival of “The Sleeping Beauty” in its place. He declined to comment Wednesday.
Jack Finlaw, director of Denver’s Division of Theatres & Arenas, said it could add up to bad news for the company and the city.
“I’m concerned about the fact we have booked many, many nights in the new opera house for the Colorado Ballet, and I need a partner there that is financially and artistically viable,” Finlaw said.
The Sept. 10 opening of the Caulkins Opera House, Finlaw said, is an enormous opportunity for Colorado Ballet to jump to a new level.
“To have this shake-up in the leadership of both the board and the staff occur just months before the opening of this new performance venue – I’m worried that they’re going to lose their momentum and lose this opportunity to grow their donor base and grow their audience base,” Finlaw said.
But Christin Crampton Day, one of two members temporarily heading the board, said the departures will not have any impact on the company’s artistic offerings or its Caulkins debut.
“We’ve been around almost 45 years, and I’m very confident … that we’ll get through this just as we’ve gotten through other things in the past,” she said.
The company’s staff resignations included Rick Tallman, executive director; his wife, Angela Tallman, manager of ticketing and customer relations; and Gayle Davis, vice president of sales and marketing. Board chairwoman Elisabeth Armstrong and her husband, Bill, who also was on the board, have resigned from the 36-member board along with four others.
Colorado Ballet officials told Finlaw last year they could not pay the $146,629 city bill surrounding “Dracula.” They said, however, the payment would be made once the company closed on the $1.2 million purchase of the Temple Events Center, 1595 Pearl St., as its new headquarters.
The closing was originally scheduled for the end of this month, but Lisa Snider, the company’s interim executive director, said it has been postponed to the end of May.
Fine arts critic Kyle MacMillan can be reached at 303-820-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com.
