When tenants lease the city of Denver’s facilities at the Denver Performing Arts Complex and elsewhere, they usually are allowed to pay the accompanying rent and fees after the events are over.
But because the Colorado Ballet already owes the city $239,000 for two productions during the 2004- 05 season, the Division of Theatres and Arenas is requiring the company to pay on a weekly basis during its upcoming 21-performance run of “The Sleeping Beauty.”
“We are not going to allow them to get behind this season,” said division director Jack Finlaw.
That is just one of many challenges the ballet faces as it prepares to makes its debut next week in the new Ellie Caulkins Opera House and tries to recover from financial setbacks during its 2004-05 fiscal year, which ended June 30.
According to figures the company released this week, it suffered a deficit of $341,000 in 2004-05 and has accumulated debt totaling $700,000.
Lisa Snider, the company’s interim executive director, said the numbers would have been higher if the ballet had not received a large donation from a trustee and some forgiveness of its debts.
“We have some hills to climb,” she said. “We have some debt to pay. We have issues to take care of. But we are working on each of those.”
She said the company has added five board members, as well as several key staff members, including Cecilia Soriano, vice president of development, marketing and sales, whose extensive background includes a stint at the Boston Ballet.
“All those things in my mind are very positive, but the main thing is that we have a great product,” Snider said.
The release of the financial figures comes after a tumultuous six months for the company, beginning with its April announcement that it could not raise the $800,000-$1 million needed for a new version of “Alice in Wonderland.”
That was followed the same month by the resignation of former executive director Rick Tallman and the abandonment in May of plans to purchase and renovate the Temple Events Center.
The ballet has boosted its budget by $500,000 to $6.2 million for the current fiscal year from $5.7 million in 2004-05. It hopes to get 53 percent of its income from ticket sales and 47 percent from contributions.
Snider said the company will have to work hard to fulfill those goals, but she is confident they are reachable. She noted the company already has reached $626,000 in season-ticket sales, doubling the amount at this point last season.
In addition, the ballet plans to boost individual contributions to the company, and it hopes to raise $250,000 through a series of fundraising events, including a Sept. 24 gala.
“I wake up thinking about revenues,” Snider said. “It’s not easy.”
The ballet has agreed to pay the city of Denver $10,000 a week until it has paid off the rent and other fees it owes for productions last season in the Buell Theatre. So far, it has paid $20,000 toward its $259,000 bill.
“We are very hopeful they’ve have gotten their act together,” said Finlaw, who is on the phone regularly with ballet officials. “We’re doing everything we can to help them be successful.”
