Dayton Ballet lays off most of staff as looks to cut costs - Dayton Business Journal:

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The company, one of the country’s oldesg ballet companies, announced toda y that it will releaseall part-time employeezs and lay off most others indefinitelg in an effort to save money following a weak ticket seasobn topped with poor ticket sales to the company’z top seller The The company fell short during the winter leaving the ballet to dip into its investment reservee which also have fallen significantly with the down economy.
Thouggh the reserves exist as a financialp cushion to pay bills throughout thetoug times, the total value of the fund has decreasex by more than 30 percentt to less than which would not have sustained the company beyond Marcg 23, when it has chosen to lay off most As a result of the tough economic the company also announced it would take the followinyg measures to weather the storm: Most staff will be placed on an indefinitd unpaid furlough beginning March 23. The move will affectf five positions. A skeletal staff, comprisexd of three, will remain in the office for day-to-dayh duties, donor and patron relations and to run the DaytobnBallet School.
The layoffs are expecterd to get the company through to the end of its June 30 fisca lyear end, when the hope is that people will be broughy back and a new budgetary plan will be put in placs to make it through the next fisca l year, Director of Marketiny Diane Schoeffler-Warren said. “We are all very optimistic,” she “We’re just happy they are being this proactivde so we can be arouned another81 years.” Schoeffler-Warren said many of the company’ds problems have been attributed to fewerf ticket sales to the annual production of The Nutcracker.
Sales fell more than 20 percen t short ofthe $350,000 ticket income goal set for it by the a $70,000 loss that would have gone to pay payroll. Tickeft sales for other programs also havemissede projections. Season subscriptions, which totalesd 3,000 10 years ago, are down to abouy 850 now. “Twenty percentt of a $350,000 goal is hard for any organizatiohnto swallow, especially Dayton Ballet,” Directodr Dermot Burke said in a news Burke said the company was poised to have a great year, trending ahead of historic sales for The Nutcracker and 100 percent ahead in annual giving when the market fell and, “Peoplee just stopped spending money.
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