OBT tracks their quest to $750K
There is this old scene that played out in a lot of classic films starring Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. A community center or a farm or a business of some kind is about to close and the kids all get together and put on a show, using the profits to save the day.
Judy and Mickey have NOTHING on Christopher Stowell.
Stowell is the Artistic Director for Oregon Ballet Theatre. Despite record-setting attendance and a product unparalleled in the companies’ history, the company is at risk of closing its doors. Donations are way down, to the tune of $750,000. If they don’t raise that much by June, bye bye ballet.
So Stowell cracks open his address book and starts dialing some of his friends. Little known ballet names like Joffrey Ballet … New York City Ballet … San Francisco Ballet … Bodyvox … (and yes, there was sarcasm in that last line … these are some of the biggest names in modern dance).
When all of these companies heard about OBT’s issue, they quickly signed up to help, sending their dancers to a Portland stage for a special one night performance.
And this all adds up to Dance United, a special one night benefit for OBT. Stowell tells GNPDX the response is a testament to OBT’s reputation across the country and they are incredibly optimistic by the response.
He also adds that this kind of response is unprecedented. Never before has such a wide array of talent come together to aid one of their own.
Tickets are going fast so click here to buy yours. Oh, and if you can’t make the show, click on the link anyway to make a donation to OBT.
