Placer Theatre Ballet

Needs

Spring Shows Cancellation Recovery:

The rehearsal and performance venues were paid for, fabric purchased and costumes sewn, color posters were going up around town, the dancers had learned their choreography and were excited to see the scenes come together. Then gatherings were banned, which stopped rehearsals. As the gravity and uncertainty of the public health emergency became quickly apparent, Placer Theatre Ballet's board made the difficult decision to cancel the spring production of Snow White. We realized that this was more disappointing news to our amazing and talented dancers at a time when so much of their lives had been turned upside down, but it was the only responsible path forward for us as a PTB family.

Though we have lost the estimated $30,000 in ticket sales, which helps the production break even, and have already incurred many of the expenses, PTB is fully honoring the current contracts of our invaluable production staff of directors and costumer, because we feel it is the right thing to do. Instead, we are working to minimize additional expenditures going forward. Your donations will keep this coming Nutcracker up to the standards the community has come to love and to continue offering scholarships and complimentary seats to children who would otherwise not be able to attend live theater.

Amount to recover from cancelled shows: $25,000

A New Home for New Community Programs:

The property that housed Placer Theatre Ballet's rehearsal dance floor, costume sewing room, costume and props storage, and office is in the process of being sold to developers and will be demolished. Since all available spaces in our region are in much better shape than our current aging building with its dysfunctional plumbing and HVAC systems, PTB faces an extreme increase in rent. PTB may be forced to give up having our own rehearsal space.

However, PTB chooses to view our forced relocation as a potential dream opportunity. With your financial support, we hope to secure a new home with space not just for a rehearsal dance floor but also to accommodate a small audience. This would allow PTB to offer performances to audiences with special needs and to host other dance groups to share their unique cultures and stories, all of which would enrich the community.

Amount to add rehearsal/performace space: $28,800

Scholarships For Dancers:

Not every parent has the resources to support their child's dreams. Every season, Placer Theatre Ballet offers scholarships to dancers who would find participation a financial hardship or an impossibility. Your donation would continue this practice and could expand the program to offer additional assistance for necessities, such as pointe shoes. These ballet "tools of the trade" often average $90-100 a pair and may last less than 18 hours of rehearsal and performance.

Amount to expand scholarships: $2,700

Underwriting Performances for Schools with Low-Income Families:

For some families, even our $14 tickets are beyond their means and some of the schools they attend cannot afford our even further reduced school show tickets. We would like to be able to offer free performances for these schools, so that all children - no matter their financial situation - will have access to the live arts.

Amount to underwrite free performances: $5,940 per performance

A New American Ballet - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow:

Providing its audiences with exciting and dynamic theatrical material to enjoy is the top priority of any ballet company - the performing arts rise and fall at the whim of the ticket buyer. After a decade, the time has come for us to develop a fresh theatrical production to engage our established audience members, draw new patrons to our regional ballet company and challenge our pre-professional dancers to grow as classical artists.

Placer Theatre Ballet has a twenty two year history of delighting audiences with beautifully conceived and heartfelt productions of ballet classics. Our renditions of The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and other classical staples have become a theater tradition for hundreds of Sacramento area families and ballet lovers alike.

This time, we have chosen to step away from traditional European stories and focus instead on an uniquely American tale - Washington Irving's beloved The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. This eerie and fantastic story, set in 18th century colonial America's Hudson River Valley, will be re-envisioned as a vibrant full length ballet with an intricate plot and additional characters that build upon the suggested back story of the original short story.

Placer Theatre Ballet hopes to bring The Legend of Sleepy Hollow to the stage in the spring of 2021. This will bring a long and expensive pre-production phase in which music, sets, props and costumes are painstakingly designed and executed. Although an exciting and much needed new ballet, Sleepy Hollow will impact our current operating budget.

Budget: $30,000