Photography courtesy of MADCO
Rehearsal for MADCO's show “Resilience," which has been postponed for a later date
Saint Louis Ballet artistic director Gen Horiuchi had a feeling Swan Lake wasn’t going to happen. Horiuchi was in Japan in February, when that country was taking drastic measures to stave off the spread of COVID-19.
“I experienced what’s happening in America right now in Tokyo,” he says. “They shut down schools, and cancelled all the public performances. When I came back, I started rehearsing for Swan Lake. But in the back of my head I thought we might have to cancel performances.”
Horiuchi trimmed marketing efforts for Swan Lake to the bare minimum. It was supposed to run April 3–5 at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. He negotiated a return policy with Cincinnati Ballet, who was lending Saint Louis Ballet their Swan Lake sets and costumes, and talked to the Touhill, which agreed to waive a penalty fee for canceling due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Many patrons have opted to turn their tickets into charitable donations or applied a credit to next season, easing the financial hit from losing box office income. The biggest expense—non-negotiable for Horiuchi—was fulfilling the dancers’ contracts, which were set to end in mid-April. So, it turned out to be relatively lucky timing for Saint Louis Ballet, despite another forced cancellation: An Enchanted Evening, the company’s annual gala. Donors who’d planned to gather at the Ritz-Carlton on April 18 were expected to raise $200,000 for the company, whose annual operating budget is $2 million.
“It’s kind of like a wedding,” says Horiuchi. “It takes a year to prepare for the gala.” Board members were able to recoup nearly 80 percent of projected revenue as their guests agreed to convert gala tickets into tax-deductible donations. “We were very lucky. It’s very important to have a good, strong board when a crisis like this happens.”
Missouri Governor Mike Parson restricted public gatherings to fewer than 10 people on March 21, which is what guided Horiuchi’s decisions to abruptly end the company’s season in March. As the largest dance organization in the area, Saint Louis Ballet greatly contributes to the overall economy of St. Louis. A night at the theater is often accompanied by dinner, parking, and drinks after the show. The arts comprise more than $800 billion of the U.S. economy and are among the many industries deeply impacted by social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. As nonprofit organizations, dance companies rely on a combination of grants, ticket sales, revenue from educational programs, and independent donors.
Public gathering ordinances came just days before MADCO’s spring concert, Resilience, originally scheduled on March 27 at Lindenwood University. The health crisis is unfolding during a time of great change for the 43-year-old modern dance company: Nicole Whitesell departed in February, after three years as artistic director. And the long-time resident artists at the Touhill Performing Arts Center, which is part of the University of Missouri-St. Louis, have broken ties with the campus to explore other performance venues across the metro area. Rehearsal director Belicia Beck, now interim artistic director, says Resilience will be rescheduled, though they do not yet have a date.
“Obviously, we were disappointed that it was so close to our show,” says Beck, “but we knew that it was for the safety of our audience, the dancers, and the rest of our community. We understood why it was happening.”
In addition to their live performance series, MADCO serves more than 5,000 elementary students annually through enrichment programs in public schools. While all of these are on hold, the dancers are keeping in touch with each other, taking virtual dance classes, doing workouts at home, and sending positive vibes to their students and patrons through social media. “We’re trying to keep everything as uplifting as possible. That’s the kind of company we are. …I am determined to keep going.”
Dance St. Louis, a local presenting organization that has brought touring dance companies to the area for more than 50 years, was forced to postpone an April 11 appearance by Diavolo. Tickets for the popular Los Angeles–based acrobatic dance troupe were expected to sell out. Managing director of programs Christopher Mohnani, who has been working from the Philippines and is unable to return to the United States while travel restrictions are in place, negotiated a new date. So patrons are able to transfer their tickets to next season. Diavolo is now scheduled to return to St. Louis on April 3, 2021. “There is obviously a demand for them in the city,” Mohnani says. He committed to rebooking them “not only because it ties into what we’re strategizing in terms of operations and finances, but because collectively the big touring shows at the Fox were also looking to reschedule.”
The Spring to Dance Festival, a series of performances featuring more than 30 local, national and international dance companies throughout Memorial Day Weekend, as well as Dance St. Louis' April 3 annual gala were cancelled amid ongoing travel restrictions and a statewide “stay at home” order issued by the governor through April 24. Executive Director Richard Dee says despite the loss of income, he anticipates Dance St. Louis finishing the fiscal year with a balanced budget.
Dance St. Louis restructured three years ago amid great financial difficulty. Dee says it would have been more challenging to stay afloat during the health crisis had they not greatly trimmed their expenses and staff. “I’ve really had to keep an eye on the past, the present, and the future all at once,” Dee says. “A lot of organizations are strapped for cash.”
Cash flow has been a major concern for The Big Muddy Dance Company, too, which is adapting to social distancing by offering daily classes online and streaming “Throwback Thursday” concerts: a virtual happy hour and watch party of past works. “Cash flow is absolutely the biggest concern right now,” says Big Muddy executive director Erin Prange. “We know that revenue will be coming in, it’ll just be about six months late. Our board has worked really hard over the past couple of years to bring us to a place where we can sustain ourselves in situations like this—not that anyone was expecting it. We’re in a tight spot like everyone else, but because we’re a seasonal organization, the bulk of our expenses slow down in the summer.”
Big Muddy opted to shift its spring mainstage production, Moves & Grooves, originally slated for April 4 and 5, to the 20/21 season. That will mean a jam-packed fall for the contemporary dance company, which celebrates its 10th season next year. The Big Muddy Ball will now take place October 22 at the Sheldon Ballroom. Plus, the second edition of the Big Muddy Dance Fest returns September 17–20 at various Grand Center locations, which will now include rescheduled performances of Moves & Grooves on September 17 and 18 at the Grandel.
Big Muddy artistic director Brian Enos teaches morning class for the company's 17 dancers on Zoom, and has been giving small movement assignments to keep creative juices flowing. “We don’t know how this is all going to unfold, and things are changing very rapidly,” says Enos. “It’s been tremendous to see the creativity and leveraging of technology that the industry has done—an industry that is steeped in tradition. We’re rolling with it in a way that’s exciting. … It definitely makes you appreciate the magic and power of what we do."
