Financial problems are threatening the future of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre's residency program, which has brought world-class ballet to Baltimore and introduced thousands of area students to dance.
The foundation that runs the program is laying off two of its four staffers and will not bring the famed New York dance company to the Morris Mechanic Theatre this year, said Richard Hackney, chairman of the group's board.
No decisions have been made yet about the future of the residency's educational programs.
The Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre Foundation of Maryland, which relies heavily on private donations, started last year with a budget of roughly $800,000 and is now running a deficit of $129,000, said Mr. Hackney, a principal partner at Alex. Brown & Sons.
"We are having difficulty raising private donations," he said, but no special appeals are planned yet.
When it was launched in 1990, the Alvin Ailey residency program gave Baltimore -- a city that lacks a major dance company -- the luster of a world class, African-American dance presence. And it also provided the dance company with a much-needed injection of cash from the troupe's performances here.
In addition to the annual shows at the Mechanic, the non-profit foundation organizes and raises the money to pay for the company's lecture-demonstrations in the schools and other educational programs across Maryland.
It also administers Alvin Ailey's summer camps at Morgan and Frostburg State universities for disadvantaged middle school students. And it arranges for the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble -- a secondary company made up of younger, apprentice-level dancers -- to tour the state.
Since June 1993, the residency's educational programs has brought dance to more than 17,000 Maryland students, Mr. Hackney said.
The camps and other educational programs have been a wonderful experience for children, said Sue Hess, executive director of Maryland Citizens for the Arts, a statewide arts advocacy group.
"We need to come together to make sure these programs survive," she said.
But the foundation is having trouble finding enough major donors to support the residency's programs.
And ticket sales for Alvin Ailey's six performances last May at the Morris Mechanic were disappointing, Mr. Hackney acknowledged. He said he could not recall the exact figures, but a source knowledgeable about the residency program said only 62 percent of the theater's 1,600 seats were filled during the run.
"Many of the generous private donors who have supported us in previous years have not been able to continue comparable support," Mr. Hackney said. "There aren't as many prospects and there's a lot of competition for not-for-profits."
The foundation's funding problems do not affect the finances of the New York dance company, Mr. Hackney said.
Attempts to reach the company's executive director, Barbara Hauptman, were unsuccessful.
When the residency program was created, the Ailey foundation depended on public funds as well as support from foundations, corporations and individuals. Initially, the organization received $110,000 from the Maryland State Arts Council, $100,000 from the Abell Foundation, $25,000 from the Super Pride food chain and $10,000 from the Rouse Co.
Last year, the foundation's $800,000 budget paid for six performances by the main company, for expanding the camp at Morgan from four weeks to six weeks and for introducing a two-week camp program at Frostburg in western Maryland.
This year, the residency program will be more limited.
Since June, the foundation has supported appearances by the Repertory Ensemble at Frostburg and in the Baltimore County schools. But the main company will not perform in Baltimore.
The foundation is laying off its full-time program director and publicist/marketing director, Mr. Hackney said.
Acting executive director Joanne Mason -- who replaced former executive director Marsha Jews after she departed in July -- will continue to work at the Charles Village office, as will a part-time assistant.
There is no immediate plan to end the summer camp program at Morgan, Mr. Hackney said. Last summer, the organization ran a free, six-week program for 85 students ages 11 to 14 and, for the first time, a shorter similar program at Frostburg State.
"We haven't really made a decision about what we are going to do in the summer," Mr. Hackney said. "We will continue to evaluate the funding and all of the components that go into the summer programs."
The camps began at Morgan in 1991 as a two-week program for middle school students who were considered at risk academically. The students receive free instruction in dance, creative dramatics and writing and in social skills. Funding has come primarily from the Maryland State Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts and corporations.
"The summer camps have been a great success and one of the most exemplary programs of the National Endowment for the Arts," said Ms. Hess, of Maryland Citizens for the Arts. "Hundreds of children who have drugs and broken homes as a consistent part of their lives come together with the best teachers and counselors to create a magical bond through dance."
The late Alvin Ailey founded the dance company in 1958 to bring an African-American spirit to modern dance and reach out to more audiences. The dance company, now directed by Judith Jamison, also maintains a residency in Kansas City.
But Alvin Ailey has not proven to be the box office draw here that the foundation had hoped.
"Baltimore is a tough nut to crack for dance," said dancer Eva Anderson, artistic director of Eva Anderson Dancers/Baltimore Dance Theatre, a modern dance company founded in 1975 that emphasizes African-American dance forms.
"Dance here is like the stepchild of the arts," she said. "I think this is still a very conservative area and people may still think of dance as an entertainment rather than a high art form."
Nevertheless, Ann McIntosh, the foundation's first director, said the residency program can still work.
"I would hope that support would come forward so [the foundation] could get back to presenting performances and outreach programs by the main company," she said.