Pointe shoes are flying in Boston after the Wang Center for the Performing Arts announced that it’s bumping the Boston Ballet in 2004 from their traditional performances of The Nutcracker, possibly replacing that slot with the “Radio City Christmas Spectacular”.
The Wang Center has been the home for the Boston Ballet’s cash cow holiday performances for 35 years (except for one year when the roof was considered unsafe). As in many other cities, The Nutcracker has been the engine of survival for resident ballet companies, in this case, generating 30 percent of the organization’s annual income.
This is one of the more public and brazen examples of a trend that’s likely to bubble up around the country. Major performance venues are feeling the economic pinch along with every other arts organization. Often, the resident companies of these venues have discount rental arrangements, subsidized by the major touring shows (Broadway musicals, spectaculars like Stomp and Riverdance, and so on). As money gets tighter, the performing arts venues will be increasingly tempted by full-rent, big-revenue touring shows over the resident companies, especially when both want the best weekends of the year.
It’s not an easy nut to crack, if you’ll pardon the pun. But the questions of mission and money are coming soon to a venue near you.
