Silicon Valley Ballet (SVB), a 30-year-old dance company based in San Jose, told KQED Tuesday that it is shutting down due to a lack of funds.
The dance company, formerly known as Ballet San Jose, has skirted financial collapse repeatedly over the three decades of its existence, garnering as many headlines over its management battles as its well-regarded performances. Even with a new name and the arrival of high-profile artistic director José Manuel Carreño, board co-chair Millicent Powers says the ballet could not raise enough money to hire and retain the administrative and creative talent necessary to keep running.
“We can’t keep our fund-raising going, we can’t keep doing what we say we’re going to do and what we need to do,” Powers says. “And so really in the past week, this has been a painful and difficult decision to not finish the season. “It’s heartbreaking for us who believe not only in the mission of dance, but also the community.”
The news comes almost one year after the company scrambled to raise $550,000 to keep its doors open. The “Bridge to the Future” campaign managed to raise $680,000 within 10 days, but was unable to find a way to keep its operations sustainable.
