Editorial : Keeping Arts Foundation on Its Feet : Benefit ballet could keep San Diego Foundation for Performing Arts in business

Fiscal crises for the arts are inevitable in a recession-weary economy, especially in a city short on corporate donors and facing an $18-million budget deficit that may require major cutbacks in city subsidies.

But even with that grim backdrop, it was hard not to be stunned by the sudden announcements--made within days of one another--that two of the city’s most respected arts organizations are awash in red ink.

Last week, the San Diego Symphony said that it ended the 1992 season $900,000 in debt. Four days later, the city’s premier dance foundation, the San Diego Foundation for the Performing Arts, announced that it will fold if it can’t raise $200,000 in two weeks.

The symphony will continue with its new season as it looks for answers to its fiscal problems. But for the dance foundation, the crisis is imminent. Fortunately, so too is a potential solution.

In an extraordinary display of support, the French Lyon Opera Ballet, which just last weekend completed a stunning production of “Cinderella” at the Civic Theatre, has agreed to return for a benefit dance performance. If the performance is sold out--and we hope that it is--it will raise an estimated $90,000 for the foundation.

And that’s only the beginning of the generosity this respected dance presenter has inspired. The Spreckels Theatre--where the show will be presented Tuesday--is being provided free of charge. The International Alliance of Theatrical State Employees is donating its labor. And the Westgate Hotel downtown is providing free accommodations for the 35-member troupe.

Now if only the customers will show up. Certainly, the foundation deserves their support. Since 1982, it has offered San Diegans an opportunity to enjoy some of the world’s finest dance companies, including the Kirov, Martha Graham, the Joffrey and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatr1697521748d stage space.”

Filling the house Tuesday won’t fully erase the organization’s budget woes, but it will signal a level of community support that we hope will pop open the purses of other corporate and private donors.

Ironically, the French ballet that is coming to the foundation’s rescue is fully funded by its city and national governments. That level of public funding doesn’t happen in America. It’s up to theatergoers themselves to provide the bulk of the foundation’s budget.

Tuesday, they will have an opportunity to do just that. As the charity gala demonstrates, the foundation enjoys the respect of its peers. But that’s not enough. San Diegans must support it as well or risk losing a cultural gem.