Ballet Pacifica Awarded First State Arts Grant in Decade

On the eve of opening its new dance conservatory in Irvine, Ballet Pacifica has been awarded its first state grant in a decade, winning $3,230 on Thursday from the California Arts Council.

While 11 Orange County groups will receive a total of $244,534 from the council for 1995-96, other groups did not fare well.

On the eve of opening its 10th anniversary season, Irvine’s Opera Pacific saw its grant amount slashed by more than one-third, to $34,279 from $53,273 last year, while Fullerton Civic Light Opera came away empty-handed. The council’s advisory panels had dropped the rankings of Opera Pacific from 4- to 3+ and Fullerton Civic Light Opera from 3 to 2+. The council’s top score is 4.

Otherwise, most county groups’ grants did not rise or decrease significantly.

Ballet Pacifica artistic director Molly Lynch, however, was elated at the news of her grant. Lynch said the troupe, the county’s most prominent regional dance company, will use the money to support its annual summer project, which brings together up-and-coming American choreographers to create new works, some of which are added to the troupe’s repertory.

“I think [the award] shows a vote of confidence in the project,” Lynch said, “which is one of my main thrusts with the company. It’s really what we’re all about.”

The 33-year-old company, ranked 3-, will christen its new conservatory Saturday with an open house. Classes are slated to begin Sept. 25. The new academy will roughly triple the company’s rehearsal space and, officials hope, elevate the troupe’s stature.

The largest council grant awarded this year to an Orange County group, $78,729, went to South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, which had a ranking of 4. Pacific Symphony of Santa Ana, ranked 4-, was next with $54,123. Opera Pacific, despite its decreased award, got the third-highest grant among county arts groups.

Last year, the council, which distributes public money, awarded a total of $328,892 to 11 county groups. That was about a third more than this year, but one group, Pacific Symphony, received two grants last year, including a $55,000 challenge grant to produce the symphonic-choral work commemorating the Vietnam War it premiered in June.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Dollars and Arts

California Arts Council grants to Orange County groups total $244,534, or about 25% less than last year. How this year’s grants compare to last:

*--*

1994-95 1995-96 Ballet Pacifica $0 $3,230 Bowers Museum of Cultural Art $13,093 12,102 Fullerton Civic Light Opera 6,514 0 Laguna Art Museum 10,202 9,313 Laguna Playhouse 8,376 8,687 Opera Pacific 53,273 34,279 Pacific Chorale 13,850 14,016 Pacific Symphony 52,868* 54,123 Philharmonic Society of Orange County 20,687 19,050 South Coast Repertory 83,390 78,729 St. Joseph Ballet 8,350 7,445 William Hall Master Chorale 3,289 3,560 Total $273,892 $244,534

*--*

* Also received $55,000 challenge grant

Source: California Arts Council; Researched by ZAN DUBIN / Los Angeles Times