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That’s
not really Monroe, is it? The Spectrum 8 Theatres anniversary
party.
Photo: Kathryn Lurie
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Art
Beat
ANOTHER
FRESH START: The Saratoga Performing Arts Center will
forgive $1.2 million in debt owed to the organization by the
National Museum of Dance and Hall of Fame in Saratoga
Springs. The move is effective retroactive to Dec. 31, 2005,
according to William Dake, president of the SPAC board
of directors. Marcia White, president and executive
director of SPAC, announced SPAC’s decision to forgive the
debt in a press release issued March 28. According to the
release, the $1.2 figure represents approximately 15 years
of accumulated losses incurred by the museum (between $120,000
and $150,000 a year) and absorbed by SPAC.
The press release said that writing off the museum’s debt
will not affect SPAC’s current operating budget or its projected
surplus for 2006. SPAC broke even in 2005 for the first time
in many years.
Last November, Dake called the $1.2 figure a “paper debt”
that SPAC was prepared to forgive, based on the museum’s performance
as it worked toward complete independence from SPAC. He was
speaking to the new board of the dance museum, which took
over last fall after the previous museum board and director
resigned. One of the new board’s first acts was to dismiss
three of five staff members as a cost-cutting move.
The new museum board, headed by Nancy Di Cresce, proposed
independence from SPAC. She said complete separation may happen
in six months, but that, “they want to make sure we can stand
on our own and have a strong financial basis.” Dake said,
“These things never happen abruptly. There is always a transition
period. We will always be working in conjunction with the
museum, providing help in accounting, maintenance, and other
services. We’ll provide modest financial support.”
The new acting director, Beth Hartle (the seventh person
to head the museum since it opened in 1986) said Tuesday that
she hoped the debt forgiveness would open the way to replenish
the museum staff. Hartle and an administrative assistant are
now operating an ever-growing program by relying on volunteers.
Over the years, the museum has had a tangled relationship
with SPAC. It opened as an independent entity with its own
budget, but with oversight by SPAC. By 1991, former SPAC president
and CEO Herb Chesbrough was calling the museum “a wholly
owned subsidiary of SPAC.” The two boards had several members
in common. Chesbrough either fired or pressed to resign a
succession of museum program directors. When Jacques Burgering
was summarily fired in August 2003, dozens of volunteers gave
up on the museum. Most did not come back during the subsequent
term of Garret Smith.
Now, with the new management and board, volunteers have returned
as docents, assistant curators of exhibitions, and workers
in the museum’s bookstore and archives. SPAC’s forgiveness
of the debt, called a win-win situation by Dake, cleans up
the museum’s balance sheet and decreases SPAC’s level of liability
for its operations.
Judy
Fiore, assistant curator of the current major exhibition
Dancing Rebels: the New Dance Group, 1930s to 1950s,
said: “Anything that will help the museum is very welcome.
The less we have to worry about financial issues, the more
we can concentrate on promoting the wonderful art of dance.”
—Mae
G. Banner
ROMAN SCANDALS: It’s too bad winter is gone. This is not just
because the humid hell of a typical Northeastern summer will
soon be upon us, but because the Clark Art Institute
won’t be doing any more of their terrific Clark After Dark
“theme” parties until summer is over. They’re going out in
style, however, tomorrow night (Friday, April 7) at 8 PM with
The Last Days of Pompeii. For a mere $10 ($8 members),
you can enjoy free snacks and soft drinks—don’t worry, there’s
a cash bar too—and partake of any number of decadent diversions,
from gladiatorial combat in an inflatable ring to the ancient
Roman game of knucklebones. There will be dancing, with music
provided by DJ Kiana Green; Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus
will be screened in the auditorium; and the galleries will
be open until midnight. For more information, call the Clark
at (413) 458-2303.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY: Remember 1981? Erastus Corning was
still mayor of Albany, Ronald Reagan was president,
George W. Bush was busy with another of his many failed
ventures and Raiders of the Lost Ark was the most popular
movie in America. Oh, and the Spectrum Theatres opened.
On Thursday, March 30, the Spectrum celebrated 25 years of
bringing a wide variety of films to downtown Albany with a
big old birthday bash. Though I was unable to attend, I reflected
on the memorable moviegoing experiences the Spectrum has provided
through the years, from Sid and Nancy, Blue Velvet
and Gold Diggers of 1935 (when they did revivals) to
Inside Man, which is still playing this week (and you
should see because it’s terrific).
—Shawn
Stone
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