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Ballet in the Park survives another year By BILL VARBLE With the infusion of a little high tea, Ballet in the Park will apparently perform its customary pas de deux with Ashland's Lithia Park for at least one more summer. Angela Ewing, a spokeswoman for the dance group, says the combination of a planned high tea, a grant from the city of Ashland and money raised by a production last year of "The Nutcracker" will enable free summer dance programs in the park to continue. With the ballet chronically starved for money to operate, Ewing said last winter a decision would be made on the group's future by May. Ewing is president of the board of directors of the not-for-profit Ballet Rogue, which was formerly known as the State Ballet of Oregon. The program has mounted dance performances in the park every summer since 1985. The shows take place on Mondays, when the Oregon Shakespeare Festival stages are dark. The city gave the program $5,000. That left an operating gap of about $17,000, Ewing says. But "Nutcracker" proceeds plus ongoing donations have narrowed the gap. In an effort to wipe out the gap completely, a high tea is planned for 4 p.m. June 3 on the terrace and in the ballroom of the Ashland Springs Hotel in Ashland. The fund-raising event will include a menu Ewing says has been designed to resemble that of the famed English Tea offered by the Empress Hotel in Vancouver, B.C. Soft jazz will be provided by the Ed Dunsavage Trio. It's a reservations-only event. The ballet company was founded by Eric Hyrst, a former dancer with the New York City Ballet. Most of the present dancers are students of Diane Gaumond Hyrst, of Phoenix, a former ballerina with the Kansas City Ballet. As many as a dozen or 15 local dancers typically take part in the shows. But the shows often include professional dancers from Portland or San Francisco in an effort to upgrade the level of the performances. Production costs last year counting guest dancers were $22,000, Ewing says. The $5,000 grant was almost $3,000 less than the amount given the ballet by the city a year earlier. And the city no longer winks at a prohibition against asking for donations in the park. For reservations to the tea, or information about Ballet Rogue, call 245-9345, or write to Ballet Rogue, P.O. Box 1207, Ashland, OR 97520. Reach reporter Bill Varble at 776-4478 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.