Dance Concert Series Includes Paul Taylor

SAN DIEGO — San Diego Performances has announced a four-event slate of big-league dance concerts that includes Amalia Hernandez’s Ballet Folklorico de Mexico, the long-awaited return of the thoroughly modern Paul Taylor Dance Company and another Thanksgiving visit from the San Francisco Ballet’s lavish “Nutcracker.”

Also on tap for the Fall/Winter season is a weeklong residency by the dazzling Dance Theater of Harlem. All performances will take place at Symphony Hall, except for “The Nutcracker” run, which is scheduled for the Civic Theatre again.

The debt-ridden San Diego Performances was late in putting a season together, and only announced half a season at Thursday’s press conference. But the ever-optimistic Suzanne Townsend, founding director of the organization, insisted that there will be more dance events under the organization’s umbrella in the spring.

“We decided to break it up into two seasons,” she said. “In January, we hope to make another announcement of, at the very least, a spring gala--Stars of American Ballet--to raise money (for the organization). But we have March, May and June dates being held for us in the Civic Theatre.”

Townsend’s presenting organization will be working with a $1-million budget this year, despite a crippling $400,000 deficit carried over from last year and no real solutions in sight.

“The debt could kill us,” she admitted, “but I’m optimistic. I’m either optimistic or I’m crazy--or maybe I’m both.

“We can get rid of the debt by generating more money than we spend--and by trying not to program more programs than the audiences will support,” she added, referring to last season’s saturation of imported dance events.

“We’re running this very tight, and making sure our underwriting is there. The children’s performances are ideal underwriting opportunities,” Townsend said. “But we have to at least break even with each event.”

The 3-year-old presenting organization will kick off its half-season with the vivacious folk dancing of the Ballet Folklorico de Mexico on Sept. 21-22. A fund-raising gala to benefit the Cardio-Vascular Institute at Scripps Memorial Hospital will usher in the troupe’s arrival on opening night. A special matinee performance for children (under the auspices of the Great Performances for Kids series) will take place Sept. 22.

Although the Mexico City-based troupe performed here to critical acclaim only last year, very few local dance aficionados saw the concert (at least in part because of poor pre-performance publicity).

Townsend’s San Diego Performances this time has teamed up with Ballet Folklorico’s producer, Friedson Enterprises of Los Angeles. It will be the first collaboration for the San Diego-based impresario.

The highly regarded Paul Taylor Dance Company, scheduled to perform Nov. 13, has not shown its exciting brand of modern dance in San Diego since 1983.

Following close on Taylor’s heels is the San Francisco Ballet, which returns Nov. 22-26 with a full-scale staging of its popular “Nutcracker.” Townsend still owes money to local musicians who performed for last year’s “Nutcracker,” but plans to assemble an orchestra for this year’s performances.

There will be a break after this early Christmas offering, at least until Jan. 17-21, when the Dance Theater of Harlem heads our way. The performances (including two special student concerts) will dovetail with the commemoration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.

“It’s hard for patrons to deal with long seasons . . . not just here, it’s true everywhere,” said Townsend, referring to her abbreviated season announcement. “And more organizations are going to quarterly seasons now.”

Townsend is “negotiating with her creditors” and believes the organization can survive with the concerts slated for this condensed season. But, as she noted: “you’re not going to see us do eight major productions in a single year--certainly not all dance productions.”