The financially teetering Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley has raised nearly $280,000 since last Wednesday, bringing it more than halfway to its goal of raising $550,000 by its looming Friday-midnight deadline and averting shutdown, the company has announced. The funds would ensure continuing operations during the current season and lead to the next stage of fundraising, titled the Fund for the Future, aiming to reach total funds of $3.5 by October to fulfill long-range goals of art, education and community outreach. The company is asking supporters to attend Wednesday night’s San Jose Arts Commission meeting at City Hall, where the commissioners are expected to take up the question of emergency funding for the troupe. For information or donations, the company’s web site is www.balletsj.org.
Janice Berman, SFCV’s senior dance critic, has been a dance writer and reviewer since 1978, beginning at Newsday and New York Newsday. She has written on dance for The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Ballet Review, and Dance Magazine, where she was editor-in-chief.