OAKLAND — For all the prestige that the classic arts bring to a city, ballet companies, symphonies and opera houses maintain a hand-to-mouth existence.

With patched backdrops and recycled sets, The Oakland Ballet Company makes due with less than would be expected of a metropolitan company in a city of more than 400,000 residents.

The troupe, however, will have fewer things to worry about as it prepares for its second season since Artistic Director Ronn Guidi resuscitated it in 2007. Pennies from heaven rained down on his troop of dedicated dancers this month by way of arts Samaritans Jim and Bonnie Bell.

Their $75,000 gift was "a small miracle," Guidi said. "Oakland deserves the classic arts. In times of economic woes, the arts are so important to give substance to the soul."

The gift from the president of Bell Investment Advisors Inc. will pay for the first performance of the season that begins Oct. 25 and go toward two future Oakland Ballet productions — all performed by members of the Oakland East Bay Symphony.
Bell founded the downtown Oakland wealth management and financial planning company, which also provides career and life planning, 18 years ago and now has 16 employees.

Giving to the arts, Bell said, is one of the deepest ways he and his wife acknowledge and celebrate that they live and work in Oakland. Bell said philanthropy helps build the identity of companies and gives donors "the satisfaction of being part of the community."

Gone are the philanthropic titans, corporate kings such as Henry J. Kaiser, whose deep pockets helped keep the classic arts well-funded. But Bell's donation and those from The Clorox Foundation, Bank of America Foundation, San Francisco Foundation, Target Corp. and the Piedmont Post may be a signal that support from Oakland's business community is growing.

That support is crucial to keeping the arts alive in any city. Small and middle-size corporations can play a significant role in funding the arts, Bell said. He didn't realize how significant the impact could be until several years ago, when he began donating to the Oakland East Bay Symphony.

"I thought you would have to be bigger," he said.

Bell, 62, who has been a devotee of the classic arts since his youth in Southern California, decided to make the donation to the Oakland Ballet because of a performance danced to recorded music.

Funding for the arts in the United States has always been an issue, Bell said. But, he added, a ballet company in Europe, with generous government funding, would never be forced to dance to pre-recorded music. Live music was cut from the Oakland Ballet after Guidi went into a short-lived retirement in 1998. The swan song came in 2005 after the company lost attendance, effective board members and money. Guidi has been rebuilding the company he founded since his 2007 return. Although the funds are targeted for music, the money means more shows for the troupe, the community and the symphony, to which Bell also donates generously.

Plenty of need remains, however, during these treacherous economic times. Just two performances of "Bamboo" will cost the company $150,000, between dancers, sets, costumes, operation expenses and live music. The latter will cost $10,000 and is still unfunded.

Even the ballet slippers are expensive. When Guidi started out as a young dancer in Oakland, toe shoes cost $9 a pair. Now they cost $75 and might last just one performance.

Although there are still gaps left to be filled in, the corporate support helps anchor the ballet and symphony, which are overshadowed by San Francisco's well-funded companies.

The sponsorship "means they believe in us," Oakland Ballet publicist Tami Adachi said. "It means they believe in the arts, and they believe in the Oakland Ballet."

The artistic passion crossed with the careful money management that Guidi shares with the symphony's conductor and music director, Michael Morgan, inspires confidence in donors, creating a positive cycle of support. That has made it possible for the Oct. 25 lineup of "How'd They Catch Me?" a series of lighthearted vignettes by choreographer Ron Thiele, a former Oakland Ballet principal dancer and artistic director. Excerpts from Guidi's "Romeo and Juliet" will follow. The performance will close with Michael Lowe's elegant "Bamboo."

"If you produce quality art, people appreciate it," Guidi said.

In addition, this season the ballet will perform two community matinees of "The Nutcracker" for Oakland Unified School District pupils Dec. 18 and 19. Last year's sole community matinee performance of "The Nutcracker" was a full house, with 2,000 students in attendance.

Target is sponsoring the Family Matinee again Dec, 24. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students 17 and under.

Performances are a way to reach out to new fans, Guidi said. "You reach out and pull them in."

Reach Angela Woodall at awoodall@bayareanewsgroup.com or 510-208-6413.

To attend

The Fall 2008 Oakland Ballet Company program opens Oct. 25 at the Paramount Theatre with 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. performances of "How'd They Catch Me," Ronn Guidi's "Romeo and Juliet," and "Bamboo."

Donate a nonperishable food item to the Alameda County Community Food Bank and receive a 20 percent discount for adults and $10 tickets for children ages 12 and younger. One nonperishable food item per ticket. Tickets must be purchased at the Paramount Theatre, where dropoff bins are located. The food bank discount applies to all tickets Oct. 25 and the Dec. 23 matinee of "The Nutcracker."

Tickets: $15 to $50 available through www.ticketmaster.com or by calling (510) 625-8497.

Information: Paramount Theatre, 2025 Broadway, (510) 465-6400, paramounttheatre.com.

© 2007 ANG Newspapers