Last Dance at MoMing
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At a meeting last Saturday, MoMing’s small board of directors reluctantly chose to close the center rather than try to overcome the seemingly insurmountable hurdles confronting it. Said board president Catherine Pines: “It is painful to let go of something that has meant so much to so many people, but the money just wasn’t there. So it seemed the responsible and honorable thing to do was close the doors.” In the end, management problems seem to have done in the center. MoMing was saddled with approximately $80,000 in debt, according to Pines, much of it money owed to banks and vendors and back pay. The organization also lost out to a developer in its effort to buy its longtime home at 1034 W. Barry, and it faced the challenge of finding another artistic director to replace Peter Tumbelston, who announced he was leaving to pursue projects within the gay and lesbian community.
As for the future, both Pines and Tumbelston expressed hope that something new would rise from the ashes of MoMing that would not be burdened with the problems that ultimately killed off their organization. Last week sources in the dance community seemed unsure how they would fill the vacuum left by MoMing’s demise, but whatever might emerge certainly will require solid financial backing, strong management, and a workable game plan for audience development if it is to have even a chance of surviving.
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