Graham shake-up stuns dance world.

When the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance won the court case securing the rights to its founder's ballets in 2002, it seemed as if the dust had settled and the Martha Graham Dance Company could get on with its mission (see "Tomorrow and the Martha Graham Company," July). But in May, the troupe unexpectedly appointed former Graham dancer Janet Eilber as artistic director, replacing the two co-artistic directors, Terese Capucilli and Christine Dakin, and named them "artistic directors laureate." Although financial difficulties were cited as the primary reason for a new direction, Capucilli and Dakin (both recipients of the Dance Magazine Award) had been universally praised for shepherding the company to a high artistic level after a lengthy, litigious layoff period.

According to executive director Marvin Preston, the company currently carries a $4 million debt, 80 percent of which is internal monies owed to trustees and employees. The company's annual working budget is $4.2 million. "The only way to make the place cash-flow positive was to do a classic streamlining or consolidation instead of having a bunch of people running things independently," said Preston. He also added that artistically, after two and a half years of the Dakin-Gapucilli leadership, "the end result was good and we were all pleased with it."

After the critically lauded spring City Center season, which lost $200,000 (roughly the cost of the live orchestra), the board expressed its disapproval of the financial situation. Strategic planning sessions for the senior management took place May 11-12, followed by a May 18 closed meeting of the board. The next day, Gapucilli and Dakin were informed by Preston of the restructuring, which involved a paring of the administrative staff to 28 from 36 (with an additional nine part-time positions cut), and the elimination of four dancer positions as well as the appointment of Eilber as the new artistic director.

"It was a shock," said Dakin.

Capucilli said, "There had not been any objections made to us with regard to anything we were doing that was out of the norm."

According to Preston, "These people were involved with the planning. They knew it was coming. The reality was not accepted until it happened." But Capucilli and Dakin, who shared one salary as directors, refute that. "Every year we presented them with our plans and intentions, and there was never any sense that this was not approved," said Dakin. "The prioritization of expenses was never addressed. I can't help but feel that the board wasn't able to grasp what they were supposed to be doing." Dakin and Capucilli claim that they offered alternative plans that would be less severe for the company.

Eilber, who had danced with the company from 1972 to 1985, was originally named artistic director designate by former director Ron Protas in 1998. But Dakin and Gapucilli assumed the directorship after the law suit with Protas regarding ownership rights to the Graham works was settled. Eilber will continue to live in Los Angeles, commuting to New York for most of the rehearsal weeks. She will not travel with the company on its 15 annual tour weeks (the company guarantees the dancers 25 weeks of work per year). Former Graham dancer Susan Kikuchi will oversee tours and coordinate guest coaches.

How will Eilber's approach differ from that of her predecessors? Eilber, who recently headed the Martha Graham Resources, preserving the choreographer's legacy through licensing and restoration of archival films, said, "They did a great job with the internal focus on bringing the works back to life, but we now need an external focus on how we are going to present ourselves to the world." According to Eilber, the shifting of priorities will include bringing all elements of the Graham Center--the school, the company, and the resources--together in a more integrated way with the ultimate goal of finding a single building to house everyone. The issue of fundraising is critical, and Eilber plans to present "programming with more context that everyone can connect to," such as evenings with historical video supplementation and only one intermission. Eilber also wants to use more Graham alumni to reconstruct and stage Graham works--including Dakin and Capucilli, who, Eilber said, "are needed to maintain our artistic integrity."

As for the title of artistic director laureate, Capucilli and Dakin see it as only a title, one that equates to a dismissal with the offer of freelance work when needed. Neither has committed to working with the company in the near future. Both have said that the dancers are unsettled by the decision. "We all want the best," said Dakin. "How do we realistically protect our reputation and at the same time not damage what's happened with the company? It's a horrific position to be in."