Akron mayor Don Plusquellic has appointed a committee to recommend steps to ensure the company's fiscal renewal. Recommendations will be presented by March 1, to Ohio Ballet's board of directors. The city is the company's largest single source of funding.

The dancers and staff of the company, who were scheduled to return from a scheduled hiatus on January 3, will instead be without work until March, according to the company.

Ballet companies across the country have been feeling the pinch: The Dance Theatre of Harlem has been idle since September 2004, and Oakland Ballet recently returned from a year-long hiatus. Indianapolis's Ballet Internationale shut down in November.