Shrinking ticket sales for the 2002 Nutcracker and decreased donations after September 11 were the start of the company's financial troubles. At the end of the 2003 season, Oakland Ballet had a deficit of $250,000.

The company canceled its 2004 season in order to recoup.

Last year's Keep Us Dancing campaign raised over $500,000 for the company and helped identify the support base for the future. Lee Halterman, the company's executive director, said, "One data point that was clear is the community is excited about the diversity of programming, and that's what they are looking forward to us coming back to do."

Tony Caparelli, the company's chief operating and financial officer, said, "We are probably in the best financial shape the organization has been in a long time."