Minnesota Dance Theatre, whose entire 15-member board of directors resigned in January, has a new, smaller board.
Minnesota's most seasoned dance company announced Monday that it now has a six-person governing body, including two children of founder Loyce Houlton. They are Lise Houlton, the company's artistic director since 1995, and her younger brother, Andrew Houlton, an anesthesiologist who is vice president of medical affairs at North Memorial Medical Center.
"By downsizing the board, we'll be more effective for results going forward," Lise Houlton said.
The dance theater, with an annual budget of $1.3 million, operates a ballet school and a dance troupe. It is best known locally for its popular version of the "Nutcracker" around Christmastime.
Houlton said that there were "disconnects" between the departed board and the organization.
While she would not go into details about what precipitated January's startling news, she "took responsibility, as a board member and artistic director.
"I spend most of my time in the studio and very little time in the office," she said. "An organization like this requires somebody who's really riding those two areas and connecting them."
The air of crisis that accompanied the resignations is being lifted, Houlton said, adding that she is grateful to have the opportunity to start fresh. She said that the old board gave the organization a gift by resigning instead of voting to shut MDT down.
