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Columbia Classical Ballet appeals to council for full hospitality-tax funding to support outreach and international company
Summary
Board members and volunteers from Columbia Classical Ballet told council the company provides free tickets and cultural access across the city and requested full hospitality-tax funding to sustain its international guest-artist programming and community outreach.
Lisa Smarr and Lee Lumpkin, speaking during the public-comments period on Feb. 12, urged the council to fully fund Columbia Classical Ballet through hospitality-tax allocations and emphasized the company’s community outreach and international draw.
Smarr, a longtime Columbia resident who identified herself as a volunteer and outreach board member, said the company provides complimentary tickets to community groups across the city — including parks, senior centers, adapted recreation programs and deputies’ families — and called those free admissions meaningful to recipients. "These are in fact complimentary free tickets," she said, citing outreach to locations including Bluff Road Park, Hyatt Park, Forest Acres Seniors, Busby Community Center and others.
Lee Lumpkin, who identified herself with Columbia Classical Ballet, described the company’s international component and guest-artist gala, saying dancers this season came from Kenya, Colombia, Brazil, Japan and Venezuela. She said the company’s international programming attracts visitors and supports dancers’ livelihoods and asked the council to "please help us" with hospitality-tax funding so the company can continue its work.
Both speakers referenced the hospitality-tax committee process and asked council to prioritize funding for Columbia Classical Ballet. Council did not take an immediate funding vote at the meeting; the remarks were recorded during public comment.
The speakers named the Koger Center as the performance venue where many of the company’s events occur and said free and low-cost tickets help families and adults in group homes attend performances and then patronize local restaurants and businesses.
