Dance Council gives executive director the boot

Gray Montague kept his job long enough to book his first full season with the Pittsburgh Dance Council.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the Dance Council board of directors announced the 'departure' of Montague, former executive director, and the appointment of Pittsburgh native Paul J. Organisak in his place.

'I'm just in shock,' said Montague, who said the board informed him of his termination Thursday.

Montague, who came to Pittsburgh from the Ballet Arizona in Phoenix, said he was told that 'the board has lost confidence in my ability.'

The change will not affect the Dance Council's 2001-02 season, which was the first full season booked by Montague since he succeeded Dance Council director Carolelinda Dickey on Nov. 8, 1999.

'I'm shocked and surprised by my termination,' he said. 'But I will land on my feet.'

The statement gave Montague's last day as June 22, last Friday.

Montague would not speculate on the reasons for his dismissal. He said he had no indication it was coming.

'Obviously, since they're announcing a successor, they had this in mind for some time,' he said. 'Other than that, I don't know.'

He said his attorney has advised him not to comment further.

In the statement, board president Diana Reed said, 'We believed a change was necessary to better address organizational and planning functions, in addition to programming.'

Reed would not elaborate when reached by phone.

'This a personnel decision, and we do not comment on personnel decisions,' she said. Montague was not under contract, she said.

Sources close to the decision say Montague and the board had prior discussions regarding his decision to present dance artists for two nights at the Byham Theater when a single night's performance would have been more cost-effective. Montague's goal to draw more people Downtown over two nights - even if it sometimes meant empty seats - clashed with the financial goals outlined by the board, these sources suggest.

During his 16 months as executive director, Montague claims to have increased Dance Council subscriptions by 30 percent and ticket revenues by 24 percent. He also said he obtained a $175,000 grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation and a $150,000 grant from the Pittsburgh Foundation.

Raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Montague was founding executive director of Parsons Dance Company in New York. He also was a guest lecturer at Scottsdale Center for the Arts, Phoenix; former executive director of Ballet Arizona, where he raised more than $4 million and more than doubled subscriptions. There, he also boosted single-ticket sales by 80 percent.

Now living in Wexford, Montague brought Pittsburgh the White Oak Dance Project featuring Mikhail Baryshnikov, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane and the Stephen Petronio Dance Company.

In an attempt to reach young, cyber-savvy ticket buyers, he also issued a promotional CD-ROM season brochure, the first local arts organization to do so.

Montague also reached beyond the boundaries of the Cultural District with a program called 'Class Act,' in which he commissioned Labco Theater on the South Side to teach introductory movement and the fundamentals of choreography to students in Pittsburgh Public Schools.

The students, in grades 4 to 6, will then choreograph pieces that will be performed by the Labco Dancers and given a professional production at the Byham Theater. The children will get to see their work danced onstage. They will be listed in the program as the choreographers.

Labco co-founder Evelyn Palleja-Vissicchio said she is sorry to see Montague go.

'I felt like he was trying to bring in a diverse group to Pittsburgh,' she said. 'His relationship to me regarding the community and Labco was great.'

William Loeffler can be reached at (412) 320-7986 or wloeffler@tribweb.com .

The new executive director of the Pittsburgh Dance Council said he would stick to the 2001-02 dance season booked by his predecessor, Gray Montague.

Pittsburgh native Paul J. Organisak was hired Monday by the Dance Council board as a replacement for Montague, whose firing was announced Tuesday.

Speaking by phone from Boston, Organisak, 39, said he was looking forward to coming home to Pittsburgh. He grew up in Carrick and attended Carrick High School.

'I'm absolutely thrilled,' he said. 'It's wonderful to be coming home and to be coming home to lead such a dynamic and exciting organization that I have the utmost respect for.'

Organisak, who assumes his duties July 15, said he will focus his energies on the 2002-03 season. He promised to bring 'a keen business sense balanced by the artistic sensibility of programming.'

'In this dance presenting field, there are always going to be certain presentations that, because of artists fees and potential audiences, are going to fall short,' he said. 'One of the things I've got to do is reorient myself to the Pittsburgh market. You balance it with the popular blockbuster presentations with more of the cutting-edge and risky things.'

The youngest of four children, Organisak studied business during his freshman year at Carnegie Mellon University. He transferred to the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he received a degree in music history and musicology.

A graduate seminar inspired him to pursue a career in arts management. He worked at the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and served for nine years as the executive director of the American College Dance Festival Association. Most recently, he worked as executive director for the now-defunct Dance Umbrella Inc. in Boston.

He also worked at the Dance Council from 1988 to 1991 as associate director and director of development. Ironically, he applied for the executive director's job that eventually went to Montague.