Portland's Oregon Ballet Theatre (OBT) is at risk of closing up shop at the end of this season unless they raise $750,000 by June 30. Their closure would leave Oregon without a full-time resident ballet company.

You should care about this because the ballet company's future is inextricably linked to Portland's future: If OBT were to close, Portland would lose one of its most vibrant and promising arts institutions, and the city's reputation would suffer as a result.

I could make arguments about myriad ways our flagship dance company contributes significantly to the local economy, the thousands of school children the company serves through its school and educational programs, or the nearly 100 dance artists and administrators it attracts and employs here—but it's entirely possible that zero of this matters to you if you haven't actually been out to see Oregon Ballet Theatre in action. Let me put it to you this way: The company is white-hot right now, and has got to be seen to be believed (it made an auspicious Kennedy Center debut last summer). Under the guiding hand of Artistic Director Christopher Stowell, OBT has made enormous strides over the last few years: Stowell has done nothing less than transform a ragged regional dance outfit into a sleek, head-turning 21st century ballet machine. (Yes, there have been artistic and administrative missteps along the way: I wonder if the company doesn't now regret pumping money into its glossy "Who's Your Dancer" promotional campaign, or commissioning lame new ballets like choreographer Kent Stowell's Through Eden's Gates.)

But let's be frank: It's some kind of crime that major Portland-based corporate philanthropy has never stepped up to sponsor the OBT. (Hello, Nike! Hello, Adidas!) Oh yeah, and there's no sign yet that Portland city government, headed by friend-to-all-artists Mayor Sam Adams, is willing to step up with ballet bailout money, either.

Here! In idyllic, innovative, up-and-coming Portland! It sure makes me wonder about our priorities as a city. OBT is the tops on the PDX arts scene, and certainly worthy of support as they lie on the brink of extinction in these troubled times. But with this latest crisis, we're finally facing an ugly truth head-on: Maybe Portland as a city doesn't want or need our own full-time resident ballet company. Maybe it's asking too much to sustain OBT in the way it wants to be sustained.

In the two weeks since announcing their crisis, OBT has already raised more than $417,000 in private donations (as of June 8). The company has also attracted support from dance companies across North America—including the likes of New York City Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, and the Joffrey Ballet—who are sending dozens of dancers to Portland for Dance United, OBT's June 12 blowout ballet fundraising event.

For those who want to see Portland continue to blossom as a city to be taken seriously, I say this: Stick a crowbar in your wallet, people. Pony up already, Portland corporations. Whether we can sustain fine arts institutions like OBT is one major indicator of what will ultimately distinguish us from Memphis or Detroit. It's what will set us apart from San Diego or Miami.

Portland is at a crossroads. It can be the kind of city where a homegrown, innovative young ballet company flourishes—or fails. Part of the onus is on OBT: to emerge from this crisis a better and smarter arts institution, one as sustainable as the city that supports it. But part of the onus is on us, Portland.