"The 2009-10 season is a dream come true," said dancer Alexandra Cunningham.

A financial crisis in the 2008-09 season has given the 24 dancers a new perspective on their dancing career. Relocating from the 2,398-seat Community Center Theater to the studio with only two rows of seats was perhaps the biggest eye-opener.

For the in-studio shows, only the bare minimum -- chairs, curtains and lights -- separated the dancers from the audience. Both the community and the dancers loved it.

"Performing to sold-out audiences in our studios was exhilarating!" Cunningham said. "I felt that I could share so much more with audience members because I could see their every reaction."

Cunningham praised the entire organization -- staff, dancers, the board of directors -- who all worked to keep the ballet afloat. The community responded with great enthusiasm, she added.

More than 50 businesses became "Ballet Businesses" by donating goods for a silent auction, a space to perform in or donating part of their income. The dancing troupe also created a website, saveoursacballet.org, to give the community a better idea of who the dancers are and inform them about performances.

During Second Saturday Art Walks, they became living sculptures at various art galleries.

When all was said and done, they performed a record number of more than 40 shows, including more than 50 pieces at five different venues.

"It was exciting for us, and therefore translated into our bodies as a new, raw and fearlessness energy," Cunningham added. "I think as dancers we learned a lot from the experience, and overall I feel that we all became stronger because of it."

Administrators of saveoursacballet.org shut down the site, but will reopen it as sacballetdancers.com. The new site will feature information on the dancers' lives, backgrounds and interests.