After three decades in the spotlight, Silicon Valley Ballet has finally danced its swan song. The leaders of South Bay’s major resident dance company, which has long teetered on the brink of ruin, confirmed Tuesday that the troupe is closing its doors.

News of the $5.5 million company’s demise, which impacts an estimated 32 staff members and 32 dancers, has left many in the arts community saddened if not shocked, and comes in the wake of the death of San Jose Repertory Theatre in 2014. The ballet’s closing raises questions anew about the stability of the arts in Silicon Valley, despite its status as capital of the tech world.

“It’s very, very sad. This is very hard for me,” said a tearful Millicent Powers, co-chair of the ballet’s board. “All I wanted was for this company to stay alive, but in reality it’s a miracle that we lasted this long.”

“This is a great tragedy for the community, but if we are honest with ourselves, it could have been predicted,” Andrew Bales, head of Silicon Valley Symphony, said. “Many, many people have accomplished heroic and valiant efforts to keep it alive, but once you get past the tipping point, the writing is on the wall. You have donor fatigue. The board gets tired. You can only downsize so far and at some point you just can’t find the next big angel to write the next big check.”

The company was founded in 1986 as a two-city venture, the San Jose Cleveland Ballet. It was affiliated with New York’s famed American Ballet Theatre in 2012 but has faced many obstacles in recent years. Some programs flopped at the box office. The company lost a key donor, John Fry, CEO of Fry’s Electronics, who had donated more than $20 million to the troupe over the course of a decade. There was a sizable tax bill and the company weathered thorny personnel issues including the controversial ouster of director Dennis Nahat in 2012.

When the company hired José Manuel Carreño, a star in the dance world, as its artistic director in late 2013, hopes were high that he could save the ballet. He brought excitement and buzz, and the performances under his tenure have been well-received critically. But it was not enough. Not even last year’s successful do-or-die fundraising push, which raised $640,000 in 10 days, could turn the tide.

Some say that the ballet is merely another example of the brutal financial arts climate in the Silicon Valley, that despite the billions that its very name represents, arts groups here are under extreme pressure to make ends meet because they lack the kind of old-money perennial arts patrons you find in San Francisco. In addition to the death of San Jose Rep, Santa Cruz Shakespeare closed in 2013 before coming back as a smaller operation and the American Musical Theatre went under in 2006.

“Sure they may have tripped up here and there, but the bottom line is that ballet is an art form that depends on big donors and the donors just aren’t here,” said Bales. “The audiences showed up but the philanthropy didn’t and the costs of doing business are very high.”

Others resist the theme of an ongoing crisis in the arts, pointing to the scope of cultural groups making it in the valley, from San Jose Jazz and the Cinequest Film Festival to Opera San Jose and the symphony. One bright spot for dance is that the ballet’s school will likely continue under new management.

“This is a loss for all of us,” said Kerry Adams Hapner, director of the city’s Office of Cultural Affairs. But “it is not indicative of the region as a whole. Overall I’m very optimistic about the future of the arts here. (There) are a lot of companies out there that are healthy and vibrant and serving the community well. ”

“Arts and culture are not only alive and well but thriving in San Jose,” agrees Lisa Mallette, head of the City Lights Theater Company, which on Tuesday announced it was offering ballet company subscribers free tickets to the three remaining stage shows in its current season.

Other observers suggest the dance company’s demise was largely its own doing.

Iconic San Jose ballerina Karen Gabay, who spent 36 years with the company, traces a lot of its woes back to the reorganization of the company in 2012.

“Getting rid of Dennis Nahat the way they did alienated a lot of long-term supporters,” said Gabay, who had been working as an associate artist at the troupe. “He was the founder of the company. I don’t think you can eradicate the past like that without losing your supporters.”

Powers says the ballet will make every effort to refund audience members for tickets purchased for upcoming programs.

“I’m very proud of how hard we fought,” she says. “We gave it everything we’ve got.”

Contact Karen D’Souza at 408-271-3772. Read her at www.mercurynews.com/karen-dsouza, and follow her at Twitter.com/karendsouza4.