Marie Hale and some of her closest associates have shelved their hopes of reviving Ballet Florida in favor of opening a new dance school unaffiliated with the financially crippled company.

E-mails and post cards were sent to former students of the company’s school announcing that Hale, Lynda Swiadon, Claudia Cravey and Steven Hoff intend to open a nonprofit dance school at a to-be-announced location.

Ballet Florida’s board has decided to shut down the company, Hale said.

The partners share a long history. Hale and Swiadon opened a dance school in 1973 that in 1986 blossomed into Ballet Florida. Swiadon became the dance troupe’s company manager. Cravey was its ballet mistress and Hoff its ballet master.

“We’re going to do what we do best: teach dance and have a school like we did before,” Swiadon said. “If times get better, we can start a company again.”

For the time being, the nascent dance school is collecting names of potential students on its Web site, www.anewerabeginsnow.com.

Debt-ridden Ballet Florida ceased operations in March after an agreement to sell its building to the city of West Palm Beach collapsed when Worth Realty claimed it was owed a $185,000 commission. The ballet is suing Worth Realty.

In June, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 500 sued Ballet Florida, claiming it was owed nearly $166,000 for wages, benefits and payroll service charges. The company’s school, the Academy of Ballet Florida, shut down in June.

“Claudia, Lynda, Steve and I felt way back in March the board wasn’t going to do anything,” Hale said. “We just wanted to get on with it.”

Juan Escalante, Ballet Florida’s former president and chief executive officer, could not be reached for comment today. Board member Margaret Cooper, the company’s attorney, declined to comment.

Hale and her associates hope to open their school in September.