Director of Britain's Dance Umbrella to Step Down LONDON -- Betsy Gregory, director of the British Dance Umbrella, announced last week that she would leave after the 2013 edition of the festival. Dance Umbrella, the most important dance festival in Britain, began in 1978 and played a vital role in the 1980s and '90s in popularizing the work of artists like Merce Cunningham, Trisha Brown, Stephen Petronio and Mark Morris, and bringing formerly little-known European artists to Britain. This year, however, the festival's budget was drastically slashed, by 37 percent (from $869,000 in 2011 to around $556,000 for the next three years) in a round of nationwide cuts made by the British Arts Council, the central source of government funding for all the arts. Ms. Gregory's decision to step down nonetheless came as a surprise after a reconceived version of the festival, which focused on small-scale experimental work, was generally deemed a success, drawing packed houses and critical plaudits. In a telephone interview Ms. Gregory, 61, said that it was not the brutal budget cuts that had provoked her decision. "If that had been the case, I would have left right away," she said. I have simply been feeling for a while that the time was coming. I have been at Dance Umbrella for 15 years, seven of them as director, and I think it's a good moment to leave. The fact that we took this rather difficult situation and made radical changes leaves the door open for my successor to take it forward. Ms. Gregory said that although she had "a few people in mind," she would not be directly involved in the process of finding a new director, which would begin in January, with an appointment expected to be announced in April. For next year's festival, Dance Umbrella's 35th edition, she aims to expand into a larger format, although this depends on how much fund-raising the organization is able to do. Ms. Gregory added that she did not envision taking on this kind of job again. "I do fancy returning to my performing career, though," she said. If anyone needs someone old.