Diddy, call your office. Russell Simmons, you too. There is currently an enormous opportunity – and a desperate need – for one or both of these pop-culture moguls to cross a bridge into high art and perform a major good deed for the African-American community: Save the Dance Theater of Harlem.

Last week, DTH announced that it would suspend its performance schedule until July 1, 2005, during which time co-founder and artistic director Arthur Mitchell will get his house in order. The organization has a deficit of $2.5 million and is reportedly planning to sell its real estate in Harlem – investment-type properties, rather than its home building -to pay for it. Mr. Mitchell is hunting for corporate support, as well as an executive director.

Mr. Mitchell – the former New York City Ballet principal on whom George Balanchine created his timeless work “Agon” – has taken heat for poor management of the company. But consider the chaos of his board of directors. At its height, the board included 17 members, some of whom apparently welshed on everything from gala tables to the $30,000 donation that gets a body on the board. Today all but three lonely souls have fled: Mr. Mitchell, singer Jessye Norman, and Rodney Slater.

What’s needed, on one level, is cash. The company has to get out of debt. But on a broader level, it’s leadership: risk-taking, savvy leaders who can bring other people on board – who are willing to put themselves and their money out there.

Who better to do that than the most recognizable names in the entertainment industry? Sure, neither Mr. Simmons nor Sean “P. Diddy” Combs is an expert in arts administration. But if either were to come in with a major corporate sponsor, they could help negotiate a deal. Their proven business savvy is what’s needed to make the necessary changes – including putting seasoned managers at the helm. Mr. Simmons knows what it takes to produce a winner. He built the hip-hop record label Def Jam, then sold it for $100 million in 1999.He built the urban clothing label Phat Farm, then sold it for $140 million earlier this year. And he does have some performing arts bona fides: He conceived “Def Poetry Jam on Broadway,” the television version of which has just wrapped up its fourth season on HBO.

As for P. Diddy, Fortune magazine’s “40 Under 40” list says he’s worth $315 million. Last fall, he raised $2 million for various charities simply by running the New York City Marathon. And he has flirted with the performing arts, recently appearing in “A Raisin in the Sun” on Broadway.

It makes sense to look within the black community for potential leaders. A tough-minded person of any race is surely welcome to step in. But identity politics – whether you like them or not – play a key role in the mission of this company, founded in 1969. As DTH’s own literature states: “Arthur Mitchell undertook the endeavor as his personal commitment to the people of Harlem following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.”

I don’t know if Mr. Simmons or Mr. Combs knows anything about ballet. Or if they care about dance at all. But they *should*.Think of the attention that the entire art form – not just DTH – would receive if guys like this turned up in support. If Mr. Combs were a balletomane, people would buy tickets just to see what it’s all about.

It’s a tough sell to ask people to spend time and money on an organization that’s in trouble. Dollars tend to go to already gleaming concerns: The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, for instance, just made a gift of $20 million to the Brooklyn Academy of Music – one of the best-run arts operations in the city. Likewise, people want to be associated with what’s hot rather than what’s gone cold.

On a more personal note, the interruption in DTH’s performances puts 44 classically trained ballet dancers out of work. Because this situation has been brewing for some time, the dancers have had time to look for teaching gigs and other work. But really, where are these artists going to go? The major ballet companies in town are full up. New York City Ballet has 96 dancers and 10 apprentices. American Ballet Theatre has 86 dancers and 3 apprentices.

There is work available in smaller efforts. “It’s almost Nutcracker season,” pointed out Deborah Allton, dance executive at American Guild of Musical Artists (the dancer’s union). Tonight at City Center’s Fall for Dance festival, Kip Sturm and Tai Jimenez will dance “Agon,” but they’ll be billed as “Artists from Dance Theater of Harlem.” Four dancers – Ramon Thielen, Melissa Morrissey, Akua Parker, and Sonny Robinson – have already signed on to perform with Henning Rubsam’s company Sensedance, which will present “Django” at Baruch Performing Arts Center from October 13 to 17.

This is welcome good news in a sea of bad. But this company and its dancers need help on a larger scale. There are people uniquely suited to do just that. Where are they?

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Speaking of the Fall for Dance festival, I know I’ve written about this six-night event about six times already, but it’s now upon us. So I have to say it again: Just go.

Tickets are only $10 and each evening will include five works of dance by five very different companies. Friday night’s lineup includes performances by the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Boston Ballet, the experimental Japanese company Eiko and Koma, Desmond Richardson, and Reggie Wilson.

If you’re on the fence, here are a few comparisons to put the low price in perspective. A ticket to the movies at many Manhattan theaters is now $10.50.A cocktail at the Peninsula Hotel’s Pen-Top bar will run you about $15. A plate of sausages and a Heineken at Mandler’s costs $14.25. A CD – say, Barry Manilow’s “Scores: Songs from the Copacabana” – will set you back $12.99 at J &R Music World.

And you’re telling me you can’t spend 10 big ones on dance? C’mon!