Annual Review 2017/18
Contents
4 Welcome 6
Casanova
7
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
8
The Little Mermaid
9
Jane Eyre
10
Celebrating Sir Kenneth MacMillan
12
Children’s Ballets
14
Northern Ballet overseas
15
Introducing our app
18
Other news
20
Dancers of the future
22
Ballet for all
24
Supporting our future
26
Celebrating our staff
28
At home
30
Leeds Dance Partnership
32
Financial summary
Left: Hannah Bateman and Sean Bates in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Photo Emma Kauldhar. Cover: Dreda Blow in Kenneth MacMillan’s Las Hermanas. Photo Emma Kauldhar.
Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18 | 3
Welcome Welcome to our Annual Review for 2017/18 celebrating 12 months of artistic, training, outreach and commercial excellence across all aspects of Northern Ballet.
Our Year in Numbers
2 7
World Premières
39 Tour Venues
Ballets
£3.49M
223
Gross Box Office
Awards & Nominations
Performances
156,101 £1.07M Fundraising
17,170 Workshop Participants
8
Live Audience
1M+ Viewed our ballets on CBeebies
Winner: > BroadwayWorld UK Award for Outstanding Achievement in a New Dance Production Casanova
Highly Commended:
800 Academy Students
> CIM Marketing Excellence Award for Best Content Marketing Campaign
Nominated: > Sky Arts South Bank Dance Award for Jane Eyre > National Dance Award for Outstanding Company > National Dance Award for Best Classical Choreography Kenneth Tindall for Casanova > UK Theatre Award for Best Presentation of Touring Theatre > Knights of Illumination Award Alastair West for Casanova > CIM Marketing Excellence Award for Marketing Team of the Year (SME)
4 | Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18
Where we’ve been
Additionally this year: 1 Edinburgh 2 Newcastle 3 Barrow-in-Furness 4 Lancaster 5 Harrogate 6 Bradford 7 Leeds 8 Hull 9 Huddersfield 10 Salford 11 Doncaster 12 Sheffield 13 Buxton 14 Stoke 15 Mansfield 16 Nottingham 17 Derby 18 Wolverhampton 19 Leicester 20 Peterborough 21 Norwich 22 Corby 23 Milton Keynes 24 Aylesbury 25 Cheltenham 26 Ipswich 27 Cardiff 28 Reading 29 London 30 Woking 31 Richmond 32 Bromley 33 Royal Tunbridge Wells 34 Canterbury 35 Crawley 36 Southampton
Dubai & Abu Dhabi
1
2
3
4
6 9
10 13
14 18
25 27
5 7
8 11
12 15 16
17 19
23 24 28 31 30 36
21
20
22
35
26 29 32 33
34
Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18 | 5
Casanova A ballet by Kenneth Tindall
Following the success of its March 2017 world première, Kenneth Tindall’s sumptuous Casanova embarked on its first UK tour, culminating in sold-out performances at London’s Sadler’s Wells in May 2017. An instant hit with audiences, Casanova garnered the attention of Sky Arts who commissioned a recording of the live ballet during the summer which was then broadcast on Easter Sunday 2018 – the first time a full-length Northern Ballet production has been shown on the channel.
Performances 33 Venues 5 Live audience 27,058
HHHH ‘Nothing short of mesmerising’ The Stage
‘I have never seen this company looking better’ Sunday Express
6 | Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18
This page: Giuliano Contadini as Casanova and Dreda Blow as Bellino in Casanova. Opposite page: Matthew Koon and Filippo Di Vilio in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Photos Emma Kauldhar.
World Première
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas A ballet by Daniel de Andrade
Performances 28 Venues 9 Live audience 20,016
Our second world première of 2017, Daniel de Andrade’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas adapted John Boyne’s wartime novel into dance for the first time. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas was incredibly popular with audiences on our mid-scale tour and was also selected to be performed during the reopening season of the newly renovated Hull New Theatre. Pushing the boundaries of what stories can be told through dance further than ever before, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas was successful at introducing a new audience to the art form and the official trailer achieved viral status on Facebook with 1.6M views.
‘Brilliantly danced, visually innovative and chilling’ Yorkshire Post
‘ Northern Ballet’s commitment to new work is exemplary… and its dancers are on cracking form’ Financial Times
Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18 | 7
World Première
The Little Mermaid A ballet by David Nixon OBE Four years since the première of his last new ballet, The Little Mermaid marked the choreographic return of our Artistic Director David Nixon OBE. Adapted from the original Hans Christian Andersen fairytale, The Little Mermaid premièred in Southampton in September 2017 followed by a world première tour which concluded in Leicester in May 2018. Staggeringly successful, The Little Mermaid grossed over £1.8M by the end of 2017/18, transporting tens of thousands of people to a fantastical world beneath the waves.
8 | Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18
HHHH
‘This little mermaid hooked me’ The Times
‘The Little Mermaid completes Northern Ballet’s hat-trick year of premieres in sparkling style’ The Stage Performances 66 Venues 9 Live audience 62,630
Jane Eyre A ballet by Cathy Marston
HHHHH
‘Jane Eyre has been reimagined a thousand times before, but maybe never quite so perfectly as this production’
After a hugely successful world première in 2016, Cathy Marston’s Jane Eyre made a hotly anticipated return to the stage in March 2018 with its first performances in our home city at Leeds Grand Theatre. With a national tour to follow throughout spring 2018, this Sky Arts South Bank Award nominated ballet brings Charlotte Brontë’s timeless classic to life as the indomitable Jane strives to overcome all barriers to her happiness.
The i
‘A total joy from start to finish’ Yorkshire Times
Performances 8 Venues 1 Live audience 7,833
Opposite page: Abigail Prudames with Northern Ballet dancers in The Little Mermaid. This page: Hannah Bateman and Joseph Taylor in Jane Eyre. Photos Emma Kauldhar.
Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18 | 9
Company Première
Las Hermanas/ Concerto/Gloria In October 2017 we held the company première of a triple bill of works by the incomparable Sir Kenneth MacMillan – the first time in our history that Northern Ballet has ever performed a ballet by this choreographic master. Featuring the edgy Las Hermanas, dazzling Concerto, and moving Gloria, we performed this mixed programme in Bradford and later in Leeds (March 2018) in an exceptional treat for northern audiences to access these ballets which are rarely performed outside of London.
Performances 7 Venues 2 Live audience 4,051
10 | Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18
HHHH ‘Genuinely moving stuff’ Sunday Express
‘The undeniable highlight of the entire season was Northern Ballet’s Gloria’ Dancing Times (on ROH)
Royal Opera House Debut Also in October 2017, as part of a national celebration to mark the 25th anniversary of MacMillan’s untimely death, and in a landmark moment for Northern Ballet, we were invited to perform Gloria at the Royal Opera House, making our mainstage debut to a rapturous response and five star national reviews. As a result of this amazing collaboration, we were delighted to be joined for our triple bill performances in Leeds by the exquisite Zenaida Yanowsky, Guest Principal of The Royal Ballet, who performed with us in Las Hermanas.
Northern Ballet in Gloria at the Royal Opera House ©ROH, 2017. Photo Bill Cooper.
Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18 | 11
For the Kids Our unrivalled children’s ballets continued to take the nation by storm throughout 2017/18; bringing much-loved family stories to the stage and introducing children and young families to the world of dance, live music and theatre. Goldilocks took her quest to find the perfect porridge across the country on the first ever tour of dancer Nicola Gervasi’s Goldilocks & the Three Bears, and even journeyed another 4,500 miles to the UAE (see page 14). Back in Leeds, Ugly Duckling, our pioneering first ever children’s ballet, made a return to the stage for the first time since its 2012 world première with an 18 performance run at the Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre within our home.
Performances 81 Venues 28 Live audience 34,513
Goldilocks & The Three Bears
12 | Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18
Ugly Duckling
CBeebies
Newsflash
Goldilocks & the Three Bears were joined by Mr Bloom and his friendly veggies as CBeebies filmed our newest children’s ballet. This was broadcast on Easter Monday 2018 in an extravaganza which also saw the CBeebies adaptations of our Ugly Duckling and Tortoise & the Hare return to the screen over the same weekend.
In March 2018 we announced a sixth new children’s ballet to join the lineup – Puss in Boots! Choreographed by Jenna Lee, this purr-fect new ballet premières in October 2018 followed by a national tour in 2019.
Jenny Hackwell and Lorenzo Trossello in Goldilocks & the Three Bears. Photo Brian Slater.
Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18 | 13
Northern Ballet overseas
2017 saw two of Northern Ballet’s popular productions transported overseas to be enjoyed by an international audience. The Great Gatsby In September, Artistic Director David Nixon OBE travelled down under to Perth to stage The Great Gatsby for West Australian Ballet. Performed at His Majesty’s Theatre from in September, the dazzling story of the mysterious Jay Gatsby was described as ‘a highlight of this year’s ballet season’ (Australian Stage). For their performances of The Great Gatsby West Australian Ballet also received a highly prestigious nomination for Best Ballet at the 2018 Helpmann Awards, with their dancer Melissa Boniface also being nominated for Best Female Dancer for her performance as Daisy.
Goldilocks & the Three Bears Goldilocks and her friends packed their bags and flew out to the UAE in November for performances of Goldilocks & the Three Bears in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Part of the UK/UAE 2017 Year of Creative Collaboration, our newest children’s ballet was ‘just right’ for young audiences who were ‘held rapt and absolutely loved it’ (The National).
14 | Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18
Introducing our app
In September 2017 we launched Northern Ballet’s very first app for iOS and Android. Available on smartphones and tablets the app plays host to free production guides for all of our current repertoire offering users quick access to discover more about our ballets. In addition, we also produced Deluxe Production Guides for The Little Mermaid and Jane Eyre. The deluxe guides offer all the content from our printed programmes plus a whole lot more including exclusive photos, videos and podcasts. Since its launch, the app has been downloaded by over 1,500 people and counting.
Coming Soon The Nutcracker deluxe production guide
Opposite Page: Hannah Bateman in The Great Gatsby. Photo Bill Cooper. Jenny Hackwell in Goldilocks & the Three Bears. Photo Brian Slater.
Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18 | 15
Abigail Prudames with Northern Ballet dancers in The Little Mermaid. Photo Emma Kauldhar.
In other news
18 | Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18
World Ballet Day On 5 October 2017 we participated once again in World Ballet Day, a 22hour live streamed celebration of ballet across the world. Viewers were treated to a behind the scenes glimpse into rehearsals for The Little Mermaid, and we also marked the day with a live stream from the dress rehearsal of Gloria at the Alhambra Theatre, Bradford which has been viewed by over 35,000 people.
Light Night
Choreographic Workshop
In October 2017 dancers from Northern Ballet Ability, and the Academy of Northern Ballet’s Centre for Advanced Training programme performed Through the Glass for the 13th annual Light Night – a free multiarts and light festival taking place across Leeds city centre. A collaboration with Leeds Dance Partnership and Leeds College of Music, the piece was choreographed by Tanya Richam-Odoi and performed in the illuminated window spaces of our HQ.
Over a four-week period in February 2018 we invested in nurturing emerging choreographic and filmmaker talent with our pioneering Choreographic Workshop. Ten of our dancers worked alongside budding filmmakers to experiment with the creation of narrative dance and explore new concepts and techniques for capturing dance for film. The resulting dance works and films were shown at a public sharing on 24 February 2018.
Northern Ballet dancers perform at the Choreographic Workshop Sharing. Photo Caroline Holden.
Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18 | 19
Dancers of the future In 2017/18 our Academy continued to work to inspire and train the dancers of the future and nurture a passion for dance in over 800 students young and old. Spotted! We delivered free Spotted! workshops at 17 schools across Yorkshire, giving more than 1,350 young people the opportunity to experience ballet. Following these workshops we identified 178 young people as having raw talent and invited them to attend free classes at the Academy or within their school setting. In February 2018 we hosted our first fundraising dinner for Spotted! (see page 28) at which 14 of the Academy’s young male dancers of the Centre for Advanced Training programme performed a new work Be Our Guest by Cara O’Shea, the Academy’s Head of Lower Level Pre-Professional Programme. The piece was also performed at the Leeds Rhinos Foundation’s Annual Fundraising Dinner to celebrate a new partnership between our organisations.
Student Success 100% of our graduating Centre for Advanced Training students gained places at top vocational schools including The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, English National Ballet School, Hammond School of Dance, Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance and Central School of Ballet. Our Professional Graduate Programme students also celebrated being offered contracts to join Northern Ballet, Ballet Cymru and Ballet Victoria.
20 | Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18
Opposite: Yoko Ichino teaches Academy students. Photo Justin Slee
Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18 | 21
Ballet for all For our Learning department 2017/18 was as busy as ever as the team travelled far and wide making dance accessible for as many people as possible. Overall we delivered projects, classes and workshops for 17,170 people and worked with 12,588 at 144 schools, children’s centres and colleges in Yorkshire and beyond. Our Highlights: Hull City of Culture Playing our part in Hull’s 2017 cultural celebration, we worked with 65 schools, reaching almost 3,000 pupils across more than 100 sessions to introduce them to dance and creative movement. We also worked with 100 Early Years practitioners to develop their skills and confidence in using dance and creative movement play in their settings. This led to Hull City Council making a financial investment to roll out the training for childcare students at all Further Education providers in the city.
Expressions Following a successful bid to Leeds Inspired, 2017 marked the exciting next step for Expressions, a platform for inclusive dance. We held four performances over two days featuring 13 local inclusive dance groups and two professional companies – TIN Arts from Durham and Ensemble BewegGrund Trier from Germany. Audiences numbers at the performances increased by 49% and kicked off an exciting period of development for Expressions from 2018 – 2020. ‘The self-evident warmth and appreciation with which the team at Northern Ballet received us has inspired and touched us. Leeds is now firmly in our hearts and on our wish-list for future exchanges through dance.’ Tonja Rauch, Ensemble BewegGrund Trier ‘Having an opportunity to perform somewhere as prestigious as Northern Ballet gives our pupils inspiration, but more importantly an enormous sense of value. Parents and carers feel overwhelmed when they attend the performance and see their child receiving such a unique opportunity, since opportunities for SEND (special educational needs & disability) students are narrow compared with those for their mainstream peers.’ Karen Williams, Greenacre School, July 2017
22 | Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18
Opposite: Photo Jo Dean
This page:Photos Jo Dean
Supporting the future In 2017/18 we raised a whopping £1,096,769 from fundraising, breaking the £1M mark for the first time. Reaching this milestone was only possible thanks to the ongoing generosity of our Future Builders (newly renamed our Benefactors) and our longstanding Trust & Foundation supporters: The Liz & Terry Bramall Foundation, The Emerald Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation and Audrey & Stanley Burton 1960 Charitable Trust to name a few. Our long-term partners, and fellow Leeds-based company first direct bank made a huge contribution towards helping us achieve this record with an incredible six-figure sponsorship and becoming our National Tour Sponsor. They also helped us to turn our three touring lorries into giant moving billboards which can be seen travelling the length and breadth of the UK on tour.
Other highlights: • We welcomed Saga as a new Gold Level corporate partner • Kleinwort Hambros continued their support by becoming Production Sponsor for Jane Eyre • Provident Financial Group sponsored our START Schools project and a generous donation was also made towards the project by The Ernest Cook Trust • Fidelity UK Foundation make a generous donation towards the provision of new lighting for our touring productions • We received a substantial sum from the Morrisons Foundation towards our START Hospice project in partnership with Martin House Children’s Hospice • The Evan Cornish Foundation made a significant contribution towards our forthcoming Dance for Parkinson’s project
Fantastic figures: • During 2017/18 of the 41 trusts and foundations who supported us, 8 gave to us for the first time • We raised almost £5,000 in our Pointe Shoe Appeal to help fund the hundreds of pairs of pointe shoes our dancers need each year • We raised over £16,000 for the Academy of Northern Ballet’s Spotted! programme at a black-tie fundraising dinner enabling us to partner with more schools in Yorkshire to find the talented dancers of the future 24 | Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18
Opposite: Photos Mark Bickerdike and Lauren Godfrey.
Celebrating our staff From awards to anniversaries 2017/18 saw several of Northern Ballet’s hardworking team reach major milestones.
Mark Skipper Our Chief Executive celebrated his 30th year with the Company after initially joining in 1987 as Deputy Stage Manager.
Hironao Takahashi Premier Dancer Hironao formally retired from the stage after performing with the Company for 25 years. He will now focus full-time on his roles as Assistant Rehearsal Director and Assistant Artistic Director of Children’s Ballets.
Pippa Moore Premier Dancer Pippa celebrated her 22nd year with Northern Ballet and continues to perform with the Company, most recently as Brina in The Little Mermaid and Mrs Fairfax in Jane Eyre.
Emma Mooney Our Director of Communications won at the AVIVA Women of the Future Awards in the Arts and Culture category. The awards recognise and celebrate the next generation of female leaders.
26 | Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18
Alastair West Our Head of Lighting was nominated at the prestigious Knight of Illumination Awards for his designs for Kenneth Tindall’s Casanova.
John Pryce-Jones Our long-serving Music Director celebrated his 25th year with the Company and continues to lead our music department and conduct our performances all over the country.
Sinfonia Success Ian Hood, percussionist celebrated a mammoth 40 years with Northern Ballet Sinfonia, whilst John Melbourne, Sasha Volpov and Ros Cabot all surpassed 20 years of performing with the Company.
Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18 | 27
At home
Throughout 2017/18 we hosted more than 70 performances at our Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre including Northern Ballet’s Ugly Duckling and Phoenix Dance Theatre’s Phoenix @ Home, as well as performances by visiting companies including Rosie Kay Dance Company, Ballet Black and Joss Arnott Dance.
Performances Live audience
76 10,960
In our headquarters in Leeds city centre, we also welcomed over 2,000 guests over 71 meetings, conferences and events for clients including: • Yorkshire Water • Leeds International Festival • Virgin Trains • Leeds & York Partnership NHS Trust • Schofield Sweeney We also held some significant events of our own in our hugely versatile building including: ‘Beneath the Surface’, a live-streamed event offering a glimpse into the preparations for The Little Mermaid; a black-tie fundraising dinner in aid of the Academy of Northern Ballet’s Spotted! programme; and ‘Women in the Lead’ a live-streamed networking and panel event for International Women’s Day.
28 | Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18
Rosie Kay Dance Company in MK Ultra. Photo Brian Slater. Event photos Justin Slee and Lauren Godfrey.
Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18 | 29
Leeds Dance Partnership 2017/18 marked the first full year of Leeds Dance Partnership which is now established as an unincorporated partnership with the objective of developing Leeds as an international centre of dance excellence.
With Northern Ballet charged by Arts Council England to lead Leeds Dance Partnership in achieving its ambitions to develop our artform locally, nationally and internationally; the partnership now has a network of collaborators across the north. Leeds Dance Partnership promotes a new way of working collaboratively across the dance community; linking, amplifying and enhancing the dance offering and sharing responsibility for developing and diversifying the workforce, creating new work, opportunities and new audiences for dance.
2017/18 highlights: • Secured an Arts Council England grant of £750,000 as an Ambition for Excellence Award plus received additional investment from Leeds Bid and Arts Fundraising & Philanthropy. • Appointed Shirley Lundstram as Partnership Director. • Transitioned from a steering group to an unincorporated partnership led by a Board. • Produced Light Night 2017 for Leeds’ Quarry Hill area. • Deepened engagement with key Leeds-based organisations including Leeds City Council Arts Development Team, Leeds Sports Board, Leeds Dance Network and Leeds City College. • Leeds Dance Partnership was incorporated into the Leeds City Council Cultural Strategy delivery plan. • Extended the partnership’s reach beyond Leeds to include such organisations as Yorkshire Regional Dance Development Network, Birmingham Dance Hub and One Dance UK.
30 | Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18
Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18 | 31
32 | Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18
Minju Kang and Javier Torres in Kenneth MacMillan’s Las Hermanas. Photo Lauren Godfrey.
Financial Summary
Download the 2017/18 Financial Statement
Key Facts Revenue generated from touring
£3,431,325 This includes a record £2,208,832 in net Box Office Income Income from donations and sponsorship
£1,096,769 Funding received from Arts Council England and Leeds City Council
£3,491,425 Cost of artistic product and touring
£8,319,868
Northern Ballet Annual Review 2017/18 | 33
Artistic Director David Nixon OBE Chief Executive Mark Skipper DL
Click here to see what’s in store for 2018/19 Click here to join our email list
Find us online northernballet.com
National Tour Sponsor
Joseph Taylor and Mariana Rodrigues in Jane Eyre. Photo Emma Kauldhar. Registered charity no. 259140. Company registration no. 947096. Northern Ballet Limited registered in England and Wales. Company limited by guarantee and share capital.