Chair’s Report
2020 started as a year with ambition and challenges as we entered what was planned to be the final year of our Capital Campaign, in preparation for our scheduled endof-year move back to the Wharf. Like everyone, Sydney Dance Company was soon engulfed by the massive impacts and challenges of COVID-19. As performances and tours were cancelled and our studios closed, it was a sobering time. The pathway through the year was unmarked and the final destination highly uncertain. What was never in doubt was that the spirit of the Company would prevail and that our enduring qualities of creativity and innovation would serve us in good stead. Sydney Dance Company was quick to respond to the challenges thrown up by COVID-19, moving rapidly into innovation mode and launching Virtual Studio in a matter of days after the shutdown. As it became clear that the impacts would extend throughout the year, it was wonderful to see Sydney Dance Company continue on our mission to create new works and to reimagine the context in which that could take place. Saying true to purpose whilst ensuring business sustainability was the compass we were guided by. Through all the changes and challenges important work proceeded on the Walsh Bay redevelopment works, with a scheduled year-end completion date. Our thanks go to the NSW Government for their visionary investment in this important precinct. Investment in cultural infrastructure on this scale is rare and impressive and Sydney Dance Company is proud to be a contributor and partner. As we settle into our home and begin to stretch into the opportunities it provides, we can already see that the investment is so very worth it. Our Capital Campaign has been led by an incredible group of donors – The Neilson Foundation, Simon and Catriona Mordant, the Wales family, Jane and Andrew Clifford, the late Carla Zampatti and Julian and Lizanne Knights. I was pleased to recently add my own name to this auspicious list. Alongside this group are many more donors who have contributed to making our home fit for an ambitious future; we thank each and every one of them and look forward to welcoming all to enjoy these incredible spaces. As we each contemplated the unknowns that the pandemic brought to our world, I was pleased to be able to converse with many of our supporters and heartened by their commitment to the Company over this incredibly difficult year. We made a pledge to them that we would be diligent in our stewardship of the Company with an eye to not just surviving the pandemic but to learn and continue to grow through it as we flexed and innovated. Our financial results speak to the careful management of the Company.
The overall surplus ($2,246,197) is buoyed by the realisation of pledges to the Capital Campaign, allowing us to meet our contribution commitments for the works on our tenancy at Walsh Bay. The underlying operating surplus of $1,063,192 is reflective of the efforts and contributions of the team at Sydney Dance Company, the nimble response to preserve some commercial revenue streams, the generous support of our audiences and donors and the safety net that JobKeeper provided. 2021 continues to present us with challenges and we continue to manage conservatively to ensure our future sustainability. The underlying support of our Government funding partners has never been more vital. Our sincere thanks to the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australian Government for their commitment to both Sydney Dance Company and the whole sector over this most challenging of years. In addition to our partnership funding, the support provided by JobKeeper kept our people employed and supported and allowed us to come through the year with an eye to brighter horizons. The ongoing support of the NSW Government has also been crucial over this period and we thank them for both their partnership and the responsive support provided during 2020. The Rescue and Restart was a farsighted package of industry support that will assist Sydney Dance Company coming back on stage into 2021. The camaraderie, diligence and professionalism of my fellow Board members has been a stabilising force. I would like to thank each and all of them for the efforts and contributions made during such a tumultuous time. An arts Board by its nature can be an eclectic group of individuals and the power from such diversity is expressed through the different perspectives and skills that sit around its table. Sydney Dance Company is blessed to enjoy the capable and committed leadership of Executive Director Anne Dunn and Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela. Together they are a remarkable team driven by shared purpose and a great love of the organisation and its art. Around them are many passionate and skilled professionals. Our leadership, staff and dancers went above and beyond the call of duty to keep the Company on track and secure. This included temporary sacrifices around some work conditions. On behalf of all who care about Sydney Dance Company, I want to give them my sincere thanks for their dedication and resilience through such a difficult and uncertain time. Sydney Dance Company has emerged from the challenges of 2020 unbowed. Our financial position remains sound and our artistic ambition undiminished.
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2020 Impact Report
Brett Clegg, Chair
