2015 /16 Annual Report for our Donor Community Contents 4 Message from Karen Kain, Artistic Director The National Ballet of Canada is fortunate to have you – a community of donors, subscribers, ticket buyers and volunteers who give so 6 Message from Barry Hughson, Executive Director consistently for the greater good of this organization and for dance itself. 7 Message from David Binet, Chair, Board of Directors 8 Company Snapshot The 2015/16 Annual Report celebrates giving at every level of the 10 2015/16 Performances organization with highlights from a spectacular season created in 26 Education and Outreach partnership with an extended community of friends and supporters. 38 Volunteer Leadership 40 Our Donors This is what the National Ballet has achieved, because of you. 57 Government Support 60 Grant Thornton Auditors’ Report 61 Summary Financial Statements 64 Message from David Macdonald, Chair, The National Ballet of Canada, 65 Endowment Foundation 70 Grant Thornton Auditors’ Report, Endowment Foundation 71 Endowment Foundation Financial Statements Artists of the Ballet in Cacti. Photo by Karolina Kuras. 2 3 Message from the Artistic Director The 2015/16 Season was an enormously exciting and At the more experimental edge of things, our fulfilling one for The National Ballet of Canada, with performances of Alexander Ekman’s hilariously groundbreaking new works and freshly energized cryptic Cacti had audiences buzzing with its blend stagings from our classical repertoire demonstrating of exhilarating physical energy and tongue-in-cheek our company’s broad versatility, creative depth postmodern satire. and resourcefulness. Our traditional repertoire continues to resonate with The immensely gifted Christopher Wheeldon, whose audiences with The Nutcracker setting an all-time Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has been such record for sales. Ballets such as Romeo and Juliet, La an artistic and popular hit since we premiered it in Sylphide and Giselle also demonstrated the wonderful 2011, returned with another full-length work. The verve and panache that our dancers bring to these Winter’s Tale, our most recent co-production with much-beloved works from our classical repertoire and England’s Royal Ballet, is Christopher’s adaptation why they remain such an integral part of the National of the Shakespeare play and, while very different, it Ballet’s identity and renown. proved every bit as winning, affecting and memorable as his earlier work. In addition to galvanizing our own In addition to our work on stage, we were once again audiences, the ballet enthralled and impressed participants in World Ballet Day, the online global ballet goers and critics in Washington, D.C. and celebration of the art of dance. Judging from the New York City. phenomenal and growing response to the event, I can safely say that ballet is in very good shape and in very Among the highlights of the year was the world good hands the world over, no more so than right here premiere of Guillaume Côté’s Le Petit Prince. at home. Guillaume’s first full-length work, which he undertook in collaboration with designer Michael Levine A heartfelt thank you for your support, which makes this all possible. and composer Kevin Lau, showed not just what an accomplished and imaginative choreographer Guillaume is, but what a powerful appetite there is among our audience for fresh and boldly conceived new work, especially a ballet by homegrown artists. Le Petit Prince was an overwhelming success, Karen Kain, C.C., LL.D., D.Litt., O.Ont. becoming the first ballet in the company’s history Artistic Director to sell out completely even before it opened. Karen Kain. Photo by Karolina Kuras. 4 5 Message from the Message from the Chair of the Board of Directors Executive Director annual visit to Ottawa. We broke box-office records to build Guillaume Côté’s new Le Petit Prince. throughout the season, including the best Nutcracker And Karen Kain became the first Artistic Director of run in the company’s history. We also achieved the the National Ballet since Celia Franca to reach her tenth anniversary leading the institution. most demanding fundraising year in our history, breaking the $12-million-dollar mark for the first While this was a year of firsts, I’m pleased to report time in support of Karen’s vision for the future of the that it was, in fact, the seventh consecutive year National Ballet. that the National Ballet has balanced its operating budget and delivered a modest surplus. This year, YOU dance partnered with Toronto’s This track record of mission-driven artistic Regent Park community for the very first time to investment, combined with financial stability and introduce 1,100 students, teachers and family accountability, is a unique distinction for the National members to our company and the singular joys of Ballet. Going forward, we must leverage this position dance. We reached young people even further afield of strength to build security and sustainability into with our national YOU dance live stream initiative, the future. which made the National Ballet accessible coast In this spirit, we invested time, resources and to coast. thought in a number of key areas last season: artist contracts, patron loyalty, technology infrastructure We are so proud of the progress and excellent work and a multi-year financial resiliency plan. All of this in evidence throughout the organization and we feel work is in support of Karen’s remarkable vision for privileged to work with a community of donors that an artistically vibrant and financially sound future for the National Ballet. Donors are at the heart of everything The National never fails to create new opportunities for growth. Thanks to the generous support of donors, The Ballet of Canada accomplished in the 2015/16 On behalf of Karen, the Board of Directors and our National Ballet of Canada performed the first North Thank you, our wonderful donors, for helping this American performances of Christopher Wheeldon’s Season. colleagues at the National Ballet, thank you for company realize its full potential as one of the finest The Winter’s Tale, the first Canadian performances another excellent year. dance institutions in the world. We are one team of Alexander Ekman’s Cacti, and the first-ever and when we work together, everything becomes You made extraordinary things happen this year, performance of Guillaume Côté’s Le Petit Prince. from community outreach events to stunning possible. performances, tours and diverse artistic and social For the first time, YOU dance partnered with Regent We will continue to be good stewards of your events. With your support, we presented striking Park to give young people a chance to explore the investment and hope that each time the curtain rises art of dance and express themselves individually works from the North American premiere of The in Toronto and around the world, you are proud of and as a community. It was also the first time that Winter’s Tale, to the Canadian premiere of Cacti. YOUR National Ballet. YOU dance reached every province and territory in Our repertoire continues to grow, exciting long-time Canada through live streaming. subscribers and new audiences alike. David Binet Chair of the Board of Directors It was the first time that high school students from On tour, we returned to Montréal after an extended throughout the GTA filled the fifth ring of the Four absence, survived the “snow-pocalypse” in Seasons Centre over four performances, introducing a new generation of young people to our art form. Washington D.C. and enjoyed another successful Thanks to you, for the first time in history the National Ballet broke the $12 million dollar mark in annual fundraising, including the largest single gift to a new production in our history – a $2 million dollar Barry Hughson investment by Emmanuelle Gattuso and Allan Slaight Executive Director David Binet. Photo by Sian Richards. Barry Hughson. Photo by Karolina Kuras. 6 6 7 Attendance 2015/16 2015/16 Snapshot 2015/16 Toronto Season Attendance Number of Performances Attendance Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts 87 The Winter's Tale 9 16,345 performances Romeo and Juliet (Fall) 9 12,667 La Sylphide 7 10,316 Cacti & Rubies & The Four Temperaments 6 9,499 157,718 Romeo and Juliet (Winter) 6 10,406 audience members Le Petit Prince 9 18,705 Giselle 7 13,750 Total Main Season Performances 53 91,677 2,190 The Nutcracker 24 49,458 community outreach events Total Four Seasons Centre Performances 77 141,146 Touring Number of Performances Attendance 760,413 Toronto, Ontario: Fall for Dance North 1 3,120 outreach event attendees Montréal, Québec 3 3,296 Washington, D.C. 3 4,685 Ottawa, Ontario 3 5,471 16 15 artists make their home 75 65 Total Touring Performances 10 16,572 at The National Ballet of Canada wardrobe production 171 dancers musicians staff staff Community Outreach Number of Events Attendance Ballet Talks 43 25,800 Culture Days 1 91 Theatre Displays 68 127,385 Class on Stage 1 873 Dance About 11 3,850 Exploring Ballet Workshops 10 350 In Studio Classes 1,700 20,041 Master Classes 2 74 Summer Dance Intensive 80 75 Adult Dance Intensive 30 15 $33,753,000 7 years of balanced Nutcracker Story Time 24 7,500 2015/16 revenue Share the Magic 2 3,200 budgets YOU Dance Performances 17 4,410 YOU Dance Workshops 138 4,140 $33,743,000 $290,000 YOU dance Livestreams 1 12,441 2015/16 expenses YOU dance Regent Park Residency Performances 5 1,400 accumulated surplus YOU dance Regent Park Residency Workshops 36 1,080 YOU dance Creative Workshops 20 24 $10,000 $0 debt World Ballet Day 1 547,667 operating surplus for the year Total Outreach 2,190 760,413 Grand Total 2,277 918,131 $12,376,000 4,621 total fundraising members of our donor community Artists of the Ballet in Romeo and Juliet.