| The closure of the Jubilee Auditorium for renovations is leading to big challenges for Alberta Ballet and Calgary Opera, and both groups say the provincial government should be paying them compensation.
Alberta Ballet has moved into Vertigo Mystery Theatre’s Playhouse for the year and Calgary Opera will put on performances in several different venues. Both groups have had to radically alter the type of productions they’ll be putting on this season due to the changes in venue.
Alberta Ballet executive director Ann Lewis says with the Jubilee closed her company can’t mount big productions such as The Nutcracker, which provides the company’s biggest source of revenue each year. As well, she says season-ticket sales are substantially lower than last year because regular subscribers don’t seem to be very enthusiastic about watching productions at a newer, smaller venue.
"It’s hard because people don’t know where (the Playhouse) is and hardly anyone has been there. People don’t like change," says Lewis. "We’re making the best of a tough year." The Vertigo Playhouse is located under the Calgary Tower.
Lewis says her organization has been lobbying for some kind of compensation from the government for a year and a half. "They’ve said you have to manage," she says. "It is disappointing. We will muster all our resources to make it through."
Alberta Ballet ended last season with a $265,925 surplus and $200,000 of that has been set aside to cover financial difficulties this season. But Lewis says she’s hopeful the company won’t have to spend all of its surplus just to get through this year.
Calgary Opera general director and CEO Bob McPhee says things are looking better so far for his company. Some performances are already sold out and they’re adding more performance dates. As well, he says 75 per cent of regular season-ticket holders have already renewed their subscriptions for the 2005-2006 season. In order to do so, they had to pay a 25-per-cent deposit.
However, McPhee says the lack of government compensation has meant the company was unable to stage the large productions they normally do. "It’s only because we didn’t get assistance that we had to cut back," he says.
Like Lewis, McPhee says his group has been lobbying for government compensation to no avail. "What they’ve said is we’ll have short-term pain and then we’ll be able to move into a brand-new facility," says McPhee.
Community Development spokesperson Bill Strickland says both groups will still receive their yearly operating grants from the government and neither group will be penalized in terms of future government grants if audience attendance is lower than usual this year.
As far as compensation, Strickland says the government is spending $50.8 million on renovations to the Jubilee auditoriums in Calgary and Edmonton, and Calgary Opera and Alberta Ballet will greatly benefit from the "magnificent" new building.
"The government of Alberta recognizes there are challenges… but this is a significant contribution to renovate and they will be the benefactors," says Strickland.
Meanwhile, Lewis is appealing to ballet lovers to come out and support Alberta Ballet’s new season. "We can’t do a big production. The stage is very small. At the same time, the repertoire we’re bringing is brilliant…. (Audience members) will never have such an opportunity to see (the dancers) so close," she says. |
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