If there was a barometer for dance, Toronto would seem to be suffering under a heavy low pressure blanket.

In the last 12 to 18 months, two dance festivals folded, the long-standing Harbourfront Dance Season was abandoned and the Hummingbird Centre saw three out of four top-flight dance shows for 2006-07 tank at the box office.

Even the National Ballet of Canada has seen some loss of interest in sales of its high-end subscription packages...

...and a spring season that was notable for the empty seats at the Four Seasons Centre.

Next season there will be no February ballet. Will fans hold out until March break to get their fill of ballet? Some Canadians flee to Florida in March. The Spring program will be pushed back to June. Looking into my Crystal Ball I see the below attendance figures for next year’s subscriber programs.

The Sleeping Beauty = 95%

Song of the Earth & Symphony in C = 90% It’s a shame this program will only receive 6 performance dates compared to 14 for Sleeping Beauty.

The Taming of the Shrew = 80%

A Footstep of Air & Opus 19/The Dreamer & Voluntaries = 65%

Balanchine’s Don Quixote = 80%

The Four Seasons, Polyphonia & New Work by Matjash Mrozewski = 75%

A Message to all Supporters of the Arts and Culture in Toronto

Operating Grants to the City’s Arts and Culture may be threatened

The City of Toronto is reported to have an annual budget shortfall of $575 million. In August City Council voted to defer a motion to raise revenues to cover this deficit through two new taxes; a land transfer tax and a vehicle registration fee, that together would have added $350 - $375 million to the budget. The deferral is to last until October 22, after the Provincial election.

Faced with this crisis the city is choosing to cut services and programs that are at the heart of our civic quality of life, including programs for children and seniors at over 100 community centers, public library services on Sundays, and public transit service. Next on the block are likely to be City operating grants to hundreds of large and small arts organizations; theatres, art galleries, museums, choirs, orchestras and chamber groups, local festivals, and dance companies, including The National Ballet of Canada.

The City of Toronto benefits in a myriad of ways, economically and qualitatively from its rich and diverse cultural life. Toronto’s grants to the arts are already among the lowest per capita of any major Canadian city. Cutting this lifeline of annual funding could literally cripple or destroy the livelihood of over 100,000 artists and the organizations that employ them. The culture sector is estimated to contribute over $8 billion annually to the city’s GDP.

If you would like to learn more about the issue, please visit the city website www.fairtaxes.ca.

If you believe that the City is at a turning point in its ability to sustain the quality of community services, accessible public transit, and the cultural life that we all treasure, we urge you to e mail the Mayor and all members of City Council today, with copies to Premier Dalton McGuinty, Opposition Leader John Tory, and NDP Leader Howard Hampton. As members of a civic society we believe it is necessary to speak up now to defend the viability of our city and our arts. You can use the links below to express your views on this vitally important and urgent issue.

Contact your Councilor at http://app.toronto.ca/im/councillors.jsp.
Contact Premier McGuinty at dmcguinty.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org
Contact the Hon John Tory at john.tory@pc.ola.org
Contact the Hon Howard Hampton at hhampton-gp@ndp.on.ca.

We care deeply about Toronto, and we appreciate your support,

Karen Kain,
Artistic Director
The National Ballet of Canada

Kevin Garland
Executive Director
The National Ballet of Canada

Greta Hodgkinson is a remarkable actress and will-o'-the-wisp dancer, who transforms herself from an innocent girl into a heartsick woman betrayed by her lover, and finally a madwoman. The playboy prince who seduces her, danced last night by Guillaume Coté, is another compelling actor and a dancer with fine balance and line.