< Previous20 In other news Pippa Moore awarded MBE In June 2021, we were delighted that Former Premier Dancer Pippa Moore was awarded an MBE for services to dance for services to dance in Her Majesty The Queen’s Birthday Honours list. Pippa continues to work at Northern Ballet as Artistic & Learning Assistant, developing and delivering our live audio descriptions and Touch Tours for people who are visually impaired. Informances Former Principal Soloist Hanah Bateman presented a series of documentaries throughout the year, taking audiences behind-the-scenes of Swan Lake and later 1984 as part of World Ballet Day 2021. World Ballet Day For World Ballet Day 2021, we released a series of exclusive new films taking audiences behind the curtains of Merlin, KIN and 1984, with dancers Mlindi Kulashe and Sarah Chun taking over our TikTok for the day. 2021 Charlotte Tonkinson appointed ambassador the Academy of Northern Ballet In February 2022, we were thrilled to announce that The Royal Ballet Artist Charlotte Tonkinson had become an ambassador for the Academy of Northern Ballet. Charlotte began her training aged 11 as part of the Centre for Advanced Training under the direction of Yoko Ichino. Dance Passion Northern Ballet dancers Aurora Piccininni and Wesley Branch went head to head with the BBC Strictly stars in Corey Baker’s new film Dance Race. The film opened BBC Dance Pasion, a celebration of dance on the BBC across February and March 2022, which also featured Northern Ballet dance films I AM MER-LIN and Together We Fall. Left page: Minju Kang and Lorenzo Trossello in 1984. Photo Emily Nuttall Right page: Riku Ito in I AM MER-LIN. Photo Lottie Maher. 21222223 Northern Ballet Dancers in Casanova. Photo Emma Kauldhar. 2324 Ballet for all In 2021/22 the Learning team delivered 1,215 sessions with 19,833 people, in theatres, schools and community settings across the UK. It was a hybrid year of delivery, as we made a welcome move from digital, back to in-person delivery. Inclusive Dance In July 2021, we hosted our first ever digital conference to share our learning and accompanying resource from the SHIFT project, SHIFT Dance. Funded through Erasmus+, the project worked in collaboration with inclusive dance organisations in Spain and The Netherlands to develop safe and inclusive teaching methods, particularly for those working with dancers with additional learning support needs. The conference was attended by 303 delegates from around the world, with a keynote from Kimberley Hardy of Candoco Dance Company, and a panel discussion with contributors from The Royal Ballet, ISTD, Candoco and The University of Leeds. Alongside the conference, we hosted a digital Expressions – our annual celebration of inclusive dance. 50 households watched the performance which included a brand-new commission by disabled artist Jem Clancy who worked with community groups from across the region to take part in a unique dance animation to celebrate Expressions. Children’s Ballet Outreach Over the 2021/22 year, we delivered 303 workshops to support our Children’s Ballets, Pinocchio and Little Red Riding Hood. 5,073 children took part in either digital, or live workshops which introduce the story, characters, music, and movement from the ballet. In 2021, our live tour of Little Red Riding Hood was unable to go ahead due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, so to ensure that children didn’t miss out on the opportunity to engage with Northern Ballet, we created a digital tour, where children in schools, nurseries, and community settings across the UK could take part in workshops and watch a digital version of the production. In the spring of 2022, we returned to live outreach to introduce our production of Pinocchio. 242525262627 Dancers of the Future Across the 2021/22 year we trained 1,338 students across all our programmes. Our talent spotting workshops were delivered across 12 schools, with 213 of these students talent spotted and invited to participate in further training opportunities with the Academy. 3 workshops across areas such as Bradford, Doncaster and Scarborough, with over 1000 students participating. Successes • Students from our Professional Graduate Programme had the opportunity to go on tour with the Company and perform in the Company’s Children Ballet. • Associate students also successfully auditioned for vocational schools around the country. • CAT Programme students gained places at prestigious vocational schools such as The Royal Ballet School and English National Ballet School. Academy Students. Photo Emily Nuttall. 2728 Supporting our future Throughout another challenging year, we were fortunate to receive crucial financial support from a number of sources. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Culture Recovery Fund continued to be critical in ensuring our survival. We also thank our key funders Arts Council England and Leeds City Council for their continued support. Thanks to the contributions of our generous individual, trust, foundation and corporate supporters, we raised an incredible £1.5M in 2021/22. Your continued support helped us return to full levels of touring and delivery of Academy programmes and Learning and outreach projects in person. It also enabled us to invest further in our digital output and infrastructure, and to modernise some of our essential touring equipment. We are also delighted to share that the support received in previous years and this year, for the delayed productions of Merlin and Pinocchio, was realised with both productions successfully premiering and touring across the UK. We would like to thank each and every one of our supporters for their commitment to the Company, we are truly grateful. Highlights • We are incredibly grateful to the Garfield Weston Foundation and the generous grant from the Weston Culture Fund. This supported us to significantly improve our digital output and infrastructure and to film the new productions Merlin and Pinocchio. • The renewed support of the Foyle Foundation further supported investment in our digital equipment. • We are thankful for the continued support from the Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation and the Keith Howard Foundation towards our artistic, outreach and Academy programmes. • The John Ellerman Foundation continued to support our work on stage and on screen. • Thanks to the support from The Audrey and Stanley Burton Charitable Trust we were able to begin replacing the floors in our studios. • The Steel Charitable Trust continued to support our schools project Rise. • We received our first grants from the Backstage Trust and 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust to fund a new touring communications system. • We secured a grant from the PRS Foundation to create an original piece of music for Wailers. • The Keller Family Charitable Trust, Royal Northern College of Music Principal’s Circle and other supporting Trusts supported the first year of the Conducting Pathways & Fellowship programme. • Benefactors Jane and Alan Foale made a generous contribution to support the development of Ma Vie for screen and stage. • CityFibre became our first ever ‘Digital Season Sponsor’ and collaboration with long-term partner Fazenda brought to life the digital streaming of Dangerous Liaisons. • Longstanding sponsors Kleinwort Hambros increased their annual contribution to sponsor two of our dancers, making a fantastic extra commitment to the Company. • Finally, we would like to thank Close Brothers Asset Management, who we welcomed on board as a new Corporate Sponsor this year. 2829 Northern Ballet dancers in Merlin. Photo Emma Kauldhar 29Next >