Your Donations at Work

Your support is vital

Do you know that ticket sales account for less than half of the true cost of sustaining a ballet company the size and renown of The National Ballet of Canada? The generosity of donors is vital.

A non-profit organization, The National Ballet of Canada relies greatly on individuals, corporations and foundations who share a love of art and who appreciate the achievements of this world-renowned Canadian ballet company. Your donations ensure the National Ballet remains a world leader in dance.

Charitable donations allow the National Ballet to continue to:

• present spectacular performances
• offer valuable education activities and programs
• tour our ballets in Canada and internationally
• commission and acquire new works
• nurture and support choreographers, dancers and musicians

For the 2009/10 season, the National Ballet needs to raise $7.5 million from the private sector to support the $25 million operating budget. Every gift helps the National Ballet consistently achieve excellence and every gift is appreciated.

The National Ballet of Canada is a registered charity.
Charitable Registration Number: 11905 1449 RR0001

See your Donations in Action

See how your generosity helps allow The National Ballet of Canada continue to excel artistically.

• Pointe Shoes: each pair of pointe shoes costs $80. Handmade in England from canvas, glue and satin, each pair of pointe shoes lasts at most 8 hours or in performance conditions last only one act of a ballet. In total, the National Ballet's female dancers use approximately 2,000 pairs of pointe shoes every year. (Photo by Bruce Zinger.)
• Dance slippers: Male dancers wear canvas slippers, made in black, white or tan. It costs $500 for one male dancer's slippers for one year. (Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann.)
• Piano Tuning: The dancers rehearse to piano in one of the Walter Carsen Centre's five rehearsal studios. It costs $800 a year to keep one piano in tune. (Photo of Principal Pianist Janis Neilson with Artists of the Ballet in rehearsal for Romeo and Juliet by Bruce Zinger.)
• Tutu: Each tutu is handmade, using up to 15 metres of tulle (netting) in at least 16 layers. It takes a minimum of 120 hours to make a tutu and costs at least $2,000. The National Ballet has its own wardrobe department located at the Walter Carsen Centre for the production and maintenance of costumes. (Photo of a costume fitting for the refurbished production of The Sleeping Beauty by Andrea Rothecker.)
• Canvas backdrop: There are only two companies in the world who make a seamless pieces of canvas large enough to cover the back of the stage – one in Germany and one in England. It costs $5000 to order and takes one month to deliver the fabric. All the National Ballet’s sets are made and stored in the company's workshop in Scarborough. (Photo of the painting of a backdrop for An Italian Straw Hat by Bruce Zinger.)
• Dancers: 62 National Ballet dancers and 8 apprentices live and work throughout the year in Toronto. With a large roster of dancers, the National Ballet is able to perform spectacular large ballets like The Sleeping Beauty (pictured above), which requires 50 dancers for its finale, and Symphony in C, which requires 56. (Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann.)