About Patrons' Council
A community of generous leaders supporting a Canadian cultural treasure.
Patrons share a deep passion for great dance and are committed to supporting a vibrant cultural landscape in Canada. In getting involved with an annual gift of $2,000 or more, donors are recognized through the Patrons' Council of the National Ballet and enjoy a close relationship with the company and its artists.
Patrons' gifts are integral to the continued success of the National Ballet, totalling more than $1.6 million a year in support of the company’s general operations. In appreciation, Patrons are invited to recognition events with the dancers and offered highly personalized service, including the following:
- highly personalized service for ticketing and event RSVPs
- opportunities to meet the artists and artistic staff of the ballet
- the use of the Henry N.R. Jackman Lounge at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts during National Ballet performances
- priority subscription and performance seating
- invitations to social and educational events
- our exclusive newsletter, Preview
See photos from special Patron and Friends' Corps events.
Our Thanks to you
For a full list of Patrons' Council recognition and acknowledgement, please click here
To join the Patrons’ Council, please contact:
Lennox Toppin
Development Officer, Patrons’ Council
416 345 9686 x331
patrons@national.ballet.ca
Events
With great appreciation, The National Ballet of Canada gratefully invites donors to special events that are designed to enhance an appreciation and knowledge of our talented artists and the movement, power and passion of the art of ballet.
Upcoming Patrons’ Council Events:
The Buzz Party- 2012/13 Season Preview
February 5, 2012
The Walter Carsen Centre for The National Ballet of Canada
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Patrons' Council Ballet Dinner
La Fille mal gardée
February 29, 2012
Tundra
5:15 pm
Dress Rehearsal- The Sleeping Beauty
March 9, 2012
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Ballet Talk: 7:15 pm
Rehearsal: 8:00 pm
RSVP Dates: January 30- March 2, 2012
Our Donors
Doreen Stanton and Rex Harrington at the 2010 Patrons’ Council Season Closing Party. Photo by Gary Beechey.
Doreen
Stanton
Patron, Subscriber, Celia Franca Society
member
Doreen Stanton’s first experience watching ballet
was seeing The Red Shoes, the 1948
dance film that made Moira Shearer famous. But her first experience with The
National Ballet of Canada was just a coincidence.
“I worked for Bell and I took the order for the National
Ballet’s first telephone,” she explains. “I was in the public office and a man
came in asking for a new business telephone line. It was Celia Franca’s husband.
I took the information we needed and got the ballet set up.It was the first time I heard of a new ballet
company in Toronto.”
At the time, she says, there wasn’t much
ballet around Toronto.
“I saw the National Ballet advertised and so I went to the Eaton Auditorium a
few times and enjoyed it thoroughly.”
“Ballet was a completely new thing for me,”
she continues. “And I saw the National Ballet from time to time; it was the
beginning of my education in dance. I kept going, on and off, until someone asked
me in the late 1970s if I would like to take a subscription. And I did.”
For her, classical ballet is her passion,
with Swan Lake,The Sleeping Beauty and
The Nutcracker among her favourites.
“I’m hooked on the stories, for starters, but also the unbelievable movements.
The grace and beauty of the dancers, plus how they get their bodies in some of
those shapes, fills me with delight.”
She started donating to the National Ballet
just after she started subscribing. “I started small, with donations to the Friends' Corps.
But when I retired in 1984 I thought, this is my money and if I can look after
it carefully, I can enjoy it! And so I
joined the Patrons’ Council.”
“The National Ballet is so wonderful at
making you feel like you belong,” she says. “The dancers are delightful, both
on stage and off, as they are eager to talk and seem to enjoy it. Plus I love
the camaraderie with the other Patrons.”
Ms. Stanton has also become a member of the
Celia Franca Society. “I’ve supported the National Ballet for a long time and I
would like the company to benefit long into the future as well.”
“I’ve never stopped being impressed with
the dancers and the company,” she adds. “In the new house, in the last few
years, even more so. The dancers are just breathtaking and I feel that this
city and this country are lucky to have these wonderful performers.”