Northern Ballet Theatre - News Blog

Northern Ballet Theatre (NBT) has appointed three new members to its Board of Directors: Alan Harrison, Director of Information Technology at Yorkshire Water; Denise Jagger, a partner at international law firm Eversheds; and Leeds Councillor John Procter.

Mark Skipper, Chief Executive of NBT said of the new appointments: “I would like to welcome Alan, Denise and John to NBT’s Board of Directors. They are experts in their respective professional fields and have a passion for the arts and we are delighted that they have chosen to share this with us…”

Read the full press release

NBT’s new building project gains ‘Momentum’

Good progress is being made on the development of our new home on Quarry Hill in central Leeds with Phoenix Dance Theatre. The internal layouts for the building are taking shape and our Architects, Jacobs, are currently working on the external look of the building. Early discussions with Leeds City Council Planning department have been positive and an informal presentation of the design and layout is scheduled to take place on 30 January with the Chief Planning Officer to gauge further support.

The formal OJEU Notice (basically an advertisement asking for expressions of interest to become the building Contractor) has been posted with a deadline of 13 February for expressions of interest.

At this stage we are reasonably happy that the design is within budget but our Quantity Surveyor will carry out a cost check in mid-February just to be sure.

Building work is currently scheduled to start on site in February 2009 for completion in May 2010.

The building is costing £12million and the good news is that we’ve raised £10.5million of that. We still need to raise £1.5million by the end of 2009 and to make sure we do that we are launching Momentum, our capital fundraising campaign. The fundraising launch will take place on 21 February at an event which will be attended by NBT’s Royal Patron - HRH The Earl of Wessex KG, KCVO. There will be many ways in which our supporters can contribute to the campaign including naming rights to the building, naming of the studio theatre, rehearsal studios or even seats within the theatre.

Watch this space for further updates about the new building and Momentum.

Yorkshire-based thermal specialist Damart kindly kitted out the entire Company who jetted off to chilly China on a four week performance tour. A large supply of Damart thermals was donated to help keep the dancers and crew warm during the tour of China’s main cities including Beijing and Shanghai. The dancers felt the benefit of the thermals during class and rehearsals and they will also come in useful now the Company has returned to the UK during our cold winter days. Dancers Michael Berkin, Dreda Blow, Chantelle Gotobed and Kieran Stoneley took part in a photo-shoot to celebrate Damart’s support and they were quite taken by the thermals which they were able to keep after the photo-shoot.

Click here for press release

Kathryn Moore of the Yorkshire Post wrote: “A DELEGATION from the region has jetted off to China today with the Northern Ballet Theatre for a four-week tour designed to raise Yorkshire’s profile in seven Chinese cities. Leeds City Council, Leeds Metropolitan University and Yorkshire Forward are supporting the tour and representatives from each organisation will act as ambassadors for the Yorkshire region.
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Click the link below to read the rest of the article…

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/business-news/Delegation-stepping-out-on-a.3590952.jp

On Friday 23 November HRH The Earl of Wessex KCVO attended an evening performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Northern Ballet Theatre at the New Victoria Theatre, Woking. His wife The Countess of Wessex and a number of family friends accompanied the Earl.  The Earl was welcomed to the theatre by David Nixon, Artistic Director of NBT, Yoko Ichino, NBT Ballet Mistress and David Holder, Theatre Manager. Following the performance, the Earl and His guests went backstage to meet the Company. HRH The Earl of Wessex, KCVO is the Royal Patron of NBT, a position He has held since 2003. His Aunt, HRH The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowden was previously Royal Patron until her death in 2002. 

Leading Soloist Darren Goldsmith who met and photographed the Earl said, “It adds something special to an evening when the Earl is in the audience. He always cracks a joke when He comes backstage to meet us and you feel He has a genuine interest in the Company. This will be the third time I’ve photographed a visit by the Earl and it’s a pleasure because he is so relaxed and happy to pose for photographs.”

 
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