French Ballet Abandons Tour Because Of Funding Rejection
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday July 21, 2008
THE Paris Opera Ballet has been forced to abandon a tour to Australia next year following a funding rejection by the Victorian Major Events Company.
The Paris company appeared last year in Sydney in a sold-out season presented by Leo Schofield, the former artistic director of the Sydney and Melbourne arts festivals, and Ian McRae, the former chief executive of the Australian Ballet.They planned to bring the 150 dancers to the State Theatre in Melbourne with Nureyev's production of La Bayadere. The performances were to form part of the Australian Ballet's 2009 Melbourne season and be the centrepiece of a "Melbourne salutes Paris" promotion involving retailers and restaurants. After four months of deliberations, VMEC told the promoters that the planned season did not fit its funding model. The season was too short (12 performances in three weeks) and potential audiences were too small to warrant the requested funding - that is 10 per cent of the $5 million budget. In a letter to commercial supporters of the tour, Schofield and McRae wrote: "It would appear that for a cultural activity to attract support as a major event in Melbourne it needs to be a visual arts exhibition over 100 days, a long-run commercial musical or in a venue with capacity considerably beyond 2000 seats. This requirement virtually rules out every major performing arts company in the world, as few would be able or prepared to stay here for three months." VMEC's mission is to bring "world-class events that inspire, excite and bond people, promoting and enriching Melbourne and Victoria".
© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald