The Australian Ballet released its 2013 Annual Report today in conjunction with its Annual General Meeting in Melbourne.
Delivering her first Annual Report for the company, Executive Director of The Australian Ballet, Libby Christie, said the company reported a consolidated surplus of $6.5 million which includes unrealised capital gains of $2.05 million and $2.25 million of protected endowed donations.
“This result reflects another successful year for Australia’s national dance company,” said Christie.
The Australian Ballet delivered 188 performances of 21 ballets – nine of which were world premieres – in five capital cities and twelve regional centres.
“In 2013 we saw significant demand for ballet across the country, as evidenced by a four per cent increase in paid capacity to 83%. We were extremely busy, performing to almost 260,000 people, but we are reaching maximum capacity due to the practical and physical limitations of our seasons.
“The Australian Ballet is now developing plans to ensure that while we maintain our high performance standards, we also grow to satisfy this obvious demand into the future,” said Christie.
The net cost to the company to deliver performances, public programs and in-schools activities in 2013 was $1.6 million. This was offset by net surpluses from The Australian Ballet Centre, The Australian Ballet Production Centre and The Australian Ballet Foundation.
As reported, 84% of The Australian Ballet’s revenues of $50.1 million are self-generated.
Box-office results were again the main contributor to income for The Australian Ballet in 2013 with total box-office revenue contributing $24.3 million over the year.
The world premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s Cinderella contributed a quarter of total box-office revenue for the year.
“We invested $1.9 million to create this new production of Cinderella, working with a world-class creative team. It generated $6.1 million in gross box-office income during its 2013 world-premiere seasons in Melbourne and Sydney,” said Christie.
The Australian Ballet made a commitment to increasing its suite of program offerings for the general public in 2013 and was rewarded with an 83% growth in participation. From practical ballet classes for adults, to educational programs where participants can learn more about ballet as an art form, to programs designed specifically for children – all were enthusiastically received with more than 19,000 people participating in the company’s full range of community engagement activities.
In addition, almost 15,000 students, teachers and community members participated in school-based events at 95 schools across Australia last year. The company celebrated 29 years of partnership with Principal Sponsor Telstra in 2013. It also reconfirmed its partnership with Lead Partner Qantas and earlier this year announced a new lead partnership with Samsung, who will present Out There – The Australian Ballet in Schools in 2014.
“We are extremely fortunate to have such a loyal community of audience members, patrons, government and corporate partners,” said Christie.
“With their continued support The Australian Ballet is in good shape as we plan to grow and continue to innovate, create and present world-class performances for all Australians,” she said.
The full 2013 Annual Report can be viewed here