BRIEF HISTORY
Three ladies, Mesdames Sydney Mulqueen, Pearl Whitehead and Aileen Woods first raised funds to bring Celia Franca to Canada and then to realize the first performance at the Eaton Auditorium on November 12, 1951. Then these ambitious ladies spent the rest of 1951 working with other women supporters and laying plans for the founding of a formal “Women’s Committee”. It is no exaggeration to say that if there had been no Women’s Committee in those early days, there would be no National Ballet. Known as the National Ballet Guild, the mandate was to encourage interest in the ballet, and The National Ballet in particular. Although the Guild never succeeded in its aim in having a fully national structure, it did, in its heyday, have active branches in Toronto, Hamilton, Oakville, St. Catharines, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Windsor, Belleville, Montreal, Sherbrooke, Quebec City, and even Buffalo. They provided grassroots support for the Company in their communities and conducted year-round activities to raise money to finance the Company’s tours to their community. The local Guild would sponsor the Company’s appearance, doing advance publicity, selling tickets, handling arrangements with the local theatre, and in the early days, provide lodging and hospitality for company members. The branches also provided scholarships to dancers within the Company and at the National Ballet School. Unfortunately this network of volunteer Guilds did not survive. The Constitution and Standing rules of the Toronto Branch were rewritten to become The Volunteer Committee, The National Ballet of Canada in 1972.
Many and varied were the money raising efforts – there were fashion shows, supper dances, ballet lectures, demonstrations, and dance teachers’ fairs. The main events over the years became a gala ball (no longer organized by the Committee), Paper Things, the Ballet Boutique in the theatre lobby during performances and Art Shows, also held in the theatre.
The Build-A-Ballet™ fund began with giving $150,000 for Sir Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée in 1977. Judy Tait (President 1974-76) wrote, “nothing could be of more importance to the dancers, and therefore to the future of the Company, than funds to produce new works”. Years later, this is still true. To date, the Volunteer Committee has contributed to 54 productions for the Company, some of which remain in the repertoire to this day (see attached listing) The Committee’s contributions to date are well over $6 million dollars.
In 1952, the volunteers were women who had sufficient personal wealth and time to be able to organize fundraising on a full time basis. Today’s volunteers, both men and women, may have professional careers, or may be “retired”, but are still willing to direct time and energy to raise money for interesting new choreography for The National Ballet of Canada. The Volunteer Committee continues to be valued for its contributions to the artistic health of the Company.
Below are some specific notes on past and current fund raising activities:
Paper Things – 99 Yorkville Avenue, Toronto
In 1963, a visionary and enterprising Marg Morgan approached the developers of the Colonnade, a radical new idea that combined boutiques and retail space and luxury apartments that was about to open on Bloor Street in Toronto.
She persuaded them that “Paper Things” would be a magnet, drawing quality shoppers to the complex and that free rent was a small repayment for this service. The Volunteer Committee planned and undertook the Colonnade’s opening as a fundraising project. The proceeds from the opening paid for the initial stocking of the shop, which by the way, sold out in the first day of operation, leaving volunteers scrambling to restock on the fly.
In 1973 Paper Things moved to Cumberland Court at 99 Yorkville. The initial floor space was 777 sq. feet. Over the next thirty years, expansions occurred and the floor space increase to just under 2000 sq. feet. The last expansion was in the summer of 2002.
For the first 35 years Paper Things was exclusively staffed by volunteers. In 1999 volunteer staffing was supplemented with paid employees. Eventually there were 3 paid staff, but volunteers continued to keep “the shop” running, covering all thirteen shifts a week, doing some of the buying and merchandising, and providing the heart to the organization.
Paper Things was always overseen by a volunteer chairperson and required about 70 volunteers a year, giving over 8,000 hours and making Paper Things a respected destination store for discerning buyers. It filled a unique niche in the Toronto retail scene for many years, providing custom printed orders, stationery and gifts and supported The National Ballet of Canada. Paper Things was unique in that it was the only retail organization in the country that existed to support an arts group. Since opening Paper Things has contributed well over $2 million to The National Ballet of Canada, under the auspices of the Committee’s “Build-A-Ballet Fund®.
It was with deep regret and sadness that Paper Things closed, after over 50 years of operation, in 2014 bowing to the pressures of the changing retail landscape. As a tribute to its legacy, in 2017 contributed to the National Ballet’s “Soaring” Campaign with a tribute gift directed to the Gretchen Ross Production Center. Today, the “Prop Shop” at the GRPC bears a plaque honoring the contribution of the Volunteer Committee, through Paper Things and its other endeavours.
The Ballet Boutique
Another idea of some enterprising and “crafty” volunteers, The Ballet Boutique started humbly in 1974. It began with a card table displaying homemade wares created by the volunteers themselves. Today the Ballet Boutique is an integral part of the theatre going experience and is open during all performances of The National Ballet. Goods have expanded to music and DVDs, including exclusive National Ballet and hard-to-find titles, National Ballet of Canada branded merchandise, jewellery, gifts and whimsical items that attract the attention of the volunteer buyers, thinking always of the ballet-going audience.
It has always been the object of the enterprise to raise funds for the ballet. In recent years the Committee has also devoted considerable energy to promoting the Company and its dancers by creating merchandise bearing the Company’s name and logo, including t-shirts, tote bags, posters, pictures and garments.
The Ballet Boutique moved into the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in 2006-07 and once again reinvented itself and took on the challenge of adapting to a new theatre and new challenges. The Ballet Boutique’s contribution to the Build-A-Ballet Fund has grown and is now the sole fundraising project of the Volunteer Committee.
Due to the restrictions posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the suspension of live performances and the temporary closure of the Four Seasons Centre, we have launched our Online Boutique! Our Online Boutique features a selection of our bestselling and most requested items from our physical store. Shop from the comfort of your home for all your favourite ballet-related merchandise!
Please visit us at Shop.Ballet.ca.
Projects: Art Shows
Art shows evolved from early exhibitions of costume and set sketches from early Company performances. Over the years, dance related art forms were added to these exhibitions with such items as posed sketches of company members, portraits of dancers and photographs of individuals and ensembles.
By the mid 1970s the art shows accompanied performance dates and evolved to include sculpture, prints, photography, ceramics, as well as drawings and paintings. Starting in the 1980s regular exhibitions drawn from the country’s major art societies were an annual feature. Many successful artists credit the Volunteer Committee with giving them their initial exposure.
Art exhibitions were typically staged four times in the performance year. Profits (based on a 40% commission on sales) resulted in significant contributions to the Build-A-Ballet Fund®.
With the change of venue, an art show can no longer be presented in the theatre during performance times. It is hopeful that other venues may be found to host at least one art show during the year.