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Joint marketing; ballet and other arts organizations


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[Moderator Note: During a discussion on a thread devoted to Handel's music and ballet, an interesting off-shoot discussion developed concerning joint-marketing of projects by different arts organizations. In this case, drb started it off by descrdibing an alliance between the Met Opera's production of Giuliio Cesare and the Roman art section of the Metropolitan Museum.

This seems like a great topic for Issues in Ballet, so I've split several posts from the Handel's Music thread and started this new thread. What do you think about projects like this? Have you any examples from your own experience? Or any ideas of how it could be done in the future? Even hypothetical suggestions are welcome !!! From Bart :dry: ]

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More bargain-priced Handel. Looks like 20% off, plus the new Met Museum Gallery (link to a guided tour on the Met Opera site):

Giulio Cesare

Approximate running time 4 hrs. 0 min.

The Metropolitan Opera and The Metropolitan Museum of Art invite you to experience Roman history in two unique ways. Spend an evening with Julius Caesar at the Metropolitan Opera House and a day exploring Roman culture at The Metropolitan Museum of Art when you order the new Roman Package.

This exclusive offer includes a Prime Orchestra seat for a performance of Giulio Cesare at the Met Opera and a VIP pass to The Metropolitan Museum for the special price of $137.50. Enjoy a great night at the opera and gain entry to the spectacular galleries without waiting in admission lines. The museum VIP pass is good for admission through June 30, 2007.

http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/museum/index.aspx

The opening of the new Hellenistic, Etruscan, and Roman galleries—an entire wing housing over 5,300 objects in more than 30,000 square feet—completes the reconstruction and reinstallation of the permanent galleries of Greek and Roman art....
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I love that kind of joint marketing -- and consciousness raising -- by arts organizations. I wish ballet companies would do more of it, too. One of the joys of the Balanchine days was the sense that ballet was somehow at the heart of what was important in western culture. Ballet, rt, music, thought, literature: the whole package. How about tie-ins between NYCB's new R&J and the Met, the Cloisters, an early music group, or something similar?

The New Yorker has a slide show of the new Met Museum galleries, here:

http://www.newyorker.com/online/2007/04/09...show_070409_met

You can also link to Rebecca Mead's article: "Den of Antiquity: The Met Defends its Treasures" (April 9 issue)

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I love that kind of joint marketing -- and consciousness raising -- by arts organizations. I wish ballet companies would do more of it, too. One of the joys of the Balanchine days was the sense that ballet was somehow at the heart of what was important in western culture. Ballet, rt, music, thought, literature: the whole package. How about tie-ins between NYCB's new R&J and the Met, the Cloisters, an early music group, or something similar?

The New Yorker has a slide show of the new Met Museum galleries, here:

http://www.newyorker.com/online/2007/04/09...show_070409_met

You can also link to Rebecca Mead's article: "Den of Antiquity: The Met Defends its Treasures" (April 9 issue)

The Met Galleries have opened. Spectacular graphics, vids from the Times article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/20/arts/des...rts&oref=slogin

The article ends with a beautiful tie-in with dance, a 9" piece that, as they say, is worth a detour:

And in what’s called the Hellenistic Treasury, there’s a figurine of a dancer wearing a mask. It’s a small bronze sculpture, not nine inches tall, the Isadora Duncan of ancient Alexandria. Draped in layers, she twists like a corkscrew, her body — the curve of her back, her buttocks and muscled thighs — outlined by the taut fabric. The thinnest veil hides her face, and her head tilts discreetly behind one shoulder, a slippered foot emerging, suggestively, from beneath her robes.

She’s all virtuosity and grace. You can detect in sculptures by Matisse and Richard Serra the influence of her torqued, complicated eloquence, transformed and transmuted through intermediaries like Borromini and Canova.

If you want to know why Greek and Roman art matters eternally, she’s your answer.

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I love that kind of joint marketing -- and consciousness raising -- by arts organizations. I wish ballet companies would do more of it, too. One of the joys of the Balanchine days was the sense that ballet was somehow at the heart of what was important in western culture. Ballet, rt, music, thought, literature: the whole package. How about tie-ins between NYCB's new R&J and the Met, the Cloisters, an early music group, or something similar?

Yes, yes, yes! You have no idea how many times I've written, spoken too producers, and tried to myself get arts organizations, n.p.o's, and media outlets to work together to cross-promote or co-produce projects/performances. (My favorite instance was a WGBH "Masterpiece Theatre" with Helen Mirren about Caravaggio and a CONCURRENT Caravaggio exhibit in Hartford (v.rare) that was never cross-promoted.) Or even doing something as obvious as scheduling a "Dracula" performance in late October, (VERY easy to cross-promote: hey everyone tired of the 'trick-or-treating', spooky houses & hayrides--why not try something really different?! etc.etc.) or "R&J" mid-February. Trite, obvious, a 'dumbing down' maybe, but also quick money (a la Nutcrackers in Dec.) that enables more adventurous fare later.

RE:Handel: I remember Taylor's "Airs" fondly and have no problem imagining choreography to some of Handel's music--yes, usually the less boisterous compositions--but do agree with carbro(?) about J.S.Bach.

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While this is a borderline example, here's the Met Opera using dance to help sell opera subscriptions. From an e-mail received minutes ago:

Subscribe Today!

Subscribe today and receive a pair of free tickets the final dress rehearsal of Mark Morris's new production of Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice, starring acclaimed countertenor David Daniels, on April 30 at 11 am.

All new subscribers are eligible to receive this offer as well as current subscribers who add seats to their subscription or otherwise upgrade. Subscribers who become new members by including a $200 contribution are also eligible.

I think the run of the Morris dance production has been essentially sold out for some time.

Using dress rehearsals of, say, Nutcracker, or a new production of Sleeping Beauty might help to encourage new subscribers to a ballet company. This sort of thing could work within a company or cross-companies: when two companies, say opera and ballet, share the same facility, an opera dress rehearsal could be used as bait to opera subscribers to try out an intro to ballet subs, or vice versa...

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This sort of thing could work within a company or cross-companies: when two companies, say opera and ballet, share the same facility, an opera dress rehearsal could be used as bait to opera subscribers to try out an intro to ballet subs, or vice versa...
Sounds like a win-win situation for fans and companies alike. Now that I live in a smaller city, however, although one with a large arts community and a huge donor base, I've become aware of how intensely competitive (for donors, subscribers, audience members, stage time at the main opera house, grants from the cultural council, and even prestige) performing arts organizations can be. You're more likely here to find an alliance with Nordstroms or Saks than with a "competing" arts organization.
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You're more likely here to find an alliance with Nordstroms or Saks than with a "competing" arts organization.

And that could also work, but it might be a little harder to figure out the "bait" that could be used. Still

I'm sure it could be done, maybe a selection of items from the store to choose from in return for bying a ballet subscribtion.

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Last summer, I seem to remember an exhibit of ABT's costumes in the 5th Ave windows of Saks, which is also a sponsor of it's costume fund, if memory serves. Unfortunately, I do not know how much cross-promotion Saks did to entice its customers to also take a chance by attending a ballet.

I also remember an article in one of ABT's brochures (Playbill?) on designers who have created costumes for them--another sure tie-in with the retail/fashion industry. There are of many many ways to cross-promote if people/companies would only work together.

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What percentage of the operating budge is derived from ticket sales for a company like ABT, NYCB or even the Met Opera? All performnces I have been to in the last few years were well attended to sold out. Is there really a problem of not enough attendence?

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What percentage of the operating budge is derived from ticket sales for a company like ABT, NYCB or even the Met Opera?
Good question. I often hear from fund solicitors for other companies that "less than half" the budget comes from ticket sales. But ... does anyone have specific figures?
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... I often hear from fund solicitors for other companies that "less than half" the budget comes from ticket sales. But ... does anyone have specific figures?

Which is perhaps as it should be. Local government, business, and real estate interests ought to contribute substantially. Consider the extreme case of Lincoln Center's economic impact (from the October, 2004 Study: The Economic Role & Impact of Lincoln Center, that one may find on its website):

...The total economic impact of Lincoln Center and its resident organizations is over $1.5 billion in output for metropolitan region firms with 15,000 jobs providing $635 million in earnings for residents of the metropolitan region.

The Met Opera reports 40% of its operating budget comes from ticket sales, and is said to be in an era of unusually good fiscal condition.

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... I often hear from fund solicitors for other companies that "less than half" the budget comes from ticket sales. But ... does anyone have specific figures?

Which is perhaps as it should be. Local government, business, and real estate interests ought to contribute substantially. Consider the extreme case of Lincoln Center's economic impact (from the October, 2004 Study: The Economic Role & Impact of Lincoln Center, that one may find on its website):

...The total ecomomic impact of Lincoln Center and its resident organizations is over $1.5 billion in output for metropoitan region firms with 15,000 jobs providing $635 million in earnings for residents of the metropolitan region.

The Met Opera reports 40% of its operating budget comes from ticket sales, and is said to be in an era of unusually good fiscal condition.

No "perhaps" about it: ballet companies are non-profit 501 ( C ) (3), tax-exempt entities; as such, we (taxpayers) implicitly mandate them to seek their funding through other means than direct sales, for which they pay no taxes. When nonprofits behave like for-profits, looking out for the bottom line rather than artistic excellence or community impact, then we see questionable results--i.e., the Wang Center in Boston presenting the Rockettes instead of the Nutcracker in 2003, or the countless nonprofit venues across the US presenting more and more touring broadway shows at near-broadway ticket prices (our tax dollars subsidizing the likes of the Schubert Organization, through the nonprofit venues that engage their shows). We also hold them in trust to seek subsidies for ticket prices, I believe, which fewer companies care about doing anymore, it seems to me--in this era of conspicuous giving, after all, what richie-poo is going to put his or her name on that? ("You are holding the John and Jane Smith endowed cheap ticket.")

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Sunderland FC players march onto the pitch to "The Dance of the Knights" from R&J. Some years ago when BRB were performing R&J in Sunderland a CD single of the music was issued. The Sunderland FC Supporters Club sent a coach load of football fans to one of the performances. I think some of them were hooked and still attend when BRB are there.

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Sunderland FC players march onto the pitch to "The Dance of the Knights" from R&J. Some years ago when BRB were performing R&J in Sunderland a CD single of the music was issued. The Sunderland FC Supporters Club sent a coach load of football fans to one of the performances. I think some of them were hooked and still attend when BRB are there.

The sports/ballet connection has been made in the States as well. Some time ago Oakland baseball players danced in the local production of Nutcracker, I believe for a few years. Perhaps some BTer from the Bay Area might be able to say more on this. Wouldn't it be nice if the NY Yankees participated in NYCB's new Romeo + Juliet? Type-casting (baseball fans will know why) would feature Derek Jeter and A-Rod as Tybalt and Romeo.

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... or "R&J" mid-February.

The Boston Ballet is actually doing that next year (with Cranko's R&J).

Yup, I know. I live in Massachusetts and usually attend BB in addition to the NY companies. And...it has taken over 10 years of observing their choice of rep & dates for them to finally figure out that it would be a good thing to do the expected perf during the expected month/season--ie. R&J in Feb. Glad they've finally settled on Cranko's version--it will be great to see it again. (I haven't seen it since Joffrey did it in Calif. way back when.) And considering Boston's (and Salem's) love of Halloween etc., BB could probably make some 'big bucks' doing Dracula. (Not that that will EVER be a favorite of mine, but then again, I haven't seen a Nut in years and we all know how much that contributes to the bottom line.)

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