Colorado Ballet Launches “Fill The Theater” Fundraising Initiative
Denver, CO (November 24, 2020) – Colorado Ballet announces that the company is launching a new fundraising initiative during this holiday season to virtually fill every seat in the Ellie Caulkins Opera House with a gift to support the organization during this challenging time in which they will not see any ticket sales revenue from The Nutcracker. With the spirit of holiday giving in mind, Colorado Ballet invites all patrons and the general arts-loving public to consider making a tax-deductible gift in lieu of their Nutcracker ticket purchase. Colorado Ballet seeks to virtually fill the theater with a goal of receiving 2080 gifts to represent the 2080 seats in the Ellie Caulkins Opera House by December 31. Funds raised will enable Colorado Ballet to continue presenting world-class ballet, including next season’s production of The Nutcracker, as well as educational and community programs.
In giving back to the community, Colorado Ballet has partnered with Rocky Mountain PBS and PNC Bank to bring a special broadcast of The Nutcracker into patrons’ home during the holidays.
“Countless families and friends throughout Colorado attend The Nutcracker as a special part of their holiday traditions,” stated Artistic Director Gil Boggs. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to enable families to keep those traditions alive during these challenging times by offering our production of The Nutcracker to the community free of charge in a special broadcast on Rocky Mountain PBS for our patrons to view from the safety of their homes this holiday season.”
The Rocky Mountain PBS broadcast will air six times over the holiday season, premiering on Thanksgiving at 7pm and concluding on December 25 at midnight. It will also be available for free online streaming until Christmas.
With an average of 28 sold-out performances of The Nutcracker annually, ticket sales from this production alone typically make up over 50 percent of Colorado Ballet’s annual ticketing revenue bringing in approximately $3 million each holiday season. Colorado Ballet’s inability to present mainstage productions at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House this season totals a loss of more than $5 million dollars.
In light of this need, Colorado Ballet has launched a Relief & Recovery Fund. With a fundraising goal of $3 million, this fund will help to cover a significant portion of the lost ticketing revenue and ensure that Colorado Ballet will be able to present productions next season and emerge from this crisis as the vibrant performing arts organization it grew to become over the past 60 years. Visit Colorado Ballet’s Relief and Recovery website.
ABOUT COLORADO BALLET Presenting exceptional classical ballet and innovative contemporary dance through performances, training, education and community engagement, Colorado Ballet continues to inspire and grow an increasingly diverse audience base in Denver, Colo. Established in 1961 by Lillian Covillo and Freidann
Parker, Colorado Ballet is a non-profit organization celebrating 60 years of excellence. As a world-class professional company serving over 100,000 national and international patrons, Colorado Ballet typically presents 55 performances annually to sold-out audiences in the 2,000 seat Ellie Caulkins Opera House. The Company’s 32 professional dancers and 21 studio company dancers come from all over the world. Colorado Ballet’s The Armstrong Center for Dance, a 35,000 square foot building, boasts eight state-of-the-art professional dance studios and amenities for the professional Company. Under the direction of Artistic Director Gil Boggs, Colorado Ballet performs classical ballet masterpieces, full-length story ballets and its critically-acclaimed repertory production Ballet MasterWorks, featuring varied works from neoclassical ballets to world premieres. The Raydean Acevedo Colorado Ballet Academy serves over 1,200 students from toddlers to seniors each year. Colorado Ballet’s Education & Community Engagement offers programs to students and community members, making over 25,000 contacts and reaching over 200 schools and organizations annually. Participants come from a variety of backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses including youth, families, teachers and people with and without disabilities. For more information please visit COLORADOBALLET.ORG.
