Ballet BC Saved From Bankruptcy by Nutcracker

by Tina Kells | December 24, 2008 at 04:52 pm

476 views | 2 Recommendations | 1 comment

Ballet BC has been saved from the brink of bankruptcy disaster by a traditional ballet holiday hero... the Nutcracker!

The story starts out like so many other stories have since the economic downturn hit... with a series of layoffs. In November Ballet BC had to make the hard choice to layoff 38 employees in its first attempt to fend off financial collapse.

On Monday, the cash-strapped ballet company temporarily laid off 38 people, including most of its administrative staff, all dancers, as well as artistic director John Alleyne. Barrit said the layoffs are expected to save about $100,000.

Ballet BC was still skating on thin ice when, in early December, the non-profit company filed for bankruptcy protection only to promptly have their accounts frozen in a rather Scroogy move by Scotiabank.

Already on the brink of collapse, Ballet BC was dealt another blow this week when Scotiabank froze almost $17,000 of the company's money. The funds were used to pay off $16,749 owed on Ballet BC's Scotiabank Visa cards.

The company said in a statement that after the Dec. 2 filing of a notice of intention, “the Board discovered unauthorized activity on Ballet BC's bank accounts.” The survival of Ballet BC, it said, had been “seriously threatened by a major Canadian banking institution.”

At a press conference Friday, Ballet BC board chairman Graeme Barrit said that Scotiabank froze the funds on Monday. He said the money represents around 20 per cent of Ballet BC's available cash.

“Although $17,000 doesn't sound like an awful lot of money, when you are as close to the edge of the abyss as we are right now, it really is a very dramatic hit to our ability to function between now and the new year, and really does put the project in great jeopardy,” he said.

Scotiabank, aka Scrooge, claims it was well within its legal rights to freeze the accounts of the troubled ballet company but the truth of that is under dispute. Either way it was a move on the part of the Canadian banking giant that was totally lacking in Christmas spirit.

At a time when banks around the globe are being given a kind handout by taxpayers it was a cruel twist of irony that saw Scotiabank unwilling to extend the same charity to the little BC Ballet company. So much for showing some goodwill toward mankind during the holidays!

Mr. Barrit added that he had been advised that the move was contrary to the Bankruptcy and Solvency Act and that Scotiabank had now received their money ahead of the company's other creditors. Almost 200 creditors are owed in about $400,000.
Frank Switzer, spokesman for Scotiabank, said the bank's actions were taken under the “right of offset.” He said it was a “centuries' old precept” that comes into play when an institution holds both the debt and the funds available to meet that debt. Any suggestion that the bank had acted improperly was, Mr. Switzer said, “unfortunate and untrue.”

Ballet BC laid off 38 staff at the end of November. The company's future has been pinned on sales of The Nutcracker, currently running just over 2,000 tickets shy of the previous target of 12,000 ticket sales. That target has just been raised by another $17,000 worth of sales. A strong box office for the holiday classic would make a financial plan for creditors more likely to be accepted.

So as the story of the little ballet company verses the big bad bank was left on December 15, a mere ten days before Christmas, the short-term fate of Ballet BC hinged on a small but traditionally popular seasonal production... a classic Russian ballet called The Nutcracker.

On December 23 in what can only be described as a pre-Christmas miracle, Ballet BC met its sales goals for "The Nutcracker" and was able to buy itself some time to rally donations to fend off a total collapse of the company.

It looks like it will be a Merry Christmas for Ballet BC. The company has exceeded its goal to sell 12,000 tickets to its production of the Nutcracker at Queen Elizabeth Theatre. That means Ballet BC does not have to file for bankruptcy protection.
However, the company still needs to raise $200,000 in pledges to bring back all the staff released at the end of November, including artistic director John Alleyne and all the dancers. $25,000 has been pledged so far.

Ballet BC wants everyone back by January 12th.

The popularity of The Nutcracker combined with a surge of donations from loyal supporters has left Ballet BC with a holiday reprieve. The ballet company's new goal of bringing back all the laid off staff by the middle of January 2009 is only $175,000 away.

Tis the season to donate to Ballet BC and help keep the arts in Vancouver.