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 Help the Royal Ballet
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Currently (8th November 1998) the Royal Ballet dancers have agreed the broad principals of a contract with the Royal Opera House (ROH) management. However no deal is done until it is done and the ROH itself has an ongoing campaign centred on a petition seeking proper financial support from the Arts Council and Government. We believe that the two initiatives we originally outlined below continue to be a vital in supporting both the dancers and the RB. If you love ballet please help. What follows is our original page on the subject..........
In an attempt to make ends meet the dancers are being asked to sign much worse contracts and effectively accept a pay cut. And this in a profession where most dancers' working lives are at an end in their early to mid 30's. Is this a way to try and run one of the best ballet companies in the world as we enter the 21st Century? There are 2 ways to help; one sponsored by Equity on behalf of the dancers and involving writing to Colin Southgate (Chairman of the Opera House), and a second originally sponsored by the Opera House and involving a petition. We believe the first is particularly important and there are but a few days only to action it. Decent Contracts for Dancers The following text is from an Equity leaflet given to the audience as it arrived for the RB performance at Sadler's on 20th October, the opening night of the season. It's a call to write letters and we include an example letter at the end. Here is the text: Can the Royal Ballet Survive 1998? The much-publicised problems at the Royal Opera House have called into question the very survival of the Royal Ballet company. Dancers have been told that unless they agree to new contracts which would worsen their pay and conditions, they will get redundancy notices next week and in January 1999 the Royal Ballet will cease to function. Singers in the Royal Opera company and the Orchestra are also facing threats of redundancy. The dancers you will see perform tonight have dedicated their lives to their art - most of them started training at the age of seven. They feel angry and betrayed at being told that unless they accept these new conditions their careers at the Royal Ballet could end. If you feel as passionate about the future of the Royal Ballet as the dancers do, please support them, and the other performers at the Royal Opera House, by writing letters of protest to: Sir Colin Southgate, Chairman, Royal Opera House, London WC2E 9DD Rt Hon Chris Smith MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, 2-4 Cockspur Street, London SW1Y 5DH That's the end of the Equity leaflet. What follows is an example letter to Sir Colin Southgate. It would be very useful if you could customise / change this in some way so that Sir Colin gets to see a variety of spontaneous words. Thanks.
Example letter (Word 2 Format) Rich Text Format is highly portable and most word processors should be able to load in this version. Proper Funding for Ballet In support of a Royal Opera House initiative we ask that visitors download and print the following petition and get as many dance lovers and others to sign as possible. The petition will be presented to Tony Blair and Chris Smith. The files are in word format;
Large Title Page (in Word 7)
Large Title Page (in Word 2)
Large Title Page (in Rich Text Format) The Rich Text Format versions are highly portable and most word processors should be able to load these documents. Completed forms should be sent to the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, London WC2E 9DD Time is important and forms need to be back by the 20th of November please. Note that this version of the petition is specific to the Royal Ballet and does not ask that signatories support the Royal Opera and the Royal Opera House Orchestra. Petitions covering the orchestra, opera and ballet are available from the Royal Opera House for those who want them. | ||||||||
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