5
High Performance Rodeo Calgary’s International Festival of the Arts 2010 Annual Report

Calgary’s International Festival of the Arts 2010 Annual ... · Calgary’s International Festival of the Arts 2010 Annual Report. ts. e, rn Canada. Our Mission tain as wide an

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: Calgary’s International Festival of the Arts 2010 Annual ... · Calgary’s International Festival of the Arts 2010 Annual Report. ts. e, rn Canada. Our Mission tain as wide an

High Performance Rodeo Calgary’s International Festival of the Arts

2010 Annual Report

Page 2: Calgary’s International Festival of the Arts 2010 Annual ... · Calgary’s International Festival of the Arts 2010 Annual Report. ts. e, rn Canada. Our Mission tain as wide an

The High Performance Rodeo is Calgary’s International Festival of the Arts.

Encompassing theatre, music, dance, comedy, interdisciplinary art and more,

the High Performance Rodeo is the largest event of its kind in western Canada.

Our Mission

The High Performance Rodeo aims to entertain as wide an audience as

imaginable, while remaining fertile ground for the progressive and the wild.

Wow. What a year.

Welcome to the High Performance Rodeo’s first-ever Annual Report. With this document, we’re throwing our doors open to the community and inviting you to see what makes us tick, to cast an eye to the future, and to celebrate the successes of the 2010 High Performance Rodeo.

Sometimes it’s hard to believe that what began in 1987 as a “Secret Elevator Experimental Performance Festival” has truly become Calgary’s Internation-al Festival of the Arts, but all the evidence is there. In 2010, we hosted 546 artists from 12 countries, 109 performances in 22 venues, 64,500 attendees over 25 days – and all this despite a struggling economy and a flu pandemic in the coldest month of the year.

This city has an appetite for cutting-edge performance, and we’re only too happy to feed it. The High Performance Rodeo has thrived in Calgary for 24 years. This is our home and, with everything we do, we strive to make it a fun, interesting and unique place to live.

In January 2011, we will celebrate the 25th edition of the High Performance Rodeo – and, oh, do we have plans. We’re deepening our relationships with the donors, sponsors and patrons who share our vision for Calgary, without whom we couldn’t do what we do. We’re planning to animate the downtown core with activities that all of Calgary’s citizens can embrace and delight in. And we’re assembling an incredible array of artists that will blow your minds. Stay tuned!

Thank you to our patrons, sponsors, donors, volunteers, artists and commu-nity partners. Thank you for supporting our festival, and for being excited, risk-taking, fun-loving audiences. Thank you for showing the world that Calgary is a hotbed of arts and culture.

Let’s do it again in 2011. Twenty-five years, baby!

Michael GreenCurator, High Performance Rodeo

Erin O’ConnorManaging Producer, High Performance Rodeo

2010 Rodeo-at-a-Glance

25 days 546 artists 12 countries 109 performances

22 venues 17,671 “gated” attendees 64,500 total attendees

Page 3: Calgary’s International Festival of the Arts 2010 Annual ... · Calgary’s International Festival of the Arts 2010 Annual Report. ts. e, rn Canada. Our Mission tain as wide an

1987 One Yellow Rabbit’s Secret Elevator Experimental Performance Festival debuts with five productions in a 1950’s era office building.

1988 The newly dubbed “High Performance Rodeo” runs March 14-27 with fourteen productions in One Yellow Rabbit’s Secret Theatre.

1991 The Rodeo goes international with James Howley’s Almost in Exile (New York City), Newcomer by the Russian Theatre of Improvisation (Russia) and Heart of a Dog by Les Etablissements (Belgium).

1993 The festival expands into a second venue – Theatre Calgary’s rehearsal hall – and, for the first time, Rodeo attendance spikes to over 1,000 people.

1995 After bouncing around the calendar for nine years, the High Performance Rodeo settled into a permanent January timeslot, breaking through the cold of winter with sizzling performance.

1997 The Rodeo headliner is Bruce McCulloch of The Kids in the Hall, and the festival’s box office revenue triples.

2002 The International Festival of Animated Objects, now a successful biennial festival, debuts at this year’s Rodeo as a “festival-within-a-festival”.

2006 The 20th annual High Performance Rodeo is by far the largest edition in the festival’s history. It spans seven venues with over thirty productions, and draws over 10,000 attendees.

2008 His Excellency Jean-Daniel Lafond, the Viceregal Consort of Canada, becomes the Patron of the High Performance Rodeo.

2009 Philip Glass, one of the world’s most influential composers, is the Rodeo’s first official Artist-in-Residence.

2010 The Rodeo takes over downtown Calgary, occupying 22 venues and attracting 64,500 people including 5,000 who celebrated Calgary’s Olympic Heritage at Snowblower, our first outdoor music concert.

RODE

O M

ILES

TONE

SWorld-Class: In Paradisum, Tono, No Exit and Tubular BellsFrom breathtaking contemporary ballet, to globe-spanning indigenous dance, to the extraordinary live-cinema adaptation of No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre (described in the Calgary Herald as “one of the finest theatrical achievements in recent memory”), there was no shortage of awe-inspiring excellence at this year’s festival.

Spectacular: SnowblowerIt seems crazy to throw an outdoor party in the cold and dark of January – so that’s exactly what we did. Over 5,000 people converged on Olympic Plaza, wrapped in scarves and toques, and danced to the mesmerizing beats of incredible electronic musicians from around the world.

“Snowblower was the most beautfiul sense of community I have ever seen exhibited in Calgary,” said one attendee. “People from all walks of earth, small children break-dancing, regulars of the electronic scene, homeless people, all dancing together.”

Innovative: Kawasaki Exit, Dedication to the RevolutionsThe Rodeo has always been fertile ground for new creation, and this year was no exception. The festival co-produced an original play by Toronto’s Small Wooden Shoe and featured the world premiere of One Yellow Rabbit’s latest creation, Kawasaki Exit, praised in PressPlus 1 for its “brave performances and poignant writing...”

Social Justice: This is My City, TWO-BIT OPER-EH?-SHUN, Power Play: HomelessnessArt is a platform for social change, and that’s never been clearer than at this year’s Rodeo. Partnering with the City of Calgary’s This is My City initiative, we hosted a cavalcade of events that spotlighted homeless artists – art exhibitions, a showcase cabaret, open art workshops, a symposium and more. The Rodeo also featured TWO-BIT OPER-EH?-SHUN, a stunning oratorio about homelessness that “culminated in one of the longest, most heartfelt standing ovations I have seen around town for a long time” (according to Stephen Hunt of The Calgary Herald).

International: White Cabin, Last Stand to Reason, SmoothCalgary audiences were exposed to performances from around the world as the Rodeo welcomed America’s hilarious comedy duo, The Pajama Men, France’s electro-soul music trio, Smooth, and Russia’s experimental visionaries, AKHE Theatre – whose performance of White Cabin earned a glowing 5-star review in the Calgary Herald.

2010 HIGH PERFORMANCE RODEO: PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS

Page 4: Calgary’s International Festival of the Arts 2010 Annual ... · Calgary’s International Festival of the Arts 2010 Annual Report. ts. e, rn Canada. Our Mission tain as wide an

SOURCES OF INCOME High Performance Rodeo “Gated” Attendance 1991-2010(ticketed attendance only)

High Performance Rodeo Total Attendance 1991-2010

TOTAL ATTENDANCE

GATED ATTENDANCE(ticketed)

AREAS OF ExPENDITURE

2010 HIGH PERFORMANCE RODEO: ADMINISTRATIVE HIGHLIGHTS

2010 HIGH PERFORMANCE RODEO: ATTENDANCE HIGHLIGHTS

The 2010 High Performance Rodeo was the launching ground for several new administrative initiatives, including:

• a new festival website at hprodeo.ca that encompasses all aspects of the festival experience. It received 42,064 unique visits and 135,532 page views in its first five months. Both of these figures are over 60% higher than other performing arts websites of similar size.

• the Friends of the Rodeo sponsorship program, a first step toward cultivating a stronger relationship with our loyal, longtime patrons.

• a new Customer Relationship Management software called Tessitura, which allows us to improve our operating efficiencies and provide the best possible Box Office experience for our patrons.

Despite the economic crisis, the H1N1 scare and an unpredictable Calgary winter, audiences came out in droves to the 2010 High Performance Rodeo, resulting inanother year of record-high attendance! According to our on-site audience surveys, our patrons are a highly diverse group. The Rodeo truly has something to offer everyone!

Female: 65%Male: 35%

Ages 16-34: 43%Ages 35-54: 37%Ages 55+: 20%

Household Income:Under $35,000: 22%$35,000-$50,000: 14%$50,000-$80,000: 21%$80,000-$150,000: 27%Over $150,000: 16%

14% of patrons came from outside of Calgary41% of patrons were Rodeo virgins78% of patrons plan to attend next year’s High Performance Rodeo98% of patrons were satisfied with the value of their tickets

Page 5: Calgary’s International Festival of the Arts 2010 Annual ... · Calgary’s International Festival of the Arts 2010 Annual Report. ts. e, rn Canada. Our Mission tain as wide an

High Performance Rodeo#21, 225 8th Ave SECalgary, AlbertaT2G 0K8

hprodeo.ca

Email: [email protected]: 403.294,7411Fax: 403.264.3230

“Just when hibernation seems the best route to take between now and spring, along comes One Yellow Rabbit’s High Performance Rodeo with a three week orgy of cutting-edge theatre and

performance from around the globe.”

“It’s no small feat to be Calgary’s ‘other’ rodeo, or the largest event of its kind in Western

Canada. Be proud of this one, Cowtown, as the One Yellow Rabbit theatre company’s ever-

expanding festival is truly amazing.”

- Bob Clark, The Calgary Herald

- Kelly Doody, The Calgary Sun