What comes to mind when you think of Scottish Ballet – pioneering spirit? Adventurous productions? Engagement programmes that touch people and communities across Scotland? We hope it is all of these. Scottish Ballet proudly leads with our values of excellence, innovation and inclusion; we’ve built a strong reputation, which we need your help to grow. Our message is simple: everyone is welcome.

Scottish Ballet is about more than just today’s performance. Our desire is to create ballet that makes a lasting impact and provides opportunities that challenge the norms of classical ballet and develops dance as an art form. These are vital golden threads woven into the fabric of Scottish Ballet and the Next Generation Campaign.

With your support the Next Generation Campaign will help us bring new, talented, creative artists to Scottish Ballet from a multitude of artistic backgrounds. Investing our resources in new talent will have the most transformative effect on their careers and, in turn, what you see from our dancers on stage and screen, transcending styles, inviting diverse audiences to join us in theatres and online for globally released films.

By providing each artist with a platform and an opportunity, we are supporting their journey. One day this may culminate in big stage and screen works, such as Jess & Morgs’ multi award-winning Coppélia or Helen Pickett’s The Crucible, ensuring Scottish Ballet continues to inspire on stage and beyond into the future.

In Coppélia, Scottish Ballet has another unquestionable hit to further cement its reputation as possibly the most consistently innovative ballet company in the UK.

Culture Whisper

Building on foundations

For over 54 years, Scotland’s national dance company has inspired on stage and beyond. Like our founder Peter Darrell we have experimented, evolved, met challenges head on and thrived in uncertain times. Over the last five years, Scottish Ballet has commissioned and staged more full-length ballets than any other ballet company in the UK and made dance relevant to new audiences. But we won’t rest on our laurels.

The Five in Five Campaign provided us with a treasure chest of five narrative ballets. Our next steps are exciting, nurturing the talent of tomorrow, supporting dancers, choreographers, and a wide range of creative artists.  Our Artistic, Technical and Wardrobe Teams will provide crucial support and mentoring for these talented individuals to create new commissions.

During the five years of the Next Generation Campaign (2023/24 to 27/28), the artists will produce at least ten innovative new works including dance films, short works, musical scores, one act ballets, or set & costume designs, whilst providing audiences with a diverse range of voices and dance experiences. By the end of the Campaign Scottish Ballet will have an incredible, distinct collective of Creative Associates to continue to work with.

Traditional ‘full length’ productions have greater box office success, which in turn helps keep arts organisations operating. There is no doubt they have their place in every ballet company’s repertoire. However, continually programming the same well-known ballets doesn’t retain returning, or attract new audiences – imagine reading the same book repeatedly – nor do presenting traditional ballets without re-looking at them through today’s eyes. We want to remain relevant to the culture of a modern-day Scotland and evolving world.

In autumn 2023, Scottish Ballet toured a double-bill featuring a new one-act work Twice-Born by choreographer Dickson Mbi. Dickson is an Olivier award-winning artist in the hip hop dance community and the first Creative Associate of the Next Generation Campaign.

Your role in the Next Generation Campaign

We can only create new work with investment. Put simply, without donations it would have been impossible for Scottish Ballet to produce Coppélia, The Crucible, Twice-Born or Dextera, and talented creatives would have missed out on the platform Scottish Ballet provided. Your support to produce new work will help us remain relevant.

Scottish Ballet aims to raise at least £350,000 each year for five years for the Next Generation Campaign as part of a larger £10million fundraising goal to keep our place at the forefront of dance internationally.

We hope you are inspired to support the Campaign. It’s an exciting future for Scottish Ballet and we want you to be part of it.

For more information, please contact Antonia Brownlee, Director of Philanthropy, antonia.brownlee@scottishballet.co.uk or 07807 098 696.

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