Northern Ballet facing loss of live orchestra amid 'funding crisis' as redundancies hit iconic Leeds company

The city-based company says it has had to make a series of difficult decisions, including redundancies and a reduction in its ability to tour.

But according to bosses, the situation could be set to worsen as the company says "it has become clear that we can no longer continue with our traditional touring model".

And on top of that, live music may be on the way out - at least for some performances - as it was argued that this cannot be maintained at every venue.

Today (September 29), the Musicians' Union urged Arts Council England (ACE) to work with Northern Ballet to end what it has described as a "funding crisis".

The Northern Ballet is one of ACE's National Portfolio Organisations, meaning it should be in regular receipt of funding from the body that invests public money in the sector.

But the union says that funding from ACE has been constrained in recent years – and that Northern Ballet’s economic position means there are concerns over its ability to deliver world-class music and ballet for the tens of thousands of people who support the company each year.

In response, ACE has insisted that the body is “working supportively with [Northern Ballet] to find a way forward”.

The union, meanwhile, has said that Northern Ballet's UK touring performances made a "significant operational deficit" in the last financial year, which resulted in the reluctant use of company reserves.

But this financial setback has reportedly had a knock-on effect on the company's ability to tour. The union said this has affected the livelihood of some of its members in the company - with some even resorting to using food banks.

This week, a statement from the company said: "Northern Ballet has had to make the difficult decision to enter into negotiations to reassess the amount of live music that accompanies its touring productions from April 2024.

"The entire arts industry has been heavily impacted by rising costs across the board, with inflation, the cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine causing drastic uplifts in the cost of everything from energy bills to set materials to the transportation costs associated with taking a production around the UK.

"Due to these mitigating factors we have had to take certain steps - there have been redundancies within the company, and a reduction in touring over the past year - however, it has become clear that we can no longer continue with our traditional touring model and we will need to explore different options if we are to continue to bring world-class narrative ballets to audiences throughout the country."

The company added: "We fully believe in the power and importance of live music and where we can, it will remain an integral part of our productions, but with deep regret we cannot maintain it at every venue.

"We are currently in discussion with the musicians, the Musicians' Union and Arts Council England to explore what a new touring model could look like for Northern Ballet.

"It remains our mission to create world-class new ballets, develop the next generation of talented new voices and share the joy of dance with audiences around the UK and we remain grateful to Arts Council England, Leeds City Council and our supporters for the funding and support that we receive."

The company has not commented on the number of redundancies it has made.

Meanwhile, the union described the suggestion of replacing live music with recordings as "unacceptable".

Morris Stemp, the union's Orchestras Official, said: “It is unthinkable that Northern Ballet should be in a position to even consider using recorded music in place of a live orchestra during live performances. Whilst we appreciate that doing so is a last resort, our members are the product and an integral part of any ballet.

"They deliver world class music and dance in partnership with the performers on the stage. It would be no different to replacing the dancers with a video screen.”

He added: “The work Northern Ballet does across the UK brings immense joy and pleasure to thousands every year, from those experiencing the artform for the first time, to those that know and love the company well.

"We acknowledge that Northern Ballet are in emergency discussions with Arts Council England today, and we urge them to collectively find a solution to the funding shortfall. It is vital for all in society to have access to this incredible artform, with the dedicated live music as an integral part of the experience.”

In response to the concerns, a spokesperson for ACE said: “We highly value Northern Ballet and that’s why in November we increased their grant for the next three years so that they can continue to bring great work to audiences across the North and more widely.

"In the current economic climate the sector faces difficult decisions, we have tried to reduce pressure by being clear with organisations that we will be flexible, recognising they may need to reduce activity to help balance their books. We are talking to Northern Ballet and will be working supportively with them to find a way forward."