Could your marketing keep young dancers en pointe?

Would you like to become a Trustee of National Youth Ballet of Great Britain and help take this 30 year old Performing Arts Charity through an exciting period of growth?

National Youth Ballet (NYB) was founded in 1987 with the aim to widen participation in all aspects of ballet performance. They do this by enabling young dancers and choreographers to collaborate with their peers, alongside musicians, composers, designers, costumiers and stage managers, under the guidance and support of established professionals.

Hundreds of young dancers, aged 8 to 18, audition for the highly coveted places in the Company annually. Many of their alumni go on to gain contracts with major ballet and musical theatre companies throughout the world. NYB also works with children from all walks of life through their Outreach Fit to Dance programme in schools and in the community.

NYB commissions bold, new work, created by professional choreographers working within the industry, collaborating with musicians, designers, eminent composers, costumiers and technicians to create a complete company experience. And they’ve recently launched the Beyond Ballet Emerging Choreographers Platform which nurtures young choreographic talent, supporting young choreographers in devising and showcasing their own works at professional level.

Sir Matthew Bourne OBE, Director of New Adventures and NYB Patron said, “I have been so impressed by the ambition of this company. We are not just looking at pieces of choreography, we are looking at pieces of theatre and that’s amazing! NYB simply doesn’t settle for second best!”

Jill Tookey, the founder of NYB, passed away earlier this year. Jill’s successful career as Fashion Editor of two national magazines followed an earlier love of ballet and all-round vocational dance and design training at the Arts Educational School. She was totally committed to the NYB, working on a full-time voluntary basis as Executive and Artistic Director. And in addition to the direction of the Company, Jill designed most of NYB’s outstanding costumes.

 NYB now has the challenge of moving forward without its very dedicated founder. They have an amazing team of patrons such as Darcy Bussell OBE, Joanna Lumley OBE, Dame Monica Mason DBE, Sir Peter Wright OBE, Carlos Acosta and Lauren Cuthbertson. In October they appointed a new Artistic Director and over the last few months volunteers have come forward to take on the many roles that Jill performed.

Marketing support needed:
NYB are now looking to diversify their Board of Trustees and are looking to appoint someone with a background in marketing and communications.

Amanda Woffenden, Director and Trustee of NYB said, “We’re looking for someone with a skills set that spans marketing and communications strategy, digital and social media, CRM, PR and corporate reputation management. Their experience could be from a career in the Arts or from a career in the commercial sector.”

“NYB has a Trustee meeting once a month in the evening at a central London venue and all Trustees attend each of these Board meetings. Although this is not an executive appointment, the NYB core executive team is small and as we work through our plans for growth over the next 18 months, we would expect to be able to rely on our Trustees to provide guidance to the executive team outside these meetings.”

If you are interested in becoming a Trustee of NYB or if you would like to provide them with informal pro bono marketing and communications support please email Anna Mullenneaux, Chief Matchmaker of Pimp My Cause, at [email protected]. The first interviews for the Trustee position will be conducted in early January 2017 and an appointment is expected by March 2017.