2011

High Performance RodeoCalgary’s International Festival of the Arts 2011 Report to the Community

“Celebrating 25 years of groundbreaking theatre in 2011, the One Yellow Rabbit theatre company’s High Performance Rodeo isn’t just carrying the bulk of Calgary’s arts and culture scene on its accomplished shoulders [in January],it’s putting our city on the map.”Kelly Doody, The Calgary Herald

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DEFINED BY EXCELLENCE

When you come to the Rodeo, you’re looking for the unexpected, for creative thrills and artistic chaos – words that can give an Executive Director nightmares as she tries to harness that wild energy into a festival that’s sustainable, responsible and financially viable.

Fortunately, our talented Rodeo team brings the same level of creativity to our business practice as to our programming. We don’t try to control the Rodeo’s chaos; we channel it, so that your festival experience is defined by excellence.

This Report to the Community provides a snapshot of the 25th annual High Performance Rodeo, a month-long roller coaster of theatre, dance, music and more.

Thank you to everyone who helped make the festival possible – and just wait until you see what we’ve got cookin’ for 2012!

Erin O’ConnorExecutive Director, One Yellow RabbitProducer, High Performance Rodeo

3The High Performance Rodeo is a cutting-edge performing arts festival with a 25-year history of bringing unparalleled creative excellence to Calgary.

REBELLIOUS, AUDACIOUS AND FUN

What is the DNA of the High Performance Rodeo?

At first glance, the Rodeo can look like a mash-up of incongruent elements. How can a single festival encompass the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and a gay rap opera, a seminal classic of Canadian

theatre and an electrifying outdoor concert?

At 25 years, the High Performance Rodeo is Canada’s longest running international arts festival. Calgary has embraced our unique brand of urban adventure, because the Rodeo is cut from the same

cloth as our city: rebellious, audacious and fun.

And that’s what defines the Rodeo, year after year – art that pushes you past the edge of your seat, into new realms of possibility and imagination.

Michael GreenCo-Artistic Director, One Yellow Rabbit

Curator, High Performance Rodeo

4The High Performance Rodeo is the premier destination in Calgary for cultural

explorers in search of bold, progressive and wild experiences in the arts.

Trailblazing. Game-changing.

Undeniable.The 25th annual High Performance Rodeo was a wild ride.

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1 asto

nish

ing

arts

fest

ival25

days

15 venues

540 artists

111 performances

The 25th annual High Performance Rodeo was a wild ride.

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BrianEno

Brian Eno: An Illustrated Talk

Musician, composer, artist and one of the greatest thinkers of the modern age,

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Supported by Glenbow Museum, Cantos Music Foundation and Calgary Economic Development.

77 Million Paintings

Brian Eno was the Artist-in-Residence of the 25th High Performance Rodeo.

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The High Performance Rodeo animates downtown Calgary with free public art.

Celebrating the 100th anniversary of Calgary’s Chinatown, this exuberant multicultural event paraded through downtown’s +15 system.

Supported by The City of Calgary, Calgary Downtown Association and Calgary Chinese Community Services Association.

+15 Chinatown Art Parade

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This mind-blowing mid-winter dance party brought 6,500 revelers to Olympic Plaza, where they danced in -20 degree weather to huge audio by incredible international DJs.

Supported by The City of Calgary, Calgary Downtown Association and PK Sound.

Snowblower

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Acres of DreamsAbsurdesque BASH’d: A Gay Rap Opera

Nevermore: The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe

Billy Bishop Goes to War

L’Orchestre d’Hommes-Orchestres Performs Tom Waits

From the sweeping majesty of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra to the exquisite chaos of German absurdist theatre, the High Performance Rodeo brings the world’s best performances to Calgary.

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One Yellow Rabbit’s newest creation,

SMASH CUT FREEZE

“The Rodeo embodies art!

It magically enlivens the core of our city. It

brings people together in unexpected ways to

experience unexpected things. It walks an

adventurous tightrope that is quintessentially

Calgarian.”

Brian Pincott, Calgary Ward 11 Councillor

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This Is My City invited Calgary’s homeless community to participate in the High Performance Rodeo as artists, speakers and audiences.

With the support of First Calgary Financial and ConocoPhillips, this powerful program explored the intersection of poverty and creativity as a tool for social change.

The Rodeo Youth Arts Program,

made possible by the RBC Foundation, gave an unforgettable festival experience to a group of youth, with tickets to jaw-dropping

performances and post-show encounters with the artists.

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The Laycraft Lounge, hosted by Hotel Arts, is the hub of the High Performance Rodeo where festival-goers congregate for tantalizing cocktails and to rub shoulders with festival artists.

Sexy, stylish and sophisticated - Wine Stage is Calgary’s premier wine and food event, where connoisseurs enjoy fine wines and succulent culinary creations in the elegant ballrooms of Hotel Arts.

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The Festival Saloon was the destination of choice for corporate parties, honoured guests and festival artists, hosted by Domicile Interiors, Enbridge and the Beatniq Jazz & Social Club.

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39.5%

13.8%

29.9%

16.8%

Sources of Income

Public Funding

Partnerships

Earned Revenue

Sponsorship & Donations

35.3%

15.2%18.9%

26.6%4.0%

ArtisticProgramming

Operations

Production

Marketing & Communications

Fund Development

Areas ofExpenditure

$80,000 to$150,000

18%

29%

12%

18%

23% Under$35,000

$35,000 to$50,000

$50,000to $80,000

$150,000+

Attendance Highlights

13of patrons came from outside of Calgary.

%

94of patrons were satisfied with the value of their tickets.

%43of patrons

were first-time attendees

%

37%

63%

Male:

Female:21,643 ticketed attendees

63,398 total attendees

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Household Income

Calgary doesn’t sit still.

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It’s a wild-child of a city, whose citizens demand

challenge, adventure and vigorous creativity.The High Performance Rodeo rides the breaking edge of Calgary’s zeitgeist, tapping in to the pulse of the city and acting as a catalyst for cultural innovation.

The High Performance Rodeo is Calgary’s festival. It is the cultural lens through which this community of mavericks continues to dream.

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“The Rodeo is vital to our sense of building community in the city. Not only do we

attract top artists from around the world, but we give our own citizens permission to love their city, to dream together, and to be inspired in their own

lives by the very best in the world.” Naheed Nenshi, Mayor of Calgary

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High Performance Rodeo#21, 225 8th Ave SE

Calgary, ABT2G 0K8

403.294.7411www.hprodeo.ca

Produced by One Yellow Rabbit Performance Theatre