Musicians in the Northern Ballet Sinfonia are campaigning to protect their touring work. Photo credit: Musicians' Union.
Ask your MP to put pressure on Arts Council England to come to the table and agree a realistic funding solution that protects jobs and keeps Northern Ballet live.
- Use our online ‘email your MP’ tool – hosted by the Trades Union Congress on their Megaphone platform
- Write your MP directly using our template letter
After you’ve written to your MP, share it on social media using the hashtag #KeepNorthernBalletLive
What’s happening at Northern Ballet?
Musicians in the Northern Ballet Sinfonia are campaigning to protect their touring work.
It comes after Northern Ballet announced that they were being forced to consider getting rid of their live orchestra for some touring productions and replacing the musicians with recorded music due to a real terms funding cut.
Unlike other Northern Ballet workers, musicians in the Sinfonia are not salaried. They are on freelance contracts and only get paid for the work they do. Some are already relying on food banks to survive.
It is essential that Arts Council England and Northern Ballet agree a realistic funding solution that protects union jobs and enables everyone to have access to live ballet that is genuinely live.
Don’t want to use our ‘email your MP’ tool? You can still email your MP using our template letter.
Highlights from the campaign so far
- Close to 8,000 people have signed a petition calling on Arts Council England and Northern Ballet to get round the table and agree a realistic funding solution. Sign the petition now
- Musicians in Northern Ballet Sinfonia leafleted audiences at Nottingham Theatre Royal ahead of performances of Beauty and the Beast. They also wore white t-shirts instead of their usual concert dress. Check out the stunning photos on Instagram
- Keep Northern Ballet Live campaign took centre stage at Labour Party Conference in Liverpool. Watch the video
- Claude-Michel Schönberg, composer of Les Misérables, Miss Saigon and Martin Guerre, has written a letter in support of Northern Ballet Sinfonia. Read the letter in full
- Musicians at CBSO share their solidarity with Northern Ballet Sinfonia. Like on Instagram
- Musicians' unions worldwide share their solidarity with Northern Ballet Sinfonia and call on Arts Council England to act urgently. See their solidarity
- Musicians approached about recording music for accompanying ballet have been asked to contact the union. Learn more
MU members will be leafleting outside Newcastle Theatre Royal an hour before performances of Beauty and the Beast on Tuesday 7, Wednesday 8, Thursday 9, Friday 10 and Saturday 11 November. For more information, please contact MU Regional Organiser for North of England Paul Reed.