Ballet Kelowna offers signed shoes to help raise money this holiday season

Ballet needs help this season

Photo: Ballet Kelowna

Ballet Kelowna's holiday giving campaign for the month of December will have a satirical twist.

Company dancers and Ballet Kelowna staff took time over their lunch break recently to tape 36 used pointe shoes to the wall of their studio.

The move is a playful jab after news that 'Comedian' by Maurizio Cattelan, a work consisting of a banana duct taped to a wall which sold at the Sotheby’s contemporary auction for $6.2 million.

A social media post shows the new instalment and Ballet Kelowna has promised to give away one signed pointe shoe to each donor who gives $250 or more by Dec. 31.

The pointe shoes on the wall mimic the iconic placement of the banana in the original artwork, with duct tape placed diagonally across the centre. Many of these pointe shoes cost upwards of $150 a pair and are just a small fraction of what a professional dance company goes through in a season.

“We believe that art should be accessible to everyone, and we are proud of the cutting-edge contemporary dance works that we produce locally, on a shoestring budget,” says CEO Simone Orlando.

Ballet Kelowna is a registered charity all gifts are eligible for a tax receipt. Ballet Kelowna is hoping to raise $25,000 for the New Year.