BUSINESS
ENTERTAINMENT
CONCUSSION symptoms forced Spencer Main to give up his hockey dreams as a member of the Kelowna Rockets, but he is getting on with his life.
MAXINE DEHART says there is a new landmark at the corner of Rutland Road and Highway 33, the new Valley First Credit Union branch is now open.
JIM CUDDY of Blue Rodeo fame has been a popular performer here in Kelowna, and now his son Devin Cuddy is following in his dad’s musical footsteps.
A24
SAVOY EQUIPMENT
LTD.
1892 Byland Rd, West Kelowna
250-769-7355 1892 Spall Rd, Kelowna
250-868-1010
March 7, 2013 The Central Okanagan’s Best-Read Newspaper www.kelownacapnews.com
▼ BALLET KELOWNA
Preparing for final leap into the public eye Without help, the Ballet Kelowna board of directors projected the dance group would land $71,000 in the hole by April. Jennifer Smith STAFF REPORTER
ASSISTANT EDITOR
See Repairs A4
PARTS
THURSDAY
Alistair Waters It’s only been open three months, but Kelowna’s new $4.1-million Parkinson Activity Centre, now home of the city’s seniors’ centre, is already in need of repair. Cracks have started to appear in the wood floor of the large main activity room on the ground level, and the problem is so bad the subcontractor that installed the floor is being called back in to fix it. While the company is doing that work, it will also have to repair another section of the floor, a smaller area where boards had been taken up to repair a leak but were replaced too soon and have now buckled. “(Both jobs are) also considered a warranty item,” said Steve Walker, a building technician with the city’s design and construction department. He noted the subcontractor is responsible for the repairs. “But we are disappointed,” he added. He said because the work is covered by warranty, the repairs should not cost the city any money. The reason for the widespread cracking is
SERVICE
JENNIFER SMITH/CAPITAL NEWS
STUDENTS from the Canadian School of Ballet watched Ballet Kelowna get ready for its final performance on March 15. The company performs in local schools today.
the
ONLY
Cadillac Dealer IN THE OKANAGAN VALLEY SINCE 1977
‘2013 NORTH AMERICAN CAR OF THE YEAR’ THE ALL NEW CADILLAC ATS LEASE FROM ONLY
With their days of watching Ballet Kelowna dancers numbered, Canadian School of Ballet’s students poured into the studio to watch final rehearsals Tuesday. This is how it all began. Artistic director David LaHay, who can still be found in the studio sewing costumes before 8 a.m., was approached by the school’s directors to start a performance group for their senior students as he taught many of them in a Banff summer program. He took the idea to the next level. “I felt that there was a need for another small professional ballet company to launch dancers’ careers,” he said. “Everybody said I was absolutely mad to do this from scratch.” Slated for a final performance in a week and a half, the company was such a success that its demise, 10 years later, will leave a serious hole on the national ballet scene and the wider arts community. There are only a handful of companies of similar size in the country, which means many young Canadians, particularly in Western Canada, simply won’t be exposed to dance. “We tour quite extensively throughout the province, more and more so into Alberta, and we were just about to enter the Saskatchewan market,” LaHay said. He is a product of a mid-size Canadian town, Barrie, Ontario, and didn’t start dancing until he was 22 years old, having never had contact with the art form. “Once I discovered dance and dance chose me, that was the only thing I ever wanted to do,” he said. As in every artistic pursuit, money has been an issue over the years. When he was dancing for Les Grands Ballets
397
$
/MO
Canadiens de Montreal the company experienced serious financial turmoil, leaving him a personal understanding of how the bottom-line affects a career. “One thing I’ve learned is that you need to protect the artists,” he said, as the group prepared for dress rehearsals. Unfortunately, his dancers are very clear about the woes facing their company. With a surprise announcement that the ballet company would close its doors at the beginning of February, the dancers have been working under great strain, even as donors stepped in to buy them a reprieve to finish the company’s 10th anniversary season. The actual financial shortfall has never been revealed by the board of directors publicly. A plea for assistance, even to major benefactors, was not made before the board pulled the plug. But dance supporters have nonetheless rallied. “I’m really heartened by the level of support the community is showing,” said LaHay, noting ticket sales and membership sales are going strong now. A fact sheet sent to members in preparation for a closed-door meeting on March 13 stated the monetary problems were more than its members were prepared to take on. “This harsh ‘fiscal cliff’ presented only two possible outcomes, to immediately wind up the operations of the society in order to settle our financial obligations (effectively closing the doors on Feb. 1); or to finish the season, which at a ‘burn rate’ of about $45,000 (or more) per month would lead us into deep indebtedness,” it said. According to the sheet, debt last season and this season would have amounted to $71,000 by April without financial
See Leap A9
N 7N
Activity Centre needs repairs
SALES
from
1699
$
WITH 3,000 BONUS AIR MILES
JACOBSEN EXCELLENCE
McCurdy Rd.
Y9
serving our community 1930 to 2013
A21
Tractor
HW
83
A14
All Season
SINCE 1965
SPORTS
★ Leathead Rd. Hwy 33w
Sale Price $36,126, $3,397 down payment, 36 month lease at 20,000 kms per year. Residual $22,537. Total payments $14,689 plus taxes and fees. OAC