Royal Winnipeg Ballet exceeds fundraising goal to replace old tutus
Ballet company received more than $61K in donations in 'Tutus in Bloom' campaign
The Royal Winnipeg Ballet says it has raised enough money to replace 28 tutus that were showing their age following a quarter-century of use.
The "Tutus in Bloom" campaign aimed to raise $60,000 so the RWB could replace the tutus, from its production of Swan Lake, that were designed and built 25 years ago and no longer hold their shape.
The ballet company announced on Tuesday that it has collected $61,105, but it's still accepting donations to replace more of its tutus.
"While the fundraising goal achieved centred on the tutus of Swan Lake, the need for donations continues as tutus are an integral part of nearly all ballets, and many of RWB's have seen better days," the company said in a news release.
Wardrobe director Alena Zharska has said each tutu used by the dancers is hand-made at a cost of about $2,000.
Built layer by layer, each tutu takes about 60 hours to make and is built to last about 25 years.
The RWB's latest production of Swan Lake ran March 4-8 in Winnipeg.
With files from The Canadian Press