1. Introduction: About Canada’s National Ballet School (NBS)
At Canada’s National Ballet School (NBS), programming excellence, access and inclusion fuel our belief in sharing the transformative power of dance to change lives for the better. This drives the organization’s commitment to making dance a part of all Canadians’ lives – from the Olympic-calibre dancer training for a professional ballet career on the world stage to the young child or older adult who may be embracing the joy of dance for the first time.
The largest dance training organization in Canada, NBS continues its focus on excellence in ballet training— with a track record for driving systemic, progressive change, evolving dance education significantly over time—while leveraging our artistic core to expand NBS’ program offerings to engage more people than ever before through recreational and community dance programs and initiatives.
We look forward to working with partners who will embrace this vision and work with us to grow our mission.
2. Project Background
Dance organizations and artists in Ontario—including those that focus on dance creation, presentation, and training—face an acute shortage of space. Their capacity to be resilient, innovate, and drive progress in inclusivity, diversity, equity and accessibility in the arts sector regionally and nationally can be supported by more physical spaces that meet these intersecting priorities.
Through a feasibility study, NBS will explore the potential for a capital project to create meaningful artistic, social, and economic outcomes—both with/for a diverse consortium of sector partners (including NBS), and with/for underserved and equity-deserving communities, groups, and artists.
NBS has the potential to dramatically expand our impact, develop meaningful partnerships, build our capacity to innovate and to express NBS’ values through a physical complex that is a model of sustainability and community connection with high social value.
This development will be centred on fostering a strong sense of belonging for everyone in our richly diverse community. We are committed to:
- Creating a cultural facility with high social value for the community
- Providing meaningful assets in service to the broader local and diverse dance sector
- Integrating equity positions for historically underserved and racialized dance organizations
- Contributing to the significant need for new housing within a major metropolitan area.
For the purpose of evaluating and defining the project scope, NBS’ Board of Directors and Management have articulated five key priorities when considering campus optimization. These priorities include:
- Foster a meaningful sense of on-campus belonging
- Contribute to addressing an acute need for rehearsal, creation, and presentation spaces for the wider dance sector in Toronto
- Expand/enhance participation in all NBS programming streams
- Achieve greater financial independence and increase sustained revenue
- Attain industry-leading accessibility and sustainability standards
Priority outcomes for the campus redevelopment include:
- Increase the availability of purpose-built versatile, high quality, accessible physical space for dance;
- support governance/ownership models with a diverse consortium of partners that represent or serve equity-deserving communities;
- make dance training, creation, presentation, and participation more accessible to all Canadians.
- Please see the documents enclosed herein, for more context about project work completed to-date, including a comprehensive Statement of Requirements document with details including site location and descriptions, key design principles, project range of motion and building program elements.
3. Feasibility Study: Deliverables, Services Required and Fees Budgeted
With the Statement of Requirements drafted, NBS is ready for the second phase of the feasibility study, which will include the following deliverables:
- Fully defined functional program, land value capture and real estate strategy
- Campus design options and architectural renderings, with consideration to green/sustainable principles
- Plans/strategies (developed by NBS, with guidance from the contributing parties/consultants to be selected):
- Community engagement plan
- Governance model
- Operations model
- Financing plan
NBS anticipates a need for the following services (with corresponding deliverables and fees budgeted), which parties may be able to offer in part or in whole. Prospective firms are invited to bid for one or more of the noted services required below. As a non-profit arts and culture organization, NBS funding is based on grants and monies from the government and fundraising through a small group of donors and philanthropists. It is essential that we are as cost-effective as possible with our budget.
Architectural Services - $90,000 + HST
- Campus schematic design options (schematic plans showing functional spaces and relationships, interior and exterior)
- Proposed architectural renderings or sketches
- Campus schematic design to include existing and proposed new building(s)
- Planning:
- Land use designation and allowable zoning permissions or restrictions
- Heritage property considerations
- Permitting process
- + contribute to NBS plans/strategies
Real Estate Consultants - $70,000 +HST
- Functional program
- Land value capture
- Real estate strategy
- + contribute to NBS plans/strategies
TOTAL $160,000 + HST
4. Questions & Further Information
For details on responsibilities, expectations, timelines and proposal requirements and evaluation, please see the attached documents.
Proposals will be accepted until 5 pm on May 6, 2024. Any questions about the RFP to be submitted by email until 12pm on Thursday, May 2, 2024 to:
Jenna Rose-Freeman, Director of Business Operations and Government Relations
Canada’s National Ballet School
jrose@nbs-enb.ca
