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You can find out more about the donation-based crowdfunding campaign on the FEDORA Platform here.
€
FEDORA
VAN CLEEF & ARPELS
Dance Prize 2025
Nominee
Gentleman Jack
United Kingdom
Northern Ballet
Crowdfunding Results
€13,795
collected
€1,000
Matched
€12,000
target
9
Number of donors
Pledge without a reward
For €120
Receive a bespoke signed Gentleman Jack postcard
For €600
Receive a credit in Northern Ballet's production programmes and on our website amongst our Founder Supporters listing.
For €1,200
Join a special rehearsal and insight event where you will see the production coming to life, and receive an invitation to the Opening Night celebrations.
For €3,600
Two for the Opening Night performance and celebrations, and an invitation to visit the Northern Ballet's set and wardrobe workshops to see the production as it is being created.
For €4,800
Attend an orchestral rehearsal before the production opens and watch a performance of Gentleman Jack from the orchestra pit.
Special notice about recommending a donation:
You are about to make a donation to FEDORA, a French non-profit organisation, to support the crowdfunding campaign of the FEDORA Prizes Biennale 2025 on the FEDORA Platform. Donors can recommend a distribution of their donations to a specific nominated project, but FEDORA is in charge at its discretion to forward the funds to the Nominees.
Upon completing your donation, FEDORA or the Transnational Giving Europe Partner will provide you with more information regarding your donation receipt, allowing you to claim tax relief on your donation.
Please note that by donating online, you accept our Legal Notice (https://www.fedora-platform.com/more-infos/legal-notice).
Thank you for your generosity!
If you are a company or tax resident in Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Spain, Switzerland or United Kingdom and do not wish to receive the associated crowdfunding benefits, you can receive a tax receipt instead. To do so, please click on “Pledge without a reward” and type in the amount you wish to donate.
Please note that according to the Charities Aid Foundation, UK residents can only obtain a tax receipt for donations between GBP 100 and GBP 9,999.
Please note that according to the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, Swiss residents can only obtain a tax receipt for donations of minimum 100 CHF. Donations as of €5 are still possible via FEDORA's payment page for anyone wishing to make a donation of under £100 or 100 CHF without receiving a tax receipt.
Learn more about possible benefits or tax deductions related to your donation here.
Learn more about the crowdfunding campaign here.
NB_GJ_fedora_header © i
A major new ballet based on the life of Anne Lister (1791-1840), the inspiration for the hugely popular and critically acclaimed BBC series, Gentleman Jack. Often referred to as ‘the first modern lesbian’, Lister was a fiercely independent diarist, landowner and business owner, who lived and loved in Yorkshire – where Northern Ballet creates, performs and tells stories to resonate with audiences today.
About the Project
Northern Ballet is creating a new ballet inspired by the remarkable life of historical Yorkshire figure, Anne Lister, or ‘Gentleman Jack’. Lister is a striking historical figure who lived as she desired and blazed her own trail throughout the 19th Century. Her life has inspired biographies, novels and a hit BBC/HBO series, but we will be the first to tell her story through ballet.
Gentleman Jack will open in Leeds in spring 2026 before touring to Sheffield, Nottingham, Salford, London and Norwich. Our award-winning creative team will include Sally Wainwright, Gentleman Jack; series showrunner, choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa (Frida and Coco Chanel, the life of a fashion icon) and New Zealand-based composer Claire Cowan, (Cinderella, Royal New Zealand Ballet) who will create a new score for the production. Following its UK tour, it will be performed in Helsinki by our partners, Finnish National Opera & Ballet.
Alongside the new ballet, our Learning team will be launching an extensive school education programme, which will explore themes of identity, allyship and compassion. By supporting young people to challenge prejudice, celebrate diversity and express themselves, we hope to make a lasting impact both on and off stage.
Read more
€18 could buy one pair of ballet flats
€48 could equip one of our dancers with a pair of pointe shoes
€180 could fund a scenic artist or carpenter for a day to help create the new set
€840 could create and deliver learning initiatives including touch tours and a school workshop
€1,200 would fund the materials required to create a costume fit for the iconic Anne Lister
€3,600 would fund the creation of a major piece of the Gentleman Jack set
€4,800 would help to fund the costs of performing with live music throughout our tour
Why should you support us?
Northern Ballet is a world-leading narrative ballet company, creating stories that connect and sharing the joy of dance. Our dancers are renowned for their incredible ability to combine compelling storytelling with classical ballet technique. This project will push artistic boundaries, exploring the traditionally gendered language of classical ballet to convey Anne Lister’s complex character. As masters of storytelling, we believe we are the perfect ballet company to convey the unique tale of this incredible figure of northern history through the powerful medium of dance. Help us make ballet history today.
Who are we?
Bold and innovative in our approach, Northern Ballet is one of the UK’s leading and widest touring ballet companies, dedicated to creating stories that connect.
As a champion for the cultural exports of the North of England, we are committed to bringing ballet to as many people and places as possible from the heart of Leeds. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Federico Bonelli, our company of dancers performs a combination of our full-length ballets and specially created ballets for children at more than thirty venues annually. The Academy of Northern Ballet provides exceptional classical ballet training for hundreds of young people both locally in Yorkshire and to students who travel nationally and internationally to train with the faculty.
Northern Ballet is proud to partner with Finnish National Opera and Ballet to deliver Gentleman Jack internationally. Finnish National Ballet, established in 1922, is the only full-sized professional ballet company in Finland and will present Gentleman Jack in Helsinki in April 2028.
Partners
Finnish National Opera and Ballet
Finland
Supporters
The Liz & Terry Bramall Foundation
Arts Council England
The Keith Howard Foundation
The Keller Family Foundation
Anonymous donated 26 days ago
Anonymous donated 26 days ago
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John Sunderland donated 1 month ago
Richard Cross donated 1 month ago
Anonymous donated 2 months ago
William Wells donated 2 months ago
Lynne Farnell donated 2 months ago
Pledge without a reward
€
For €120
Receive a bespoke signed Gentleman Jack postcard
For €600
Receive a credit in Northern Ballet's production programmes and on our website amongst our Founder Supporters listing.
For €1,200
Join a special rehearsal and insight event where you will see the production coming to life, and receive an invitation to the Opening Night celebrations.
For €3,600
Two for the Opening Night performance and celebrations, and an invitation to visit the Northern Ballet's set and wardrobe workshops to see the production as it is being created.
For €4,800
Attend an orchestral rehearsal before the production opens and watch a performance of Gentleman Jack from the orchestra pit.
Special notice about recommending a donation:
You are about to make a donation to FEDORA, a French non-profit organisation, to support the crowdfunding campaign of the FEDORA Prizes Biennale 2025 on the FEDORA Platform. Donors can recommend a distribution of their donations to a specific nominated project, but FEDORA is in charge at its discretion to forward the funds to the Nominees.
Upon completing your donation, FEDORA or the Transnational Giving Europe Partner will provide you with more information regarding your donation receipt, allowing you to claim tax relief on your donation.
Please note that by donating online, you accept our Legal Notice (https://www.fedora-platform.com/more-infos/legal-notice).
Thank you for your generosity!
If you are a company or tax resident in Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Spain, Switzerland or United Kingdom and do not wish to receive the associated crowdfunding benefits, you can receive a tax receipt instead. To do so, please click on “Pledge without a reward” and type in the amount you wish to donate.
Please note that according to the Charities Aid Foundation, UK residents can only obtain a tax receipt for donations between GBP 100 and GBP 9,999.
Please note that according to the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, Swiss residents can only obtain a tax receipt for donations of minimum 100 CHF. Donations as of €5 are still possible via FEDORA's payment page for anyone wishing to make a donation of under £100 or 100 CHF without receiving a tax receipt.
Learn more about possible benefits or tax deductions related to your donation here.
Learn more about the crowdfunding campaign here.
Special notice about the crowdfunding campaign
€ 2,000
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