Sun Life Financial and the Alberta Ballet launch Share the
Excitement
CALGARY & TORONTO,
Sept. 24, 2015 /CNW/ - Thousands of
children, youth and adults who have been affected by poverty and
other socio-economic challenges are getting the opportunity to
experience live ballet, free of charge. Sun Life Financial is
donating $35,000 to Alberta Ballet,
helping to launch the Sun Life Financial Share the
Excitement program - a new initiative that will see over 2,000
complimentary ballet tickets shared with various agencies and
schools representing Calgary and
Edmonton's at-risk and underserved
neighbourhoods.
"We are honoured that Sun Life has chosen
Alberta Ballet to make the performing arts accessible to these
deserving people throughout our province," said Jean Grand-Maître,
Alberta Ballet Artistic Director. "What a wonderful way to bring
people together."
This exciting program will launch in
Calgary at the opening night of
Balletlujah! on September
24th. Approximately 300 tickets will be shared
per production throughout Alberta Ballet's 2015-2016 Season. Sun
Life Financial Share the Excitement program participants will
experience one of seven performances this season, including
classics Romeo & Juliet, The Nutcracker and
Alberta Ballet's signature pop ballets Balletlujah! and
Love Lies Bleeding.
"We believe that Canadians should be able to
enjoy arts and culture regardless of their means," said
Paul Joliat, Assistant
Vice-President, Philanthropy and Sponsorships, Sun Life Financial.
"Share the Excitement is more than just helping individuals
and families of Alberta experience
the magic of dance; it's about cultivating strong and supportive
communities."
Share the Excitement is part of Sun
Life's award-winning Making the Arts More Accessible™
program - the focus of their support of arts and culture, created
to provide increased access to a wide range of cultural events,
performances, concerts and visual attractions that might otherwise
have been out of reach financially.
About Alberta Ballet
Alberta Ballet, Canada's
second-largest ballet company, is currently celebrating its
49th Season. Under the artistic leadership of Jean
Grand-Maître, the company is at the forefront of the national and
international arts scene. This season Alberta Ballet will present
the world premiere of brand new choreography from Vancouver based Wen
Wei Wang and the company's own Yukichi Hattori alongside Jean Grand-Maître's
critically acclaimed Romeo and Juliet, Balletlujah!
and Love Lies Bleeding. The season will also feature work by
Alberta's Aszure Barton, and Edmund Stripe's holiday
classic The Nutcracker. Guest companies will include dance
legend Paul Taylor's extraordinary
ensemble and Shaping Sound, starring the finalist and champions of
the immensely popular television show So You Think You Can
Dance.
About Sun Life Financial
Celebrating 150 years in 2015, Sun Life Financial is a leading
international financial services organization providing a diverse
range of protection and wealth products and services to individuals
and corporate customers. Sun Life Financial and its partners have
operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United
States, the United Kingdom,
Ireland, Hong Kong, the
Philippines, Japan,
Indonesia, India, China,
Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of June 30,
2015, the Sun Life Financial group of companies had total
assets under management of $808
billion. For more information please visit
www.sunlife.com.
Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New
York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the
ticker symbol SLF.
Note to Editors: All figures in Canadian
dollars.
SOURCE Sun Life Financial Canada
Image with caption: "Sun Life Financial, Alberta Ballet and
local high school students launch the Sun Life Financial Share the
Excitement program in Calgary,
Alberta. (CNW Group/Sun Life Financial Canada)". Image
available at:
http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150925_C9853_PHOTO_EN_44254.jpg