Both Matchgirl and Courage exceeded both our original audience projection numbers and our initial projections of ticket sales. We experience record attendance for Matchgirl. This was due in part to strong attendance at the school matinee presentation on the morning of December 9th and as a result of strong media coverage. Puffin funding is used directly for the Matchgirl outreach performance with an acknowledgement of victims of Sandy Hook given at that particular performance. Courage was completely sold-out. We sold standing room tickets and audience members actually sat on the floor in an effort to see the production. Strong media coverage (Weekender cover feature in the Columbus Dispatch) and support from Puffin assisted with strong promotion of the production. Our one challenge was having the ability to accommodate ticket demand.
Both productions made a powerful impact in the community. Matchgirl was particularly poignant this year because of the story of CDT Company Dancer Kerri Riccardi who was a victim of the OSU terrorist attack. Her story, which ran in the Dispatch, was a tremendous source of inspiration and hope as she danced in the role of the Flame, bringing light and life to the stage. Her story had an uncanny connection to the themes of the ballet and gave the community a healing space following the OSU attack.Courage was shockingly timely. Issues of race, racial profiling, and prejudice based on ethnicity have only become more vibratory in our culture since the original production in 2011. The community gathered in a palpable way to seek way to navigate through this difficult subject matter as a result of this production. Arguably, the most extensive talk-balk that CDT has ever initiated followed the opening night of the production with the community engaged in open conversation on issues regarding race for nearly two hours.Support from Puffin Foundation West was critical to the success of both productions.
