The Lausanne-based company is going through a period of financial turbulence. In particular, the increase in salaries of dancers, but also falling revenues during international tours and the loss of an important sponsor. As the RTS Investigation Center revealed on Friday, a cost-saving program had to be launched, with layoffs as a result.
The Béjart Ballet Lausanne (BBL) has just ended its 2023-2024 season on a major success with five sold-out performances at the Palais de Beaulieu. But behind the scenes, financial difficulties are piling up.
According to several consistent sources, the company’s financial results are in the red. At the start of this year, they presented a loss of more than a million francs on an operating budget of around 10 million francs, the RTS Investigation Department learned. As a reminder, half of the BBL budget comes from a subsidy from the City of Lausanne and surrounding municipalities.
Savings measures
Neither the ballet’s management nor its foundation council wanted to confirm this figure: “We are waiting for the accounts to be reviewed next October,” Giancarlo Sergi explained to RTS. But the general director of the BBL reveals that the previous financial year, that of 2022-2023, was barely in balance with a loss of 288 francs.
The situation therefore seems to have worsened. Today, the interim president of the BBL foundation board, the mayor of Lausanne Grégoire Junod, acknowledges: “It is likely that a significant part of the reserves will have to be used to finish [l’exercice actuel] in balance”. At the last official count, the BBL’s reserves amount to some 735,000 francs.
The foundation board is considering further measures. It recently adopted a sanitation program spread over three years and which is based on an audit carried out last fall by the Financial Control of the City of Lausanne. This report is not yet public and neither Grégoire Junod nor Giancarlo Sergi wanted to say more about the decisions taken following its reading.
Layoffs
But RTS research has identified some cost-cutting measures, particularly in human resources. The position of infrastructure director will be eliminated. Gil Roman’s former secretary has been dismissed. The dance instructor and the company’s pianist will no longer have fixed salaries, but will be employed on call and paid per performance.
As for Gil Roman himself, his exclusion from the company would not be linked to this savings plan but, according to the official version, would follow an incident which occurred during performances in Paris.
>> Read also: Artistic director Gil Roman fired from Béjart Ballet
Asked about this ongoing restructuring, Giancarlo Sergi admits that “some positions at the BBL have been eliminated. It is a matter of ensuring that we have resources that correspond to the needs of the company,” justifies the general director. Should we expect other layoffs, including among the dancers? So many questions that have remained unanswered, at most it is suggested that the artistic field should be preserved.
Marc Menichini, RTS investigation department
