RSM in step with Queensland Ballet through season partnership
Diverging from common ball sports sponsorship trends, accounting and consulting firm RSM has signed on as a season partner of Ballet Queensland, which is artistically overseen by Li Cunxin.
The Brisbane branch of professional services firmRSM has become an official season partner of Queensland Ballet, bucking the sponsorship trend among accounting and consulting networks toward the nation’s various football codes.
The firm said the strategic collaboration would bring a touch of elegance and enchantment to the hearts of its clients and audiences across the region, enriching lives and fostering a vibrant cultural community.
“We are delighted to join hands with Queensland Ballet as their Season Partner,” said RSM’s Brisbane managing partner Steve Healey, who likened the collaboration to the ‘pas de deux’ – a graceful duet that exemplifies harmony, trust and mutual understanding between dancers. “Just as ballet dancers rely on each other to create a seamless performance, at RSM we believe in the power of collaborative partnerships where we work together to achieve goals.”
The pas de deux (step of two) features in a number of well-known classical ballets, including the Nutcracker, which will be performed by the company in the lead-up to Christmas as part of Queensland Ballet’s 2023/24 season as overseen by long-time artistic director Li Cunxin. An acclaimed former ‘ballerino’, Cunxin is widely known in Australia for his best-selling autobiography ‘Mao’s Last Dancer’, and in 2019 was a recipient of the Order of Australia honours.
Having recently announced his retirement from the director role after a decade, Cunxin said he’d seen tremendous growth in the local arts sector over that time, adding of the hook-up with RSM; “These partnerships and the relationships we have formed have allowed us to deliver these unforgettable magical experiences to the community. These kinds of partnerships, the people who place their faith and belief in my vision, is one thing I will forever be grateful for.”
In addition to trust and collaboration, RSM drew further parallels between ballet’s rich history as an art form and the longevity of the firm (which last year celebrated its Australian centenary), as well the ‘explosive growth’ of Queensland’s cultural and performing arts sector as mirroring RSM’s own success story since expanding into the state in 2013.
The firm cites Cunxin’s inspiring story as a reminder of the “transformative power of passion, perseverance, and professional partnerships.”
While Ernst & Young is also a season partner of Queensland Ballet (Brisbane tax partner Paula McLuskie is deputy chair), RSM’s partnership strikes as somewhat of a departure from the more prevalent ball sports sponsorships among the state members of Australia’s mid-tier accounting and advisory networks, for example the collaboration between PKF and the Newcastle Knights and William Buck’s long-term support of the VAFA.
