Dance: On Demand?

Dance has moved increasingly to digital media, influencing the way we teach, create and perform. One magazine's Editor Cameron Ball talks to English National Ballet’s Director of Marketing and Communications, Heather Clark Charrington, and Head of Digital, Daniel Alicandro, to find out more about its innovative online platform and this new stage for the company.

On demand is in demand: according to Ofcom, 12 million of us in the UK joined a new streaming service last year, with overall screen time up by a third. The reopening of theatres has stop-started, and while nothing can match the thrill of a live performance, digital dance content is firmly here to stay. The hunger for the escapism that dance and theatre can provide remains huge. Andrew Lloyd Webber hosted 'The Phantom of the Opera' as part of his 'The Shows Must Go On!' YouTube series, which attracted 12.7 million viewers. Dance companies large and small have been sharing works online like never before, both from the archive and direct-to-digital.

This digital revolution is not confined to performance. An entire workforce of freelance dancers, plus vast numbers of occasional class-goers, are in need of quality training and inspiration during lockdown. This has given rise to a number of online tuition platforms and apps.

English National Ballet (ENB) have been leaders in keeping the nation engaged with dance. During the first lockdown, they shared a huge array of free archive performances and classes. Free ballet classes with the company’s Artistic Director Tamara Rojo CBE and others, taught from home and the studio, had over 4 million views. More recently, they have launched a video on-demand platform with ENB at Home.

This foray into the subscription-based digital realm offers the company’s ballet performances and training to consume at home. There are two main elements: Ballet on Demand and BalletActive. Ballet on Demand offers popular full-length ballets, documentaries and short films - each available to rent for three days for a small fee. This includes five new dance films, created specifically for digital consumption during 2020 in collaboration between choreographers and filmmakers. BalletActive hosts a wide variety of on demand ballet-based classes for all levels and abilities. They cover everything from the fundamentals of ballet and contemporary dance, to advanced level classes and strength and conditioning sessions to complement ballet practice. The classes are presented by Tamara Rojo, ENB Ballet Masters and Mistresses, ENB Dancers, as well as guest artists.

The idea for ENB at Home was formulating before COVID-19 upended the dance and theatre industry. Heather Clark Charrington, Director of Marketing and Communications at the company, explains that they brought forward and enhanced the original idea as a priority in response to the pandemic. “We knew that our dancers, and other dancers around the world, would need to continue with class in some way, but that also our audiences would want to stay engaged, active and inspired during this time of uncertainty.”

Setting the platform up was no small undertaking for Head of Digital Daniel Alicandro and his team. “The turnaround from conception to launch was just a few months. This included planning, filming and editing the digital season of five new short films, plus accompanying documentaries, and also the creation of over 100 hours of content for BalletActive. We had to quickly identify the right over-the-top provider, get to grips with a new platform and figure out new financial processes in order to manage sales in twelve different currencies.”

With currencies in mind, what does this different revenue model look like? How can other companies monetise this increasing digital influence? Alicandro is clear that this is in no way replacing the company’s traditional model. “We’ve a mixed model, with the platform supporting income from corporate sponsorship and major giving, as well as direct-to consumer sales which is working well for us and driving revenue. We’re also able to have a more direct relationship with our customers, which, as a touring organisation we don’t normally have the opportunity to, as the venues maintain the buyers’ data.”

We have been able to invest in the creation of new material to make the offer feel fresh, rather than solely relying on material from the company archive.

Daniel Alicandro

For those looking to move their organisations further into the online realm, he advises that each company is unique and so should assess and present their content accordingly, and should be mindful of rights clearances and other potential hurdles. “There are lots of ways to think about monetisation without setting up your own platform, whether premiering content on YouTube and driving donations, or looking for distribution through existing platforms.”

One key benefit of moving dance content online is accessibility, removing barriers such as geography. For ENB, around 50% of sales came from outside the UK, with the UK sales including areas they don’t traditionally reach on their tour schedule.

Clark Charrington says the live and digital elements can complement each other. “English National Ballet’s vision has always been about bringing ballet to the widest possible audience, and digital content is certainly a wide-reaching medium in which to do that. So, with ENB at Home we have the potential to reach a wider audience than we ever could in an average year of touring or holding classes at our headquarters.”

Things are looking positive for the growing platform. There are already over 120 classes available, and the team has found some of the more popular titles are not just the headline works such as Akram Khan’s 'Giselle', but also include behind the scenes documentaries. “The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and we are pleased and proud to have been able to develop this for our audiences, and to help us meet new fans too” says Clark Charrington.

What’s next? Alicandro gives us an insight: “We are regularly creating and adding content to our BalletActive platform and expanding to other dance disciplines, for example a brand-new Flamenco series is coming soon. The creation of ENB at Home brings a renewed focus on digital, and we look to continue to use and enhance the platform throughout 2021 and beyond.”

Photos: Left: Take Five Blues; Top: Emma Hawes, Isaac Hernandez, Francesco Gabriele Frola and Alison-McWhinney in Senseless Kindness . Photo by English National Ballet; Bottom; ENB Ballet Active; Right: Tamara Rojo in Akram Khan's Giselle. Photo by Laurent Liotardo

Further information:

Ballet on Demand - 72hr rentals from £3.49, no subscription required. www. ondemand.ballet.org.uk

Ballet Active - 7-day free trial then £9.99 a month, cancel anytime; or £99.99 for an annual plan. www.active.ballet.org.uk