Dance: Special Focus on Re:imagination
On Demand?
Dance has moved increasingly to digital media, influencing the way we teach, create and perform. One 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. 28 The One Dance UK Magazine | Spring 2021
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
“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, Head of Digital, English National Ballet
