Streaming services such as Netflix are famed for the dark comedy of Orange is the New Black or the political intrigue of House of Cards, but the next genre to target a mass online audience will be very different — in the form of ballet.
The London-based Crystal Ballet company introduces a new Netflix-style subscription service this week for ballet fans who feel intimidated by the formality and expense of attending a ballet and would rather carry the work of top dancers on their mobile phone.
Rather than simply filming a ballet production on stage in a traditional theatre, the company puts on its own productions in a film studio, giving the choreographers the liberty to create routines specifically designed for multiple camera angles and close-ups.
From tomorrow, fans can watch trailers free, pay £75 per year to see all the company’s full productions or pay £1,000 per year to access premium services such as special dinners and Q&A sessions with dancers and the use of a box at West End productions.
In opening ballet up to fans through its website and mobile phones, Crystal Ballet hopes to cash in on the growing popularity of watching ballet online.
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A production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake by the Soviet Kirov Ballet company, now the Mariinsky Ballet, filmed in 1969 was uploaded to YouTube in 2012 and has now been viewed almost 15 million times.
In 2013, Crystal Ballet produced Genesis, the first ballet designed for download, and offered it on iTunes in eight parts at £1.29 each. The films topped the iTunes chart within hours and featured dancers such as Johan Kobborg, the former Royal Ballet principal.
The company will also provide video tips for dancers and host classes in London for aspiring ballerinas.
Henry St Clair, artistic director of Crystal Ballet, said: “The online digital consumption of ballet is getting much more popular. The Royal Albert Hall, the Royal Opera House, the Coliseum — those places can be a bit stuffy and intimidating.
“We were keen to spread the message that ballet is beautiful and accessible, so we thought we should bring it into a digital film medium and create ballet in a film studio, where you can plot things and mark it out and do second takes.”
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He said that some theatres already provided popular live relays to audiences in cinemas, but added: “You get a certain mix of angles, but we wanted people to see from every angle and ask choreographers how they want their dancers to look if seen from all angles.”
He said that thousands had registered an interest in the service. Users will be able to stream video on the Crystal Ballet website, and a download option will be added within six months.