New York City Ballet Stagebill, May 2002
By Philip Anson
It is hard to imagine what George Balanchine would have thought of the Internet, but New York City Ballet has wholeheartedly embraced the World Wide Web to promote the master's legacy, serve their patrons, and enhance the ballet experience. The Company's state-of-the-art Web site-www.nycballet.com-was created in 1998 and has gone from strength to strength.
Last year nycballet.com welcomed over one million visitors who bought over $2 million worth of tickets as well as gift shop merchandise, and even made $50,000 in charitable donations.
This remarkable performance has been supervised by Carol Landers, NYCB's Director of Research and Online Media. Landers is not just an expert in the latest Internet technology. She is also a confirmed ballatomane who often finds herself answering many of the ballet trivia questions e-mailed daily to the Web site from around the world.
Nycballet.com was established to meet the high standards of the best commercial sites-convenient to use, with accurate content and timely updating. "New York City Ballet is an industry leader and my mandate is to reflect that with our site," Landers syas.
Only about half of the Web site's 6,000 daily visitors have attended an NYCB performance, but the site has something for everyone. "It's not just about City Ballet. It's about the dance world in general," notes Landers.
A glance at nycballet.com reveals a bright, pastel-colored, fast-loading, clearly organized site. In the ticketing area you can browse detailed performance schedules, casting changes (updated thrice daily), and ticketing availability (updated every 15 minutes) with music clips and seating charts to help you pick what to see and where to sit.
The core content and informative databases include repertory notes (Balanchine's Agnon was premiered in 1957…Agnon is the Greek word for contest…the dance's moments are named after the French court dances"), dancer biographies (did you know that Pauline Golbin was born in Caracas?) and links to news articles in the international press. "We have an educated audience, so the content is not dumbed down," says Landers. But if you feel like combining exercise and retail therapy, you can buy the New York City Ballet Workout video through the online gift shop.
Young people are the major users of nycballet.com. Studies show that the average Web site visitor is 21 years younger than the average NYCB audience member. That means there is a large potential ballet audience among Web-surfing youth. The site has many features to introduce ballet to these kids, including a narrated ballet history (sponsored by Mattel), schoolroom resources, games, puzzles, and a today-in-history feature.
The Web site also offers special features for out-of-towners, since some 20% Of the Web site traffic comes from England, Canada, Brazil, Australia, and Japan. In the old days, Nutcracker tickets and student rush seats were only available in person at the NYCB box office. Now you can order these hot tickets online. "The Web is a great democratizer," says Landers. "It is much fairer now to out-of-towners. We get lots of fan mail from grateful Midwesterners and others who were able to attend their first Nutcracker by buying tickets online before they came to New York." The Web site also offers a travel planner with hotel, restaurant, and ticket packages for those traveling to New York from a distance.
The Web site's next major development is a new registration feature, which will launch during the 2002 spring repertory season. The free registration service will allow City Ballet patrons to create a personalized homepage with a record of ticket purchases and favorite items that will facilitate future ticketing. You will be able to program your homepage to receive such exclusive online features as Ballet of the Week, Dancer of the Week, and news about your favorite repertory and dancers. Cast changes and special offers will be sent directly to your homepage. Of course, the company will use the latest security software and encryption to protect your information.
The registration feature is costing six figures to implement, but the company feels its patrons are worth it. "The Web site is an additional customer service, not a substitute for traditional services," assures Director of External Affairs Christopher Ramsey. "The box office and telephone will still be available for patrons who prefer them.
Future additions to nycballet.com will include a comprehensive New York City Ballet company history, scheduled for June 2002, and an online database containing NYCB archival material with holdings from other institutions. With this kind of growth, nycballet.com is well on its way to realizing Carol Landers' ideal of "a Web site that performs as well online as the City Ballet performs onstage." Bravo and encore.
