There is no doubt that London's dance venues are on a mission to seduce. Since the Opera House lured new audiences into its access-all-areas festival last weekend using perfumed massages, free chocolate and a raft of engaging, unexpected art events, Sadler's Wells has unveiled a three-fold courtship plan of its own.
The first is the theatre's new Debut series, a programme of dance events by artists unfamiliar to London with a fixed rate ticket price of just £10. Launching this Friday, it hosts Israeli-born choreographer Emanuel Gat whose talent, at the moment, is not yet matched by the scale of his reputation. To maintain the momentum, the Wells are also offering 150 £10 tickets for every dance show during the rest of the autumn season.
It's a generous move (and a smart one given recent grumbles about high ticket prices), but parts two and three of the strategy are less about getting people into the building than about expanding its reach. One of the Wells' successes of late has been the co-production of new work, with shows like Zero Degrees, Sacred Monsters and Sutra not only selling out in London, but also doing equally good business on international tours. However, for all the thousands who saw these productions live, many more were unable to get to the theatre, so the Wells are launching its own DVD series, working with Axiom Films to record selected works for the screen.
No one is suggesting that a filmed performance matches the live experience. But the ROH have already pioneered this terrain, with their ballet and opera DVDs finding a genuine market. And the trio of Wells productions that have been filmed so far (Zero Degrees et al) do translate to the screen unexpectedly well.
Finally, the Wells are increasing their presence online. In October they will be upgrading their website with a video player that can display a mix of performance clips, video diaries and interviews related to the current repertory. In November they will also be expanding their Breakin' Convention website with a social networking element that will allow hip-hop practitioners and fans to post their own news, video performances etc.
All these initiatives may seem a worrying distraction from the essential work that the Wells and the Opera House are meant to be doing, which is to present the best quality live dance to their loyal audiences. They may seem to ignore the fact that most people go to the theatre to find relief from a relentlessly screen-based culture and from the clamorous noise of cyberspace. Sadler's Wells thinks not. Apparently they can sell more tickets by contacting audiences online than they can through the old-fashioned routes of print media and word of mouth. If the world is changing, they are hell bent on changing with it.
