The Times Online recently listed the top five British ballet company websites in its recurring “top five

Can you pick just five?

• English National Ballet
• Birmingham Royal Ballet
• The Royal Ballet
• The Scottish Ballet
• National Ballet

You can read the basis for selections at this link to the Times Online feature.

My Top-Five American Ballet Company Websites

The Times Online feature made me think about all of the hundreds (maybe thousands) of ballet company websites that I’ve visited. So, I clicked back through as many as possible, and I’ve picked what I think are the five best American ballet company websites.

All of these websites include what I consider “standard information:” the company’s history, a calendar of performances, and a method for purchasing tickets.

My Top Five:

• Pennsylvania Ballet: The Pennsylvania Ballet’s website includes a gift shop, artist interviews, and press releases. There are resources for teachers, including video clips and downloadable workbook pages for students and young dancers. And, new theatergoers can read “Concert Hall Etiquette” so that they know what to expect when attending a ballet.
  
• Pacific Northwest Ballet: A gift shop and photo gallery are included in Pacific Northwest Ballet’s website. This website also includes resources for kids, like puzzles, coloring sheets, and ballet facts. And, the PNB dancer biographies are rather extensive.
• San Francisco Ballet: The San Francisco Ballet’s dancer biographies include beautiful photos. Along with a gift shop, gallery, and artist spotlights, this website includes podcasts. And soon, the dancers will be blogging.
• Atlanta Ballet: The “About Ballet” page and the video essays helped Atlanta Ballet’s website make it into my top five.
• New York City Ballet: I almost didn’t include the New York City Ballet’s website in my top-five, because I don’t like websites that automatically play music when you land on the homepage. But, even though that feature annoyed me, I couldn’t ignore the amount of information in this website. Whether you’re a dancer, a teacher, a researcher, or a fan, there’s a resource for you.

Beyond The Top Five:

I tried to follow the “rules” and pick only five websites. But, there are just too many!

Here are a few more American ballet company websites that caught my eye, in either content or design. They just couldn’t fit into my top-five.

• BalletMet Columbus
• Sacramento Ballet
• Aspen Santa Fe Ballet
• Canyon Concert Ballet

Do you think I missed any noteworthy websites in this list?

What sites would you include in your top-five?