Case Study: The Royal Ballet School achieves doubled online visitors and global reach with Axiell Adlib

Curating the history of an art form at The Royal Ballet School

The Royal Ballet School, whose Special Collections are overseen by Anna Meadmore, preserves archives that trace British ballet back centuries but faced restricted public access after funding cuts to its White Lodge museum and compliance constraints at the working school. To broaden access and support teaching and research, the School partnered with Axiell and adopted the Axiell Adlib collections database to digitize and present its holdings online.

Working with Axiell, the School has digitized roughly 7,700 items (the majority uploaded to Axiell Adlib) and curated about 15% into an interactive Timeline covering 1862–1956; since the Timeline’s February 2017 launch it drew approximately 3,500 online visitors in seven months—more than double the museum’s visitors in the same period—and attracted audiences from Japan, the US and Australia. Axiell’s platform has improved student access and research, supported outreach via livestreams and social media, and will support plans to upload another 2,000 items and expanded digital exhibitions tied to the School’s curriculum.

The Royal Ballet School

Anna Meadmore

Manager of Special Collections