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BalletX

There’s nothing like BalletX—a treasure in the Philadelphia art world. Their shows buzz with precision and grace. They are must-see events for both contemporary ballet-lovers and anyone seeking an unforgettable live arts performance. That’s why it was important for their updated website to connect with long-time fans and reach new audiences in a clear, exciting, and mobile-friendly way that highlights the talent, evolution, and energy of a one-of-a-kind arts organization.

Website Redesign

Project Overview
After designing BalletX’s previous website in collaboration with brand design studio Modern Good, we were thrilled to have the chance to revisit the project for a website refresh. (We also got to refresh our own excitement for contemporary ballet at an outdoor pop-up performance to kick-off the new project.) The BalletX team experienced significant growth and needed a website that reflected their progress and programs. The website refresh was an opportunity to craft a mobile-friendly website that strategically spoke to multiple audiences: dance & art lovers, dance & art patrons, dance professionals, and dance students. It was a chance to tell the story of the company and its dynamic programs while also creating a powerful business and engagement tool.

Project Goals

We set out to design a flexible and up-to-date website that:

  • highlighted BalletX’s unique and exciting brand
  • focused on vibrant colors and clear, approachable language
  • leaned heavily on images and videos to tell the BalletX story
  • was designed to be mobile-friendly
  • and was built so adding and editing content was easy for the BalletX team.

The original Ballet X website (left) and the new website (right) created by Pixel Parlor.

The original Ballet X website (top) and the new website (bottom) created by Pixel Parlor.

Our Approach

BalletX’s work is so stunning on its own that we knew our job was to design in ways that let their work speak for itself. We brought their images and videos to life to capture the attention of visitors, especially if they were scrolling on their phones.

One of the biggest updates was our retooling of the navigation menus on the website to create an easy-to-navigate mobile experience without taking away from the vibrant and colorful images that draw in the visitor. Having already developed a strong collaborative relationship with BalletX, we had front-row seats to the impressive growth over the five years since we launched their previous website.

Final sitemap for the BalletX site redesign (left) with wireframes (right)

For the refresh, we created an experience that laid out clear paths for visitors to complete actions like “Buy a Ticket” or “Donate.” Clear site mapping and smart information architecture (IA) helped us make sure that users could find exactly what they needed. But we also built a connected web of content so they could also discover something brand new. To do this, we designed intuitive pathways for users to discover the many connections that take place on the stage and behind the scenes. For example, a dancer’s bio page would feature events or content related to that dancer, performance pages would display choreographer information, and single performance pages would be connected to a series of events.

Even on a mobile device, users could experience the various ways that BalletX is progressing contemporary ballet and the role of the modern arts organization in their community by navigating the website.

We also delivered a Content Audit with recommendations. As part of this, our in-house writer provided copywriting assistance for key pages so that the written content was clear, inviting, and crafted to speak directly to the specific audiences those certain pages were designed to reach.

The Result

We want more people to share the BalletX experience with their friends, family, and community. So we built a visually-compelling website that’s easy for people to instantly recognize what’s so special about BalletX and feel invited to experience contemporary ballet—either in a theater, out in the community, or online via their streaming service BalletX Beyond. And we made sure it was easy to edit for the BalletX team so they could update content and then get back to doing what they do best.

We were proud to launch a new website for BalletX that stands out alongside other Philadelphia arts organizations, just like BalletX does. It was designed to increase user engagement and drive sales, which it can do while also serving as a storytelling tool for the organization. We believe BalletX’s new website expresses that they are innovative, authentic, and accessible, and a unique leader in the field of dance.

“Pixel Parlor is an incredibly insightful, communicative, and respectful creative partner! We have worked with Pixel on two major web design projects, and each time they exceeded our expectations while sticking to our nonprofit budget.”

MEGAN O’DONNELL

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, BALLETX

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