On International Archives Day, Scottish Ballet and the Moving Image Archive at the National Library of Scotland are proud to announce that our archive is now ready for public viewing.

Following a successful project to digitise and preserve the videotapes, Scottish Ballet’s past footage is now available for public access online.

ACCESS THE ONLINE ARCHIVE

The archive will also be available to view in its entirety in person, for free, at the National Library of Scotland’s Moving Image Archive (MIA) at Kelvin Hall, Glasgow when it re-opens.

In our lifetime, Scottish Ballet had amassed a large video archive. As our 50th anniversary approached in 2019, thoughts turned to preserving this precious history. The archive not only contains unique performances from the company’s history, but glimpses behind the scenes at rehearsals and community events.

The project has resulted in the digitisation of over 200 Scottish Ballet performances that are now preserved for the nation. Full length tapes can be viewed at The National Library at Kelvin Hall with 8-second taster clips available to online visitors across the world.

The collection has been digitised for preservation with basic catalogue records created from an initial viewing of the videos and accompanying research using various sources including the Scottish Theatre Archive at Glasgow University.

We need your help to identify, improve and engage with this fantastic resource!

We want the catalogue to improve and develop into a rich resource for research and enjoyment. If you have any information or comments regarding the archive, please fill out this form.

The archive is supported by: The Foyle Foundation, The William Grant Foundation, The Cruden Foundation, The Pilgrim Trust, and The Peter Darrell Trust.