Top ballet companies stream from around the world

Published: 8 October 2020
Reporter: Vera Liber

Yasmine Naghdi in Royal Ballet class on World Ballet Day 2019 Credit: Gavin Smart
Royal Ballet rehearsing Coppelia on World Ballet Day 2019 Credit: Gavin Smart
Darcey Bussell and The Royal Ballet rehearsing Swan Lake on World Ballet Day 2019 Credit: Gavin Smart

World Ballet Day returns on 29 October 2020 for its seventh year, streaming live rehearsals and insights via the participating companies' Facebook and YouTube pages and Tencent video in China.

There will be an opportunity for audiences to go behind the scenes of the world's top ballet companies including The Australian Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet and The Royal Ballet. The full roster of participating companies will be announced in due course.

As new COVID-19 guidelines come into place, the dance world is slowly beginning to return to the stage and this year’s World Ballet Day will provide an insight into how dance companies are responding to these new ways of rehearsing, working and performing.

Audiences can experience morning class, which in the UK will take place on the Royal Opera House stage. There will be interviews and access to rehearsals during preparations for The Royal Ballet: Live, the first series of live performances for The Royal Ballet in seven months. The Australian Ballet will kick off the livestream (2AM GMT) before passing the baton to the Bolshoi Ballet (7AM GMT) and then to The Royal Ballet (11AM to 3PM GMT).

Kevin O’Hare, Director of The Royal Ballet, said, "since 2014, World Ballet Day has proved a wonderful platform for connecting ballet lovers across the globe and now, more than ever, this digital celebration of dance promises to unite us all as we face new, shared challenges across the world. We look forward to celebrating the incredible talents of all the international artists involved and bringing our art form to audiences who are missing live performance."

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