Happy World Ballet Day 2021!
Today is World Ballet Day 2021 and this year the celebration is going to be the biggest and best yet.
A record-breaking 51 dance companies, across six continents, are uniting for the eighth edition of the annual online event.
Organised by The Australian Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet and The Royal Ballet, World Ballet Day 2021 will highlight the theme of resilience. So, as well as rare access to company classes and rehearsals, there will be interviews and discussions that explore the creativity, determination and passion needed to dance through tough times. All 24 hours of content is being live-streamed for free and viewers are encouraged to get involved on social media.
Whether you are a newcomer to ballet or a lifelong fan, you must seize the opportunity to fill your day with dance!
Jump for Joy
Dancers across the globe are experiencing great joy returning to the studio and the stage following the challenges of the pandemic. Indeed, returning to the various spaces we collaborate and connect in is special for everyone. We have all had to demonstrate a remarkable amount of resilience over the last eighteen months or so and it is gratifying to find reasons to celebrate now life is starting to settle into a regular rhythm again.
With this in mind, the companies participating in World Ballet Day 2021 are urging us to join the Jump for Joy challenge. To take part, you need to post a video of yourself performing your favourite celebratory dance move. No ballet experience is necessary – the more creative you can be the better! Content should be shared on social media using #WorldBalletDay for a chance to be featured in a compilation of the best clips.
Participating companies:
(* indicates joining for the first time)
Asia
Bangkok City Ballet*
Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan*
Hong Kong Ballet
Korean National Ballet
The National Ballet of Japan
Singapore Dance Theatre
Universal Ballet*
Africa
Cape Town City Ballet
Joburg Ballet*
North America
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
American Ballet Theatre
BalletX*
Boston Ballet
Houston Ballet
Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal
Central and South America
Acosta Danza
Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico
Ballet de Monterrey*
Ballet Nacional de Cuba
São Paulo Dance Company
Europe
Ballet de Barcelona*
Ballet de l’Opera de Paris
Bayerisches Staatsballett
Birmingham Royal Ballet
Bolshoi Ballet
Dutch National Ballet
English National Ballet
Estonian National Ballet*
Finnish National Ballet
Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD)*
La Scala Theatre Ballet
Mariinsky Theatre
The Mikhailovsky Theatre
Northern Ballet
The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet
Opera Sofia
Perm Tchaikovsky Opera and Ballet Theatre*
Polish National Ballet
The Royal Ballet
The Royal Danish Ballet
Scottish Ballet
Staatsballet Berlin
Stuttgart Ballet
Ural Opera Ballet Theatre*
Wiener Staatsballett
Oceania
The Australian Ballet
Bangarra Dance Theatre*
Queensland Ballet
Royal New Zealand Ballet
West Australian Ballet
All the companies will be providing behind-the-scenes access to classes and rehearsals held in accordance with their local COVID-19 guidance.
Celebrate World Ballet Day 2021
World Ballet Day 2021 is being live-streamed via each participating company’s YouTube channel or Facebook page and will be available on demand afterwards too. There will also be exclusive content on TikTok.
Watch the entire online event live by visiting the World Ballet Day website.
Use the hashtag #WorldBalletDay on social media to share the joy of ballet and show off your favourite celebratory dance move.
*Featured photographs are of James Large (Aud Jebsen Young Dancers Programme at The Royal Ballet) and Marianela Núñez (principal dancer of The Royal Ballet) in rehearsal. Photography by Andrej Uspenski.
Georgina Butler is an editor, a dance writer and a ballet teacher.
