Happy World Ballet Day 2023!
Today is World Ballet Day 2023 so it is time to enjoy watching a full day of dance, live-streamed for free from six continents.
The world’s most exciting online ballet event is back for its tenth year! Let’s devote twenty-four hours to being grateful for the art form we love and the fact that leading ballet companies have been providing us with behind-the-scenes access to companies around the globe for a whole decade.
Organised by The Australian Ballet, The Royal Ballet and San Francisco Ballet, World Ballet Day 2023 promises to be the biggest celebration yet. The 10-year anniversary programme will give audiences the opportunity to see classes, rehearsals and exclusive footage from more than 60 companies.
World Ballet Day: a social media moment
Each year, everyone is encouraged to get involved in World Ballet Day by sharing their own photographs, videos and thoughts online.
This year, dance fans are being asked to unite for a special social media moment by filming themselves performing their best pirouette. Give it a whirl whether you are spinning around for fun, learning the basics of turning or a pirouetting pro!
Content should be shared on social media using #WorldBalletDay for a chance to be featured on the official livestream.
Participating companies:
Note that this list is subject to change.
Africa
Cape Town City Ballet
Joburg Ballet
Asia
Ballet Indonesia Foundation
Bangkok City Ballet
Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan
Hong Kong Ballet
K-Ballet
Korean National Ballet
National Ballet of China
National Ballet of Japan
Singapore Ballet
North America
American Ballet Theatre
Ballet Arkansas
Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico
Ballet West
BalletX
Boston Ballet
Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal
Houston Ballet
Kansas City Ballet
Miami City Ballet
National Ballet of Canada
Oregon Ballet Theatre
Orlando Ballet
Philadelphia Ballet
San Francisco Ballet
Smuin Ballet
Texas Ballet Theatre
The Washington Ballet
South America
Acosta Danza
Ballet Nacional de Cuba
São Paulo Dance Company
Europe
Ballet de Barcelona
Bayerisches Staatsballett
Birmingham Royal Ballet
Dutch National Ballet
Estonian National Ballet
Finnish National Ballet
Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD)
Istanbul State Opera and Ballet
Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo
Magyar Nemzeti Balett/Hungarian National Ballet
The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet
Polish National Ballet
The Royal Danish Ballet
La Scala Theatre Ballet
Staatsballet Berlin
Staatstheater Hannover
Stuttgart Ballet
Wiener Staatsballett/Vienna State Ballet
Oceania
The Australian Ballet
Royal New Zealand Ballet
West Australian Ballet
Celebrate World Ballet Day 2023
World Ballet Day 2023 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 present your pirouettes.
*Featured photographs are of Sumina Sasaki (artist of The Royal Ballet) and Marcelino Sambé (principal dancer of The Royal Ballet) in The Royal Ballet in Class, World Ballet Day 2022. Photography by Andrej Uspenski.
Georgina Butler is an editor, a dance writer and a ballet teacher.
