World Ballet Day 2017

Taking place on 5 October, World Ballet Day 2017 will work with the Australian, Bolshoi, Royal, Canadian and San Francisco Ballet companies to being international audiences the best possible online experience of the art form. Five of the world’s leading ballet companies will come together for World Ballet Day to consequently broadcast 20 hours of live, behind-the-scenes footage via Facebook Live.

The Australian Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, The Royal Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada and San Francisco Ballet will partner for the fourth year in a row to celebrate classical dance and provide viewers around the world with an exclusive look behind the scenes into the companies. There will be a varied mix of views into morning class, rehearsals for upcoming performances and backstage preparations as part of the day-long livestream.

The first World Ballet Day LIVE was held on 1 October 2014 via YouTube. The live broadcast attracted a total of 502,823 views from dance lovers around the world and this number has increased year on year. The collaboration provides audiences with unparalleled, behind-the-scenes access which means their insight into these companies in a day to day basis is second to none. Each company is unique and this is reflected in the footage.

In 2014, the streaming project garnered critical and viewer acclaim, inspired by Royal Ballet Live in 2012, a nine-hour live streaming via YouTube and The Guardian website. The day continues to bring ballet and dance to an international audience in a simple way, demonstrating how dance connects all cultures using the power of social media.

Last year, World Ballet Day saw huge engagement, with more than 700,000 views during the day, and reached an audience of over 6.7 million on-demand. Working with Facebook, World Ballet Day LIVE was able to reach an even wider audience and engage with both ballet fans and newcomers internationally.