World Ballet Day returns on October 5th

Five of the world's leading ballet companies will come together for World Ballet Day on October 5 to present a 20-hour live broadcast of their rehearsals, lessons and dancers' preparation for performances via Facebook Live around the world.
The Australian Ballet, the Bolshoi Ballet, the Royal Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada and the San Francisco Ballet will collaborate for the fourth consecutive year to offer audiences around the world an exclusive look behind the scenes.
World Ballet Day is a celebration of dance and an opportunity for audiences to get a glimpse into what it’s like to be part of a famous company, to see the training and dedication of some of the world’s best ballet dancers. Each company shows viewers morning classes, rehearsals for new performances and what goes on behind the scenes. The National Ballet of Canada, which will tour Paris on World Ballet Day, will be participating via live broadcast.
World Ballet Day 2016 saw unprecedented reach with over 700,000 views during the day and then surpassed 6.7 million views. It was one of the trending topics on social media around the world. In partnership with Facebook, World Ballet Day LIVE was able to reach an even wider audience, both ballet lovers and new audiences internationally. For 2017, World Ballet Day and Facebook Live will continue their partnership.
Viewers are invited to participate using the hashtag #WorldBalletDay.

About World Ballet Day LIVE

The first World Ballet Day LIVE took place on 1 October 2014 on YouTube. The live broadcast was viewed 502,823 times by dance fans around the world. It was a unique collaboration that allowed audiences to see behind the scenes of world-renowned ballet companies and discover the elements that make each one unique. The 20-hour live stream was critically acclaimed and hailed as a landmark event. World Ballet Day LIVE was inspired by the Royal Ballet Live in 2012, which was a nine-hour live broadcast on YouTube and The Guardian website.

Australian Ballet

The Australian Ballet exists to inspire and impress audiences through the power of its performances. It is one of the world’s leading ballet companies and has been presenting exceptional performances for over 50 years. A commitment to artistic excellence, refined style and virtuosity characterise the company both on and off stage. The company regularly tours the world, performing in 87 cities worldwide, including New York, Shanghai, Tokyo, London and Paris. The Australian Ballet presents 250 concerts and 1,700 events each year. In addition to 80 acclaimed dancers, it employs dance instructors and an orchestra of 62 musicians. It performs both classical works and contemporary choreography and has a unique style that is characterised by art and sport.

Bolshoi Ballet

The Bolshoi Ballet is about to open its 242nd season. One of the oldest and largest ballet companies in the world, the Bolshoi combines the great classical tradition with contemporary dance. The Bolshoi Ballet is known for its unique style, true virtuosity and incredible stage presence. Ballet legends such as Galina Ulanova, Vladimir Vassiliev, Maya Plisetskaya, Ekaterina Maximova and many others have graced its stage during its long history. It was also the first company to stage Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and Minkus’s Don Quixote. A large part of the Bolshoi’s legacy can be attributed to Yuri Gigorovich, who was artistic director for more than 30 years and celebrated his 90th anniversary this past season. While this season the Bolshoi dedicates it mostly to the anniversary of Marius Petipa, who served the Russian Imperial Ballet for more than 40 years and to whom most of its artistic legacy can be attributed. Without his creative impact, we would not know today The Sleeping Beauty, Bayandera, The Nutcracker or Coppélia, which the Bolshoi will renew this season.

The Bolshoi is constantly expanding its repertoire with new works such as “The Taming of the Shrew” or “A Hero of Our Time”. Following this direction, the Bolshoi will present the ballet “Anna Karenina” based on the famous novel by Tolstoy, staged by the famous choreographer John Neumeier as a co-production of the Bolshoi Ballet with the Hamburg Ballet. The current artists of the famous ballet company, Svetlana Zakharova, Olga Smirnova, Ekaterina Krysanova, Vladislav Lantratov, Artem Ovcharenko, Semion Chudin, Denis Rod'kin, and others-coached by Liudmila Semeniaka, Marina Kondratieva, Svetlana Adyrchayeva, Nikolai Fadeechev, Boris Akimov, Alexandr Vetrov and many others, contribute under the direction of Makhar Vaziev to keeping the Bolshoi’s standards higher than ever.

Royal Ballet

Based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, the Royal Ballet is the most famous ballet company in Great Britain and one of the largest ballet companies in the world. Led by Director Kevin O'Hare, the company has a large repertoire of 19th century classics as well as works inherited from its history. Among these are works by two of the great choreographers of the 20th century, Frederick Ashton and Kenneth MacMillan. In addition, the Royal Ballet presents new works by Principal Choreographer Wayne McGregor and Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon, two of the leading international choreographers of today. The Royal Ballet continues to create and encourage new choreography, appointing Liam Scarlett as Artist in Residence to the company in 2012.

National Ballet of Canada

One of the world's leading ballet companies, the National Ballet of Canada was founded in 1951 by Celia Franca. It is a company with 70 dancers and its own orchestra. The Artistic Director of the National Ballet of Canada has been Karen Kain, one of the greatest ballerinas of her generation, since 2005. Known for its diverse repertoire, the company presents classical and contemporary works and encourages the creation of new ballets as well as the emergence of Canadian choreographers. The company's repertoire includes works by Sir Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, John Cranko, Rudolf Nureyev, John Neumeier, William Forsythe, James Kudelka, Wayne McGregor, Alexei Ratmansky, Crystal Pite, Christopher Wheeldon, Aszure Barton, Guillaume Côté and Robert Binet. The National Ballet tours Canada, the United States and internationally with performances in London, England, New York, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles with upcoming tours to Paris, France, San Francisco and Hamburg, Germany.

San Francisco Ballet

The San Francisco Ballet has enjoyed many artistic successes since its founding in 1933. Milestones in its history include the presentation of the first American productions of Swan Lake and Nutcracker, as well as the first 20th-century American production of Coppélia. The San Francisco Ballet is one of the three largest ballet companies in the United States and today presents over 100 performances annually both locally and internationally. The mission of the San Francisco Ballet is to share the joy of dance with the widest audience and to offer the highest level of dance in its School. Under the direction of Helgi Tomasson, the company has gained an international reputation as one of the leading ballet companies in the world.

Article source: balleton.gr

Source: broadwayworld.com