World Ballet Day 2021 is Back on October 19

On Tuesday, October 19, experience World Ballet Day 2021 like never before. This year, The Australian Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet and The Royal Ballet are hosting the eighth annual celebration that brings viewers behind-the-scenes of fifty of the world’s leading ballet companies.

Starting at 12 pm AEDT (10 pm EST/9 pm CST on October 18 in North America), tune in to each participating company’s respective YouTube and Facebook channels for free throughout the day to watch livestreams of classes, rehearsals and exclusive interviews with ballet’s biggest stars.

Catch sneak peaks into upcoming programs, including Boston Ballet’s restART, which will be available to stream starting Oct 28.

As companies take to TikTok in addition to the usual streaming sites this year, viewership is expected to exceed the record set in 2019 when #WorldBalletDay content was viewed over 300 million times.

As you watch, you can also try for a chance to be featured in front of an audience spanning six continents by participating in the sponsors’ Jump for Joy challenge. Record and share a video of yourself performing your favorite celebratory dance move on social media, using the hashtag #WorldBalletDay. No dance experience is necessary, Royal Ballet principal Marcelino Sambé says in a video, “The more strange, weird, wonderful and creative, the better.”

In a press release, Director of The Royal Ballet Kevin O’Hare comments,

“This year’s celebration of our cherished art form will be more important and meaningful than ever, as friends and colleagues around the world return to the stage and the studio, many still with great difficulty. I hope World Ballet Day continues to provide dancers and ballet lovers across the globe with a sense of solidarity – and at the same time introduces a new generation to the beauty and inspiration of ballet that have sustained and nourished our audience members over the past 18 months.”