World Ballet Day 2020

World Ballet Day is a unique celebration of an art form that has many millions of dedicated followers the world over. Started in 2014, it's been going from strength to strength, and is about to take place for its seventh year, despite the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the sector.

Ballet has been deeply affected by the lockdown imposed in an attempt to control the spread of the deadly virus. Imagine artists used to working with their bodies for a minimum of six hours a day of class and rehearsal, often topped off by a full evening performance, suddenly finding themselves cooped up in small flats, in what amounts to enforced immobility with no end in sight.

Imagine the effect on their bodies, not to mention their state of mind…

Now, of course, the relaxation of Covid restrictions means that dancers across the globe have been coming back to work – and they are raring to go!

So, this year, while following the outlines of previous years, World Ballet Day will be very special, giving viewers an insight into how dance companies are responding to these new ways of rehearsing, working and performing.

The Australian Ballet kicks off the live stream at 2am, to be followed by Moscow's Bolshoi Ballet at 7am and then Britain's Royal Ballet, whose slot runs from 11am to 3pm. All companies will show morning class, plus live rehearsals, interviews and specific insights into how they have been, and still are, coping with ongoing Covid restrictions.

In The Royal Ballet's slot we are particularly looking forward to rehearsals of George Balanchine’s thrilling Tchaikovsky pas de deux, with Marianela Nuñez and Vadim Muntagirov; and of Christopher Wheeldon’s Within the Golden Hour, with David Donnelly and Téo Dubreuil.

Throughout the day other companies will join in, among them Singapore Dance, Joburg Ballet, Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, and Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico. You can find the full programme on World Ballet Day's dedicated website .

World Ballet Day offers an unrivalled opportunity to gain access to the inner workings of companies we know and love, as well as acquainting us with others whose work we may not know so well. And this year it bears witness to the endurance and iron will of so many wonderful dancers and performers.