GLOBAL FIRST: FIVE WORLD-CLASS BALLET COMPANIES, ONE DAY OF LIVE STREAMING ON WEDNESDAY 1 OCTOBER www.roh.org.uk/worldballetday

The A u str a lia n B a llet | B o lsho i B a llet | The R o y a l B a llet | The N a tio n a l B a llet o f C a n a d a | S a n F r a n c isc o B a llet

T h e first ev er W o r ld B a llet D a y w ill see an u n p rec ed en ted c ollab oration b etw een fiv e of th e w orld ‘s lead in g b allet c om p an ies. T h is on lin e ev en t w ill tak e p lac e on W ed n esd ay 1 O c tob er w h en eac h of th e c om p an ies w ill stream liv e b eh in d th e sc en es ac tion from th eir reh earsal stu d ios.

S tartin g at th e b egin n in g of th e d an c ers‘ d ay , eac h of th e fiv e b allet c om p an ies œ The A u str a lia n B a llet, B o lsho i B a llet, The R o y a l B a llet, The N a tio n a l B a llet o f C a n a d a an d S a n F r a n c isc o B a llet œ w ill tak e th e lead for a fou r h ou r p eriod stream in g liv e from th eir h ead q u arters startin g w ith th e A u stralian B allet in M elb ou rn e. T h e liv e lin k th en p asses ac ross tim e zon es an d c u ltu res from M elb ou rn e to M osc ow to L on d on to T oron to to S an F ran c isc o.

T h e liv e stream in g w ill tak e v iew ers on a jou rn ey in to th e rarely seen b ac k stage liv es of b allet d an c ers. T h is u n u su al ac c ess w ill th row a sp ot ligh t on th e d ifferen c es in sty le b etw een th e fiv e c om p an ies as th ey follow a v ery sim ilar rou tin e b u t ap p roac h c h oreograp h y an d p erform an c e in th e w ay s th at h av e m ad e th em u n iq u e on th e w orld stage. S tartin g w ith m orn in g c lass to w arm u p th e b od y w ith d ifferen t ex erc ises, m ov in g on to reh earsals for th eir u p c om in g p erform an c es th e d ay w ill b e

For all Royal Opera House press releases visit www.roh.org.uk/for/press-and-media a c eleb ration of d an c e; th e ath letic ism an d u n p aralleled d ed ic ation of all th ose in v olv ed in c reatin g a w orld -c lass b allet c om p an y .

V iew ers w ill b e ab le to en gage an d in terac t w ith d an c ers, c h oreograp h ers an d c oac h es w h o liv e an d b reath e b allet ev ery d ay of th eir w ork in g liv es, ask in g q u estion s th rou gh ou t th e d ay as w ell as h av in g th e op p ortu n ity to c on trib u te b y su b m ittin g a film of th em selv es d oin g a p irou ette w h erev er th ey are in th e w orld . T h ese w ill b e ed ited in to a film c eleb ratin g th e w orld w id e ap p eal of d an c e. T h e d ay ‘s stream in g w ill b e rep eated on Y o u Tu b e in fu ll so th at v iew ers arou n d th e w orld c an c atc h u p on an y p arts of th e d ay th ey m issed . E d ited h igh ligh ts w ill th en b e m ad e av ailab le for fu rth er v iew in g.

W orld B allet D ay is a d ev elop m en t from R oy al B allet L iv e w h ic h w as a n in e-h ou r liv e stream in g v ia Y ou T u b e an d T h e G u ard ian w eb site in M arc h 2 0 1 2 . T h is u n iq u e ev en t ac h iev ed 2 0 0 ,0 0 0 v iew s of th e liv e stream an d rep eat b road c ast an d a total of 2 .5 m illion v iew s of Y ou T u b e R oy al B allet L iv e m aterial to d ate. It is, h ow ev er, th e first tim e th at fou r of th e fiv e b allet c om p an ies are tak in g th e c am eras b ac k stage to rev eal th e sw eat an d d eterm in ation of th ese talen ted d an c ers.

F u ll d etails of th e u n iq u e d ay ‘s ac tiv ities w ill b e av ailab le in d u e c ou rse.

--- E N D S ---

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The Australian Ballet Founded in 1962, is one of the world’s leading performing arts companies delivering unique experiences that inspire and entertain. It has been the face of ballet in the Asia Pacific region for over 50 years. Each year it performs works from the classical repertoire as well as contemporary works by major Australian and international choreographers, and new commissions that explore the development and future of this dynamic art form.

Led by celebrated Artistic Director David McAllister AM, The Australian Ballet is one of the busiest ballet companies in the world. The company annually presents

Page 2 of 4 approximately 200 performances in cities and regional areas around Australia, in addition to regular international touring to cities including Paris, Manchester, , Shanghai, Auckland, Cardiff and a season in for which the company won the UK Critics’ Circle award for Best Foreign Dance Company. Over the years, dancers and teachers have been welcomed from , England, , , , Sweden, the USA and the USSR. And new ballet school graduates from Asian, Latin American and European backgrounds are helping to make the company look like a snapshot of contemporary Australia. It is a company attuned to its time and place in the world.

Versatility, technical excellence and a warm, friendly style are the trademarks of The Australian Ballet; qualities that have earned both critical and audience acclaim.

Bolshoi Ballet is a magic word for many ballet lovers all around the world. It is the largest company in the world consisting of 220 dancers, most of who have graduated from the Academy of Classic Ballet - one of the oldest and most prominent ballet schools in Russia. The Bolshoi is renowned for its unique style which combines true virtuosity with incredible stage presence. It has an illustrious heritage with dancers such as Galina Ulanova, Vladimir Vassiliev and Maya Plisetskaya, and Nikolay Fadeechev, Natalia Bessmertnova, Maris Liepa, Liudmila Semeniaka and Irek Mukhamedov playing a vital role in its history and position on the world stage. For more the 30 years Yury Grigorovitch was a powerful leader of the Bolshoi . As a repertory company, each year , , The Sleeping Beauty, , and La Bayadère are performed alongside new work, keeping a fine balance between the historic legacy and new creations. Aleksey Ratmansky has created works including Bright stream, Bolt, and Lost illusions. Under the leadership of , the Bolshoi Ballet now has among its stars Svetlana Zakharova, , , Semion Chudin, Olga Smirnova, Michail Lobukhin, . In its 239th Season, the Bolshoi will bring back on its historic stage Legend of Love with choreography of Yuri Grigorovitch as well as perform two world premieres, Hamlet with music by Shostakovich and choreography by Radu Poklitaru, and a new ballet based on the Lermontov novel Hero of our time choreographed by Yury Posokhov and directed by Kirill Serebrianikov, with a new score commissioned from Ilya Demutski.

The R o y a l B a llet B ased at th e R oy al O p era H ou se, C ov en t G ard en , T h e R oy al B allet is G reat B ritain ‘s m ost p restigiou s b allet c om p an y an d on e of th e great c lassic al b allet c om p an ies of th e w orld . L ed b y D irec tor K ev in O ‘H a r e, th e C om p an y h as a w id e-ran gin g rep ertory th at sh ow c ases th e great 1 9 th c en tu ry c lassic s alon gsid e h eritage w ork s in c lu d in g th ose of its tw o great 2 0 th c en tu ry c h oreograp h ers F r ed er ic k A shto n an d K en n eth M a c M illa n . In ad d ition , T h e R oy al B allet p erform s n ew w ork s b y R oy al B allet R esid en t C h oreograp h er W a y n e M c G r eg o r an d R oy al B allet A rtistic A ssoc iate C hr isto p her W heeld o n , tw o of th e forem ost in tern ation al c h oreograp h ers of tod ay . T h e R oy al B allet c on tin u es to c reate an d en c ou rage n ew c h oreograp h y an d ap p oin ted L ia m S c a r lett as R oy al B allet A rtist in R esid en c e in 2 0 1 2 .

The National Ballet of Canada One of the top international ballet companies, The National Ballet of Canada was founded in 1951 by Celia Franca. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led by Artistic Director Karen Kain, one of the greatest ballerinas of her generation, since 2005. Renowned for its diverse repertoire, the

Page 3 of 4 company performs traditional full-length classics, embraces contemporary work and encourages the creation of new ballets as well as the development of Canadian choreographers. The company’s repertoire includes works by Sir Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, John Cranko, Rudolf Nureyev, Glen Tetley, John Neumeier, William Forsythe, James Kudelka, Jií Kylián, Wayne McGregor, , Christopher Wheeldon, Crystal Pite and Aszure Barton. The National Ballet has toured in Canada, the US and internationally with recent appearances at Sadler’s Wells in London, England, The Music Center in Los Angeles and Lincoln Centre's David H. Koch Theater in New York City.

San Francisco Ballet As America’s oldest professional ballet company, has enjoyed a long and rich tradition of artistic “firsts” since its founding in 1933, including performing the first American productions of Swan Lake and Nutcracker, as well as the first 20th-century American Coppélia. San Francisco Ballet is one of the three largest ballet companies in the United States. Guided in its early years by American dance pioneers and brothers Lew, Willam and Harold Christensen, San Francisco Ballet currently presents more than 100 performances annually, both locally and internationally. Under the direction of Helgi Tomasson, the Company has achieved an international reputation as one of the pre-eminent ballet companies in the world. In 2005, San Francisco Ballet won the prestigious Laurence Olivier Award in the category of “Outstanding Achievement in Dance” and in 2006, it was the first non-European company elected “Company of the Year” in Dance Europe magazine’s annual readers’ poll. In 2008, the Company marked its 75th anniversary with a host of initiatives including an ambitious New Works Festival. In 2012, SF Ballet’s ambitious tour schedule included London and Washington, D.C., plus first-time visits to Hamburg, Moscow, and Sun Valley, Idaho. In October 2013, the Company performed at New York’s David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, where The New York Times declared SF Ballet “a national treasure.” In July 2014, the Company toured to Paris as part of Les Etés de la Danse Festival, marking the 10th anniversary of its inaugural engagement with the festival. At Théâtre du Châtelet, SF Ballet presented over 20 works by 15 choreographers over a gala evening and 17 performances. 2015 marks the 30th anniversary of Helgi Tomasson’s tenure as artistic director of San Francisco Ballet.

PRESS OFFICE CONTACT Ashley Woodfield Head of Ballet Press T el: 0 2 0 7 2 1 2 9 1 6 5 ash ley .w ood field @ roh .org.u k

Page 4 of 4