In response to the recent spread of coronavirus, our lifestyles are changing rapidly, more countries are introducing quarantine, theatres are closing, dance companies cancel their performances and the best we can do is social distance ourselves and stay at home as much as possible.
However, we can still enjoy plenty of amazing dance performances without leaving home. The Wonderful World of Dance decided to make a list of websites where you can catch some dance performances! We will be updating this list as more companies might be giving access to their performances.
Streaming services and video sharing platforms
Dance Companies’ Digital Seasons
Theatres
Other
Streaming services and video sharing platforms
Youtube
We all know Youtube, it is probably the biggest resource for dance lessons, interviews, short videos and full performances there is and it is absolutely free. Here are just a few of the full-length performances you can check out:
- Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake – The Kirov Ballet
- Minkus: Don Quixote – La Scala
- Giselle – Royal Danish Ballet
- Matthew Bourne΄s Swan Lake, 2012
Amazon
Even though Amazon Videos available vary from country to country, you can usually find a lot of full-length performances from companies like The Royal Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet and other, as well as documentaries and biopics.
Medici.tv
medici.tv is probably the world’s leading classical music channel, but apart from offering access to classical music concerts and opera, Medici.tv offers access to plenty of ballet performances from some of the worlds best companies including The Royal Ballet, Monte Carlo Ballet, Bolshoi and others!
Price is 9,90 € /month or 64.35€ /year (instead of 99 € offer available until
30/03/2020) Also, a limited access free account is available.
marquee.tv
Here you can find works by The Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet, Bolshoi and works of some of the most amazing contemporary choreographers such as Wayne McGregor and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. Also, a lot of documentaries, behind the scenes and dance movies are available.
Price is 8.99 $/month or 79.99 € annually. However, in response to world events, marquee.tv has increased its free trial period to 30 days.
arte.tv
ARTE is a public service European culture channel that is available throughout Europe (in the 28 EU Member States and in the European Free Trade Association Member States of Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland) and gives access to plenty of documentaries, feature films, concerts etc, including full-length dance performances from Akhram Khan, Finnish National Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet and others.
Dance TV Channel
Dance Channel TV is an online media network dedicated to promoting, preserving and supporting all forms of dance around the world. They provide a big collection of short dance videos, Festival videos as well as full-length performances from Bolshoi, Mariinsky and other companies.
Numeridanse.tv
From ballet to postmodern dance, from contemporary productions to historical recordings, Numeridanse.tv covers a broad range of works and many of which are also sorted into “channels” associated with institutions, companies and choreographers.
Broadway HD
The website gives you access to the variety of the Broadway shows and even some of the ballets from ROH and other companies! You can get 7 days free trial. Afterwards, the price is $8.99 USD/month or $99.99 USD/year
Dance Companies’ Digital Seasons
Vienna State Ballet
As most of the theatres out there, Vienna State Opera has cancelled all their performances until 12:00 pm on April 3, 2020. However, they offer to watch recordings of opera and ballets from the archive as an internet stream. The performance archive is also available so you can access plenty of performances.
You can access the stream free of charge at the planned time of the event. You can also get a single ticket for 5 € that gives you access to one videotheque title. You can watch the performance for 7 days after purchase, as often as you wish. A monthly subscription, which includes access to all live events and three free titles in the videotheque is also available. There is a 30-days free trial period, and then for 16,90 € per month.
Bayerische Staatsoper
After the cancellation of all performances at the Bayerische Staatsoper from March 11 to April 19, Munich’s theatre is trying to provide individual performances as a free live stream or video-on-demand on www.staatsoper.tv.
The live streams and the video-on-demand can be found on the website at the time indicated. Registration is not necessary.
Teatro San Carlo
The Teatro di San Carlo has launched the hashtag #stageathome and brings its stage to everyone’s homes, making available some of the shows of past seasons online via their social media channels (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram). You can see the programme here, streaming will always start at 8 p.m. CET. Also, a variety of backstage videos, interviews and insights will be available on the companies Youtube channel.
Hamburg Ballet
Because of the recent events, the Hamburg Ballet has put together an exclusive online programme, which will be published on their website, Instagram, Facebook and their blog). You can check the programme here!
The Royal Ballet
The Royal Opera House launches a programme of free online content for the culturally curious at home. The Royal Opera House announced a FREE live programme of full-length productions to spread the joy of ballet and opera during these uncertain times. They will be broadcast via Royal Opera House Facebook and YouTube
- The Sleeping Beauty, 2020 – 24 July, 7 pm BST
- ZooNation’s The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party – 31 July, 7 pm BST
Paris Opera Ballet
Since March 17th, the Paris Opera has made available a complete opera or ballet every Monday at 7:30 p.m. on operadeparis.fr and on france.tv culturebox or arte.tv, as well as on company’s Facebook page. Freely available for a week, these streams are made possible thanks to partnerships with France Télévisions (Culturebox) and Arte (Arte concert). The owners of the French IP address can watch videos on demand here!
Bolshoi
Exciting news from legendary Bolshoi Theatre – you can now watch performances for free on Bolshoi Youtube Channel!
All the broadcasts start at 7 pm Moscow time, each recording will be available for 24 hours from the end of the broadcast.
UPD: Regretfully, at the moment Bolshoi is not sharing any plans for future screenings. We will let you know once it is changed!
Finnish National Ballet
On the website of the Finnish National Ballet, you can watch performances with your children as they made available amazing ballets for the whole family like Pippi Longstocking, Snow Queen, Romeo and Juliet, Seven Brothers and more. You can check them out here!
Berlin State Ballet
Berlin State Opera House also made a special daily video-on-demand program for us to enjoy from homes. You can check the schedule here!
The Australian Ballet
The Australian Ballet started broadcasting their Digital Season to Australian viewers. The season started with Sleeping Beauty on 5th of April. After 17th of April Alexei Ratmansky’s Cinderella will be available and Romeo & Juliet (Graeme Murphy) from 1st of May. More shows will be announced. Each full-length production will be available for a limited time only. You can view the performances on company’s website. You can also add Digital Season to your calendar and be the first to know when a new ballet is ready to stream.
English National Ballet
English National Ballet invites audiences around the world to join them for Wednesday Watch Parties. As part of ENB at HOME, never before seen full-length recordings of Company performances will be premiered online (Facebook/ YouTube) every Wednesday evening over the next month, giving people the chance to see some of English National Ballet’s most loved productions, for free, from their own homes. Recordings will be available for 48 hours.
Royal New Zealand Ballet
RNZB wants to stay connected with their fans and first-times and is delighted to broadcast some of the fantastic back catalogue, right into your living room. Their performances will be available via RNZB Facebook Page. Links to broadcasts ware also posted on company’s website 30 minutes before the performance. Regretfully, performances won’t be available as video on demand, however the company is offering 3 screening per production, usually: Friday at 7:30 pm NZST/8:30 am BST/3:30 am EST, Saturday 1:30 pm BZT/ 2:30 am BST/ 9:30 EST, Sunday 10:30 am BZT/ 11:30 pm BST/ 6:30 pm EST. You can also start watching the performance at any point of the broadcast.
Find out more and check the next shows here!
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet has announced it’s Digital Season. From April 21 through May 29, New York City Ballet presents digital streams of two ballets a week, along with a full slate of other online programming. You can watch performances on NYCB Facebook, Youtube or website! For the detailed program click here!
Russell Maliphant Dance Company
As part of company’s response to the challenge of Covid-19, RMDC has decided to share elements of their Digital Archive – some full performance recordings and some short clips from creative processes – to give you insight into the artistic processes of the company and collaborators. On 25th of April 8 pm BST/ 3 pm ET RMDC streamed Silent Lines. The stream will be available on Youtube! Check the company’s website for updates on the next streams!
Nederlands Dans Theater
Nederlands Dans Theater has started NDTV, a free online streaming-series with NDT ballets. Currently, you can enjoy the following performances:
Every stream is available for one week only! Check out this page for updates of the programme and links to view the performances!
Dutch National Ballet
During the coming weeks, Dutch National Ballet will be streaming some of the most beautiful performances that have been shown on their stage in recent years. A unique opportunity to see or relive a number of highlights for the first time. You can watch the streams here. Afterwards, it will remain online for another week. You can learn more details and watch the stream here!
The current and upcoming ballet’s include:
- Grimm (available until 13th of June)
- David Dawson 25 years @ Dutch National Ballet (from Saturday 13 June 18:00 BST/ 13:00 ET until 20 June)
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
To make sure you can still find comfort and joy in the beauty of dance Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater started #AileyAllAccess campaign: for a limited time, Ailey is thrilled to share videos of the Company performing on stage.
Currently, you can enjoy the following performances are available:
- Lincoln Center at the Movies” 2015 performance film: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Wayne McGregor’s Chroma, Ronald K. Brown’s Grace, Robert Battle’s Takademe, and Alvin Ailey’s Revelations (film available to view until 6:30 pm EDT/ 11:30 pm BST on June 11th),
- Jamar Roberts’s Ode plus bonus videos (full ballet available to view until 6:30 pm EDT/11:30 pm on June 10th).
The next performance is The Ailey Spirit Virtual Gala (11–18 of June). Learn more here!
You can watch the performances here or on the company’s Youtube Channel.
San Francisco Ballet
SF Ballet @ Home invites the public to stay connected to SF Ballet while sheltering in place. Every Friday, SF Ballet streams a complete ballet from the archives on Facebook, IGTV, YouTube, and the SF Ballet website, calling on regional, national, and international audiences to relish the joy of dance from the comfort of their homes-all free of charge. New, live commentary by SF Ballet dancers and artistic staff accompanies each stream, offering a behind-the-scenes look into the roles of the Company’s artists. Each stream is made available for one week.
Matthew Bourne and New Adventures
The company has announced that their Festival of Classics (which includes critically acclaimed Swan Lake, Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet and The Car Man) will be available to rent and download online! You can rent each production to watch it on Vimeo for £5.99 and purchase for £9.99. Check out the details here! Also if you sign up to the company’s mailing list, you will get a 20% discount!
Ballet Hispanico
Enjoy a Company performance from the comfort of your own home, followed by live Q&A sessions with Artistic Director and CEO of Ballet Hispánico Eduardo Vilaro, choreographers and Company dancers. Here is the performance schedule:
- June 3 at 7 pm ET/12 am BST: El Viaje
- June 10 at 7 pm ET/12 am BST: Nací
- June 17 at 7 pm ET/12 am BST: Sombrerísimo (female cast)
- June 24 at 7 pm ET/12 am BST: Noche Unidos, a night of dance and unity
Dance Theatre of Harlem
Dance Theatre of Harlem has created #DTHOnDemand, a digital platform to help bring their artistry directly into our homes. DTH On Demand, includes several weeks of full-length archival performances, conversations with artists, instructional videos for children and adults, and online classes for all levels taught by DTH alumni, faculty and company members!
The seven weeks of Company performances will be streamed on DTH’s YouTube channel and Facebook page each Saturday at 8 pm ET/ 1 am BST until 11:59 pm/ 4 am BST on Sunday. The series kicks off with a celebration of Creole Giselle, companiesacclaimed classics on 6th of June.
The following shows include Return (choreographed by Robert Garland), Balamouk (Annabelle Lopez Ochoa), performance at the Guggenheim and others. Learn more here!
The Stuttgart Ballet
The German company is offering StuttgartBallet@Home with new ballet every week available from Thursday to Sunday on their website and Youtube Channel. This week’s performance (available June 11th to Sunday, June 14th) is John Cranko’s oeuvre: Concerto for Flute and Harp.
Shobana Jeyasingh Dance
Shobana Jeyasingh Dance is continuing treating us with SJD SHORTS on the company’s Facebook Page. Shobana Jeyasingh’s seminal 2012 work TooMortal is being screened as part of the company’s SJD SHORTS series on Monday 22 June at 7 pm BST/ 2 pm ET. The upcoming SJD SHORTS will be announced on the company’s Facebook page later on.
The schedule is the following:
Until 5 July: TooMortal (director Gary Tanner)Included in the Guardian’s list of the best dance works of the 21st century so far, TooMortal sees six women dancing within the pews of a historic church. The story they weave moves between power and quiet reflection. Are they cast adrift on a wooden sea – or charting a journey from cradle to grave?
Monday 6 July: Outlander (director Terry Braun) / études (director Gary Tanner)
These two short works were each created in response to other works of art: Outlander to Paolo Veronese’s 1563 masterpiece ‘The Wedding at Cana’, an exuberant multi-cultural wedding feast; and études to Auguste Rodin’s sculptures of dancers and bodies.
Monday 20 July: Material Men redux (director Gary Tanner)
This virtuoso piece was made for two dazzling performers of the Indian diaspora. Their chosen dance styles could not be more different – classical Indian and hip hop – but they share a history rooted in the dark realities of colonial migration and plantation labour.
Monday 3 August: Staging Schiele (director Terry Braun)
The works of Austrian painter Egon Schiele put the human body on visceral display. Four dancers inhabit his highly-charged world of colour, masterful lines and unusual perspectives. Jeyasingh’s choreography matches the intensity of Schiele, engaging with his anxieties as well as his supreme self-confidence.
Monday 17 August: Contagion (director Terry Braun)
Contagion commemorates the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic which killed more people than the First World War itself. A dance installation with digital visuals the choreography echoes the scientific features of a virus – rapid, random and constantly shape-shifting. Eight female dancers contort and mutate as they explore both the resilience and the vulnerability of the human body.
Theatres
Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage
Sadler’s Wells announced that it will present new dance content for Digital Stage, its free online performance platform. New content will include digital premieres of full-length dance performances, screendance – choreography designed for film – and new dance workshops which have been specially created for families with young children, and the over 60s, to take part in at home.
Currently available on Digital Stage is Dancing at Dusk – A moment with Pina Bausch’s The Rite of Spring, a film created in partnership with Pina Bausch Foundation and École des Sables. Audiences can purchase a ticket to watch the film.
Check out the upcoming shows and updates here!
Sadler’s Wells x BBC Culture in Quarantine
Filmed in Lockdown is a series of new works commissioned for BBC Culture in Quarantine by Arts Council England and BBC Arts.
Sadler’s Wells has provided production and editorial support for four of the dance films commissioned as part of the series, created by some of the most exciting dance artists working today.
- The Sofa Dance – Mimbre
Stuck at home, 30 acrobats twist frustration into a showcase of absurdity and beauty. Watch on BBC iplayer (UK only) - Flying Home – BirdGang Ltd
Six isolated dancers embark on a choreographic journey of self-discovery. Watch on BBC iplayer (UK only) - CAN’T KILL US ALL – Far From the Norm / Botis Seva
Unravelling one man’s mental unrest as he deals with two global pandemics. Watch on BBC iplayer (UK only) - Home Carnival – Somina ‘Mena’ Fombo
An exhilarating exploration of UK carnival culture told through dance, music and mas costume.
Available soon
The Place
As the national lockdown continues for a yet undetermined time and social distancing measures are keeping us apart, The Place is reaching across the distance to offer audiences a new online programme of dance performances they can enjoy at home.
Launching on 30 April, The Place will stream one full length dance show every Thursday at 7 pm BST/ 2 pm ET on the organisation’s website for the next six weeks.
Check this webpage for updates.
Lincoln Center at Home
#LincolnCenterAtHome is dedicated to maintaining connections to the arts during the COVID-19 pandemic. A free, one-stop portal to all digital offerings from across the iconic campus, offerings also include Lincoln Center Pop-Up Classroom, and #ConcertsForKids, as well an array of archival and livestream performances available for free and on-demand at LincolnCenter.org and on Lincoln Center’s Facebook Page. The schedule for upcoming days includes:
- June 22nd 8 pm ET/ June 23rd 1 am BST – New York City Ballet: Coppélia
- June 29th 8 pm ET/June 30th 4th 1 am BST – New York City Ballet: Tribute to Balanchine
Other
Northern Ballet
Northern Ballet will be launching a new short film on their digital dance site on Friday 27th March.
Motionhouse
Dance-circus company Motionhouse has launched a company #TogetherInIsolation on social media last week, and the company’s dancers are currently working at home to create a range of videos to share on the Motionhouse YouTube channel early next week. And for the first time ever, the company will be sharing it’s hugely popular Earth Trilogy on its YouTube channel starting from 7pm Friday 27th March!
Chicago Dance Crash
Chicago based company are sharing with you the opportunity to watch online their award-winning production of The Bricklayers of Oz: The hip hop origin story of The Yellow Brick Road. This original production brought smiles to crowds in Chicago and across the country in recent years and the company hopes it will bring you some much-needed sparkle and light. Check it out here!
Limon Dance Company
The Limon Dance Company is sharing reJOYCE week, a virtual season made to honor what would have been company’s 2020 Joyce Season. The virtual season will take place March 30th-April 5th through LIVE on their IG @limondance, where you can also check the schedule!
Mariinsky
You can enjoy the streaming of archive performances of the famous Russian company on Mariinsky TV, where you can also check the performance schedule. Some of the full-length performances are also available on the companies Youtube Channel.
Birmingham Royal Ballet
Birmingham Royal Ballet is launching Home From Home, a new series of online content which will give an exclusive insight into the company’s daily routine and specially curated performances as they stay fit and creative whilst in isolation at their homes across the globe. At 3pm BSM/ 10 am EST on Wednesday 8 April, BBC’s Culture in Quarantine will make available a specially curated performance of The Swan, introduced by Carlos Acosta and performed by Birmingham Royal Ballet principal dancer Céline Gittens. The performance will be streamed on BBC ARTS and on BRB website!
At-Home Edition of MOVE IT!
MOVE IT!is the only performance series dedicated to physical theatre in New York City. While normally performed in a live setting, this year’s edition is presented through a video showcasing some of Parallel Exit’s colleagues working in physical theatre, dance-theatre, mime, puppetry, circus and variety. MOVE IT! is now streaming for free online at vimeo.com/402411587.
Michael Clark Company
Michael Clark’s to a simple, rock ’n’ roll . . . song. is now available to watch on BBC iPlayer. Recorded at the Barbican, London in 2017, this Olivier Award-nominated production features music by Patti Smith, Erik Satie and David Bowie, including the title track from Bowie’s final studio album, Blackstar. It s available for the next 2 month!
Jasmin Vardimon Company
Jasmin Vardimon Company has pleasantly surprised us with announcing a free 24 hour screening of their acclaimed production 7734 via company’s Vimeo channel on 3rd June 2020.
Works & Process Artists (WPA) Virtual Commission Series
Works & Process Artists (WPA) Virtual Commissions, a direct response to the pandemic, was launched to financially support artists and nurture their creative process during these challenging times. With the generosity of our board, Works & Process is granting more than $150,000 in commissioning funds to artists who have been or were supposed to be featured at Works & Process. Artists from a wide variety of genres have been commissioned to create new works, less than 5 minutes long, while observing social distancing guidelines, that will premiere on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube every Sunday and Monday at 7:30pm ET/ 1:30 am BST. More information available at worksandprocess.org.
This weekend, Works & Process, the performing arts series at the Guggenheim, presented the premieres of Cooped by Jamar Roberts and OH, LIGHT by Brandon Stirling Baker. On June 7 at 7:30pm EDT, Works & Process will present the premiere of Storm performed by Sara Mearns and choreographed by Joshua Bergasse
The June premieres are the following:
- June 27 – Machine Dazzle*
- June 28 – Simone Dinnerstein, Isaac Mizrahi, Pam Tanowitz*
- June 29 – Tom Gold*
Virtual Summer Series – interactive events by State Street Ballet & CYA.Live
Greenwich Dance presents Up My Street – Online!
Forced indoors by Covid-19, Greenwich Dance has re-imagined Up My Street – Showtime!, a borough-wide project designed to tackle cultural inequality and loneliness, into Up My Street – Online!
Beginning on Thursday 25 June, four TV-style episodes featuring brand-new short dance works, interviews with choreographers and excerpts from their eclectic back catalogues, plus an invitation to get moving will be screened via the organisation’s YouTube channel.
The schedule is the following:
- Thursday 25 June, 6 pm BST/ 1 pm ET Zoie Golding, ZoieLogic Dance Theatre presents Unshackled – A SLEUTH spin off
- Thursday 2 July, 6 pm BST/ 1 pm ET Temujin Gill presents Essentials
- Thursday 9 July, 6 pm BST/ 1 pm ET Mathieu Geffré presents The Ceremony
- Thursday 16 July, 6 pm BST/ 1 pm ET Sarah Blanc presents This Time Will Pass
Each episode is 15 to 20 minutes long. Suitable for all ages.
Déda: Live in Your Living Room
Déda is a creative centre for Dance, Contemporary Circus and Outdoor Work located in Derby city centre offering a diverse programme of performances, classes and events. They are offering a wide range of performances to enjoy from your homes.
The upcoming shows include:
- National Dance Company Wales: Triple Bill (Friday 19 June, 19:30 BST/ 16:00 ET)
- Lumo Company present Wiredo (Friday 17 July | 19:30BST/ 16:00 ET)
You can check the full programme here!
Stephanie Herman
Stephenie Herman is a former ballerina who has danced with Mikhail Baryshnikov and Rudolph Nureyev and was a protégé of legendary choreographer George Balanchine. She has released “Metamorphosis” – a dance performance choreographed and danced by herself. You can view it here!
We should remember that this is a very hard time for the creative industries, so please consider helping artists in any way you can.