Ballet activities to engage in online

[Danny]

Does anyone know about some online ballet activities that I can engage online for free? It could be anything ranging from live performances online to ballet class (could be on zoom or any other platform) or some ballet minigames online I perhaps.

[Sophoife]

Here is where "Google is your friend" is a very useful truth. Also the search function here on the Forums.

[Danny]

Sometimes when you google you hardly find anything. I tried searching but I can barely find anything to interact with people real time. Most of the sources I find online is paid

[Kate_N]

Sometimes there are free classes on Instagram Live. Depends who you follow on Insta.

[Emeralds]

Danny, I think with ballet you just have to watch the actual ballets themselves. I would recommend these ballets which you can watch online for free on YouTube (if it says more than 1h 30mins long that is the full ballet to watch):

 

Giselle, Royal Danish Ballet

Onegin, Stuttgart Ballet 

Giselle, Mariinsky Ballet 

Don Quixote, Teatro alla Scala

Romeo and Juliet, Royal Danish Ballet 

Sleeping Beauty, Paris Opera Ballet (it will be called La Belle au Bois Dormant, that's correct. It lasts 2 hours 32 minutes).

Swan Lake, Kirov Ballet 

 

That's enough to start with. Plus your Nutcracker performance you are attending on 24th. We are all lucky to live in an age where YouTube and the World Wide Web make these excellent performances available for free.

 

Don't be surprised if you don't like some of them even though I've picked the videos with some of the best dancers and orchestras in the world. We can't all like the same things.

 

If you let us know which you enjoyed the most after warching the whole thing- comedy, tragedy, drama etc, or which video- we can recommend more. (Type in the exact words I used,  in order to search YouTube.) 

 

If you can't get YouTube where you are, let us know which one you can get. Or you can also buy these ballets on DVD recording (except Giselle and Romeo and Juliet- for those two ballets, buy the Royal Ballet DVDs instead).

Edited December 4, 2024 by Emeralds

[Rob S]

Isn’t this forum enough online ballet activity!? 😆

[Danny]

How can I find it?

[Emeralds]

11 minutes ago, Danny said:

How can I find it?

1. Download the YouTube app

2. Search "Onegin Stuttgart Ballet"

3. Click on the video which is 1 hour 36 minutes long.

4. Watch the ballet 

5. Search YouTube for the other 6 ballets and watch them. 

 

We are not allowed to post the link address of the videos. 

Edited December 4, 2024 by Emeralds

[Danny]

10 hours ago, Emeralds said:

1. Download the YouTube app

2. Search "Onegin Stuttgart Ballet"

3. Click on the video which is 1 hour 36 minutes long.

4. Watch the ballet 

5. Search YouTube for the other 6 ballets and watch them. 

 

We are not allowed to post the link address of the videos. 

I think you are allowed to include the link if it is relevant to the discussion

[Sim]

4 minutes ago, Danny said:

I think you are allowed to include the link if it is relevant to the discussion

It doesn't matter if it's relevant to the discussion.  What matters is whether or not it is a legal or official link.  It is fine to post official links, but not others.

[Emeralds]

48 minutes ago, Danny said:

I think you are allowed to include the link if it is relevant to the discussion

Sorry, Danny. I couldn't post the links because I couldn't find any videos of complete ballets from the ballet companies themselves.

 

There are short trailers and excerpts from the ballet companies I can post the links to those if you want those instead, but they won't be the same performance or production.

 

The full ballets are posted by fans and the ballet company has the right to tell YouTube to delete them but so far they haven't, so you're lucky! I'm telling you how to find them instead. I can promise you they are very easy to find if you use the exact words I used. Remember, the full length ballets are the videos that are more than 90 minutes long. 

Edited December 5, 2024 by Emeralds

[Emeralds]

@Danny you were also asking for recommended online content aside from Ballet Reign, which you have come across.

 

For classes to watch or try out, English National Ballet has Ballet Active online and they have posted some short videos you can try out, and there is also a "14 days for free" deal you can try. You have to sign up with payment details but cancel before they charge you any money. (This is an official link so I can post it). There are some demonstrations of simple dances and exercises for beginners.

https://active.ballet.org.uk/

 

Other free classes English National Ballet have posted include these videos taught or demonstrated by their former star and director Tamara Rojo. If you search "ballet class with Tamara Rojo" on YouTube you will see the others.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DB6yuHIjOAJE&ved=2ahUKEwjTwOWzu5CKAxU1UEEAHX_gOW0QwqsBegQIExAG&usg=AOvVaw1rV7MKHJs0sWdJdKmEF33E

 

Dutch National Ballet have also posted about 5 videos showing classes for beginners: 

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DW-U9HYgOhxo&ved=2ahUKEwjSn7u2vJCKAxX9SkEAHVnbAIwQwqsBegQIFhAF&usg=AOvVaw3QiGRlPMxL_hTlInI8B3OB

 

It is very important that you and anyone reading this to be aware that ballet is a physical activity like a sport, like gymnastics or diving, not like Frisbee or bowling. It is important to get taught by a qualified and experienced teacher before trying to do stretching, turn out, pointe work or fouettes. Anyone can point their feet or bend their knees, or stand on tiptoe of course, but if you do the exercises and it hurts, you must stop and get teaching from a qualified teacher instead. 

 

However, anyone can watch the videos and learn how disciplined and graceful the art form is, of course. 

 

[Emeralds]

For interesting insights and chat from professionals who post about the art of ballet and practising as a professional. I would recommend the Instagram pages of Tiler Peck, Steven McRae and Daniil Simkin. Mr McRae is principal dancer at the Royal Ballet, Ms Peck is a principal ballerina at New York City Ballet, and Mr Simkin used to be principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre and Berlin State Ballet (he now works as a freelance dancer). Between the three of them you get a good  mix of impressive solos, wise advice, entertaining improvisations, insights into difficulties and challenges in ballet, and jokes. 

[alison]

There are of course various Royal ballet insight events available from time to time. We have a thread for those in the News section.

[FionaM]

@Emeralds thank you.  You have been very generous in your posts above with lots of information for this relative newcomer.   I wish @Danny well with exploring all these avenues.  
 

There is SO MUCH that is free online for which we are very grateful especially for those who cannot travel to live shows.  
 

However I must add that none of it compares to the LIVE experience … a performance, a class, or even interaction in person with ballet fans or practitioners. 

[Danny]

Oh yeah. Just as you mentioned about LIVE events, is there any live events about ballet online? Somehow I find out that I have been into ballet for more than a year but still barely explored anything.

Edited December 5, 2024 by Danny

[Sim]

23 minutes ago, Danny said:

Oh yeah. Just as you mentioned about LIVE events, is there any live events about ballet online? Somehow I find out that I have been into ballet for more than a year but still barely explored anything.

If you read the posts above there is a lot of information about live events and other things.  If you use Google or other search engines that will also help you.

[Ian Macmillan]

43 minutes ago, Danny said:

Somehow I find out that I have been into ballet for more than a year but still barely explored anything.

Danny:  That sounds like you are not based in London or some other European capital city?  There's no end of live ballet events in such places.  

[Emeralds]

@Danny the Royal Ballet's Insight Events are free to watch online via their website but if you want to watch them in person, there is a fee. I would advise that you spend on watching a real performance on stage live, and try to watch other items like lectures, rehearsal events and interviews online when they are free. Members often post in the news section when free events happen, so watch the threads on the News forum and not just this Performances forum. I'll tag you to the Insights thread so that you can catch the next one. There are also old Insight events and class demonstrations that you can watch on YouTube for free.. 

Edited December 5, 2024 by Emeralds

[Danny]

I am in Hong Kong

[Emeralds]

5 minutes ago, Danny said:

I am in Hong Kong

Like Ian, I thought you were probably not in London or the UK! I think you might like these two Royal Ballet Insight Event videos about The Nutcracker. A useful introduction before you watch thr ballet next week. 

 

The first one covers Clara, the Nutcracker, and Drosselmeyer. 

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D_uO7e6TZhkA&ved=2ahUKEwj2sMXCzbGKAxUST0EAHUeJOPIQwqsBegQIDBAF&usg=AOvVaw3kVVRBxpZ4s2Z1BawWm7ET

 

The second one has the Sugar Plum Fairy and Prince, and two of the children acting as the children in the party in Act 1, plus a short section where the Nutcracker- now changed back to a human (Drosselmeyer's nephew) rehearses the mime where he tells the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Prince what happened. 

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DfWR0nw2uIN0&ved=2ahUKEwj_3e2Sz7GKAxUGQkEAHWuoMpwQwqsBegQIEhAF&usg=AOvVaw0XTxhC7qvkyybhdY40xOiJ