Get Ready for World Ballet Day

How much did we die for World Ballet Day 2014, when five top-tier ballet companies from around the globe teamed up to provide a day-long live stream of delightful dancing?

SO MUCH.

And, thank the ballet gods, WBD is BACK.

Company class at San Francisco Ballet during World Ballet Day 2014 ( via worldballetday.com)

On October 1—that’d be next Thursday—we’ll get a chance to go behind the scenes at The Australian Ballet, The Bolshoi Ballet, The Royal Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada and San Francisco Ballet. Their shared 23-hour live stream, hosted by each company in turn, will include classes, rehearsals, performance snippets and interviews with choreographers, directors and other VIPs. There’ll also be guest appearances by other dance groups, including American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, Houston Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet.

How beautiful does that sound? Please apologize in advance to your teachers; there’s no way you’re getting much work done on the 1st.

SFB rehearsing Don Quixote during WBD 2014 (via worldballetday.com)

Want to get involved? The fine folks at World Ballet Day are also hosting a “dance anywhere” contest, whose winners will be featured during the live broadcast. Just take a photo or video of yourself dancing (in the studio, around the kitchen, in front of the Eiffel Tower, wherever you do what you do); post it on Facebook, Twitter or Insta by September 30; and tag it #WorldBalletDay.

Come October 1st, you can watch the live stream at worldballetday.com, or on any of the host companies’ YouTube channels. All five troupes will be broadcasting all 23 hours—you can’t make a bad choice, here.

In the meantime, whet your ballet appetite (like it needs whetting, but still!) with this delicious little preview video from The Royal.