Not enough ballet on TV

[filteredgrime]

Why is ballet seemingly only on tv at Christmas? Why not all year around?

Lots of other sports are on - and take up lots of the telly schedule. TV mostly seems centered around football, cricket, golf, rugby, reality TV and the news.

Isn’t there room for more beautiful exciting or gentle and meditative ballets? Like other sports it’s all wonderful escapism.

If there was a ballet World Cup / national or international dance event then maybe it would get more traction!

Is it just me who wants more ballet - or would others like to see more ballets too?

Isn’t it also that it’s stereotypically seen as middle/upper class? That’s why you don’t get showjumping on TV any more, when it was mainstream peak time viewing on the BBC in the 70s.

I wouldn’t watch ballet on TV it’s not the same for me. We are going to see a ballet soon at the local theatre and I’m really excited.

By the way cinemas have started showing performances on screen including ballets. I won’t go personally but it sounds more interesting then on TV.

I can't see any current productions listed on the website. That would be a huge shame if they stopped as it used to be senior students from their ballet school in the production and must have been a great performance opportunity for them as well.
I did see that you can rent previous productions in their ENB at Home series.

Rubbish - it just does not have a mass audience

Good point the bbc hate anything that may be seen as white middle class

Because tv schedules are set by men and men like football/rugby etc and have no interest in ballet.

Don't be daft, it's not a sport it's an art form.

Bollocks, when I was 8 I accidentally saw some opera on tv and I was riveted. Adored it. We could never have afforded to pay £200 each to go see it in London, why shouldn’t it be on tv so girls can enjoy it at home? Of course it’s better live - just like football. Doesn’t mean is pointless having ballet in tv.

It’s sexism, pure and simple.

@3WildOnes I would its suitable from when they can sit still quietly for an hour... 3/4ish? Think mine were 6/7ish when we went, but there were kids a lot younger.

eileen if you can get to London have you looked at the Royal Opera House welcome performances? Even young kids can go IIRC. The male dancers are amazing.

Not ballet, but there is a dance World Cup. Don't think it's televised though.

I’d like to see more ballet on TV too OP. Sometimes Sky Arts puts one on at 7.00 in the morning. I’ve picked up a few ballet DVDs cheaply off eBay. I love seeing ballet stars of old performing.

How many women have an interest in ballet and watching it on tv ?

Oh my - how had I forgotten that? I think showjumping and Blue Peter on TV must have been my entire childhood!

I'd say there's too much ballet on TV if anything. I've definitely seen it more than once, which is too often for me.

I'm not sure why you'd consider ballet a "sport" though, it's no more a sport than an opera is. Football/rugby/cricket/snooker/darts/poker/chess are sports, no way ballet is.

I disagree its sexism ,it doesnt appeal to the masses ,thats all ,if it was shown on one of the mainstream ,channels at prime time i cant imagine it getting good viewing figures ,i understand there will be people that enjoy watching it but you cant compare it to mainstream sport

Why is poker more of a sport than ballet? I agree that generally I’d say ballet is more of an art, but I think it’s ridiculous to act like somebody is stupid for calling ballet a sport while insisting card games are a sport.

Rights costs. Ballet and theatre is really expensive to televise due to the number of performers (including off stage staff like the orchestra).

I've seen a Japanese ballet on a massive wallsized OLED screen at 8k resolution with a single point of view (centre stage). I really liked that because you could choose where to watch like you do in person.

Getting a good show for smaller screens with multi camera angles is quite hard, filming usually over a number of performances and edited together. There were some good ones in lockdown from various ballet companies around the world. But they want you to pay for their streaming service.. or buy the DVD.

Card games, chess etc are pastimes.

I know, I was pointing out the irony of a poster acting like op is stupid for calling ballet a sport then laying down the law that apparently sport means card games and board games.

Why is ballet seemingly only on tv at Christmas?

Maybe people have more trouble sleeping around Christmas?

Sky Arts and BBC4 probably your best bets. The Royal Ballet Nutcracker was on Netflix last Christmas- might come back this year. There has been some good ballet stuff on BBC4 although annoyingly they don't keep it on there for long. I've also seen some excellent opera documentaries (often presented by Antonio Pappano who is brilliant telly) but again they don't keep them on there- it's frustrating. Rarely full-length operas . My first introduction to opera was a BBC/ROH relay of The Marriage of Figaro in the early 90s, the start of a life-long love.

If getting to the ballet is tricky for you, live cinema relays might be an option- not as good as being there but definitely better than nothing. Plus the ROH on--demand subscription service is excellent and covers both opera and ballet. You can also get opera on demand from the Met.

Like PP I'm unconvinced that not showing opera and ballet on TV is justified because it's better in person- of course it is but it's not accessible to everyone, even at some of the lowest prices (£20 is cheap for a ticket but not everyone has £20 nor the means of getting there).

(Ballet's not a sport though.)

I'd say there's too much ballet on TV if anything. I've definitely seen it more than once, which is too often for me.

This. A 100% cut would be perfect.

There is a dance World Cup every year

www.dwcworld.com

you can watch it live by buying zoom tickets.

True, but nevertheless ballet dancers are great athletes.