Hello everyone! Today is World Ballet Day and this year marks 20 years since my ballet journey began. And what better time than to reflect on the question, what does ballet mean to me?

Ballet is the most beautiful of theatrical art forms in which so much is brought together and creates something that could have come from another dimension. Beauty, elegance, grace, strength, power, passion: all those hidden qualities of the human soul that can only reveal themselves on stage, accompanied by physical technique and stamina, but the more important friend is the music, for what is ballet without music? When the music begins play and the dancers bagin to dance, a vision of the most unique poetry comes to life, the kind that cannot be captured or expressed in words. Through dance, music and mime, ballet is a theatrical art form where stories are told. Whether through narrative or plotless pieces, there is always a story to be told.

Ballet is a visualisation of the essence of the human soul, an otherworldly beauty and an indescribable joy.

Ballet is art and it shines an eternal light that not even the darkest of shadows can extinguish. As history has taught us, ballet has always stood the test of time. In the some of the world’s darkest chapters – in the face of war, disasters, global pandemics – ballet has always fought back and survived, emerging stronger and shining its light against the dark.

Ballet is eternal; ballet is a symbol and source of hope and love that brings people together; ballet is here to stay.

Let us all continue to nourish, love and respect our beloved art form and keep its light of hope and love forever shining.

Happy World Ballet Day everyone!

From Amy Growcott, Founder of The Marius Petipa Society