English National Ballet is inviting online audiences around the world to join the Company’s 75th Season celebrations, with a free Digital Celebration. ENB@75 runs from 4 – 13 July 2025 at ballet.org.uk.
It will showcase ENB’s past, present and future, with performance excerpts, classes and rehearsals, as well as interviews, archive footage and behind-the-scenes insights.
All content will be available to view globally for free on the ENB@75 microsite, with new content released daily. The latest news and updates are available at ballet.org.uk/digital-celebration.
Performance extracts include Akram Khan’s Giselle, accompanied by the recording of a post-performance Q&A with English National Ballet’s Artistic Director Aaron S. Watkin and Rehearsal Director Mavin Khoo; Le Corsaire; Take Five Blues; Swan Lake in-the-round; and the Company’s 2024 production of Nutcracker – along with an extended extract from the Sky Arts documentary Nutcracker: Backstage with English National Ballet.
Watkin said, “We’re offering a unique glimpse into the company and opening up the world of ballet to move more people, in more ways.”
Behind the scenes insights include a company class; an online class for ballet beginners taught by Associate Artist James Muller; and a professional/advanced masterclass taught by Repetiteur and English National Ballet’s Associate Artistic Director Loipa Araújo, featuring Artists of the company, Martinho Santos and Thalina Chapin.
There will also be photographs and films from the archive as well as an interactive map, featuring all the locations where English National Ballet has performed in its 75 years.
A video insight into Re-Play 2025 showcases the breadth of work across the company’s Engagement programmes, alongside a video recording of Between Worlds, choreographed by Carolyn Bolton and Jane Chan, performed by ENBYouthCo earlier this year.
Visitors can share their memories of the company in the Digital Guest Book, there will be daily prize giveaways, special offers, “and more”.
Later this year, the celebrations continue in collaboration with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Screenings of Derek Deane’s Swan Lake in-the-round and Akram Khan’s Giselle will be shown at events in British Embassies and Consulate Generals in cities including Guatemala, Ho Chi Minh and Jakarta this autumn.
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Carla Fracci.