🌍 The world is a stage
A young dancer on Cape Cod can look across the world and see something important: people really do build lives around dance. They perform, choreograph, teach, rehearse, tour, design, coach, produce, manage companies, and help the art form keep growing.
Explore these professional companies. Watch their work. Read about their dancers. Notice the different styles, cultures, cities, training paths, and artistic voices. You do not have to know today where dance will take you — only that there are many places it can go.
Professional dance is broader than any one style. Some companies are rooted in classical ballet. Others live in contemporary dance, modern dance, dance theatre, Indigenous storytelling, or movement traditions that cross cultures and disciplines. Follow the links below and explore the official company sites — their dancers, productions, tours, videos, schools, intensives, auditions, jobs, and education programs.
For aspiring dancers: audition and employment information changes frequently. Always use each company’s official website for current requirements, dates, and opportunities.
A major American ballet company at Lincoln Center, known for athletic classical technique, the Balanchine legacy, and a repertory that continues to add new choreography.
Visit official company siteA leading American ballet company with a broad classical and contemporary repertory, an international touring presence, and a major professional school.
Visit official company siteCanada’s flagship ballet company, combining full-length classics, contemporary works, new creations, and opportunities to discover the artists behind the productions.
Visit official company siteAn internationally touring company rooted in modern dance and the African American cultural experience, celebrated for powerful performance, training, and community engagement.
Visit official company siteA foundational force in modern dance, carrying forward the Martha Graham technique and repertory while commissioning and presenting new work for contemporary audiences.
Visit official company siteA trailblazing ballet company whose classical, neoclassical, and contemporary repertory advances the idea that ballet belongs to everyone.
Visit official company siteOne of the world’s great ballet companies, bringing together major classical traditions with influential choreographers, new work, international touring, and deep ties to The Royal Ballet School.
Visit official company siteA touring ballet company that presents classics and new work across England and internationally, with a strong emphasis on opening ballet to wider audiences.
Visit official company siteOne of ballet’s historic institutions, with a large professional company, celebrated Étoiles, a junior ballet, and a school that has trained generations of dancers.
Visit official company siteAn internationally respected ballet company closely associated with John Cranko’s dramatic repertory and a continuing mix of classical and contemporary work.
Visit official company siteA world-leading contemporary dance company known for adventurous choreography, international touring, and the development of new generations of dancers and creators.
Visit official company siteThe company created by Pina Bausch continues a hugely influential dance-theatre tradition in which movement, emotion, gesture, design, and human relationships meet onstage.
Visit official company siteAn internationally acclaimed company whose work brings contemporary dance into dialogue with Indian kathak, storytelling, music, and cross-cultural collaboration.
Visit official company siteFounded in 1973 as the first contemporary dance company in the greater Chinese-speaking community, Cloud Gate has built a distinctive international voice through movement, culture, and innovation.
Visit official company siteKorea’s first professional ballet company presents full-length classics alongside contemporary and neoclassical works and tours both within Korea and internationally.
Visit official company siteSingapore’s premier professional ballet company performs classical and contemporary seasons while developing dancers and choreographers and representing Singapore on the world stage.
Visit official company siteAn influential contemporary dance company with an international audience, an active education program, and a long history of pushing movement language and performance practice forward.
Visit official company siteAustralia’s national ballet company presents large-scale classical productions and contemporary programs, with performances, education, and touring across major Australian stages.
Visit official company siteA leading Australian contemporary company with professional dancers, new choreography, touring, classes, youth programs, intensives, and pathways that connect training with performance.
Visit official company siteA professional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander company creating contemporary dance grounded in culture, storytelling, Country, and the living knowledge of First Nations communities.
Visit official company siteA professional South African ballet company presenting classical and new productions while investing in youth development, mentorship, and performance opportunities.
Visit official company siteA full-time professional ballet company resident at Joburg Theatre, performing major classics as well as shorter and original works by South African and international choreographers.
Visit official company siteA celebrated Brazilian company with a distinctive contemporary language that blends rigorous choreography with the musical, cultural, and artistic character of Brazil.
Visit official company site