WORLD BALLET DAY
Access Becomes Art: World Ballet Day 2025
Happy World Ballet Day! November 12, 2025
Five major global dance companies came together to participate in the first official World Ballet Day in 2014. San Francisco Ballet was one of those pioneering companies. Building on over a decade of innovation, #WorldBalletDay this year moves from the theme of access behind the curtain to focus on access as a way to make dance a welcoming space for all.
San Francisco Ballet is woven into the rhythm of the city itself, an expression of its innovation and drive to create and invite. Part of San Francisco Ballet’s mission is to open the world of dance to broader audiences through programs that inspire imagination and creativity. We mirror San Francisco’s energy onstage while carrying its imagination into community centers, PreK-12 schools, and public spaces across the Bay Area. San Francisco Ballet’s sensory friendly and adaptive programs provide opportunities for community members of all ages and abilities to experience the joy, creativity, and connection of ballet.
To honor Access Becomes Art: World Ballet Day 2025 SF Ballet is shining a spotlight on our sensory friendly programming. Designed with community-based partners at Autism Society San Francisco Bay Area, these special performances provide a relaxed and inclusive environment where neurodiverse audiences can experience the magic of ballet. Today, and every day, access becomes art.
© Video by San Francisco Ballet
“Thank you to SF Ballet and Autism Society for doing this, it really made my heart happy! I’m so blown away by how the whole Nutcracker event was catered to families like ours. I feel so loved, included, cared for and seen! This event is truly the gold standard for inclusive events…Thank you for showing us that ballet is for everyone.”
SENSORY FRIENDLY AND ADAPTIVE PROGRAMS
SENSORY FRIENDLY PERFORMANCE OF NUTCRACKER
Join us on December 28th at 11am for SF Ballet’s 4th annual Sensory Friendly Performance of Nutcracker! Our Sensory Friendly Performance provides a relaxed and inclusive environment where neurodiverse audiences can experience the magic of Nutcracker. Designed in collaboration with Autism Society San Francisco Bay Area, SF Ballet has made adaptations to the performance and theater-going experience that respond to the needs of audience members with autism, sensory sensitivities, and other physical, cognitive, or developmental disabilities. Tactile touch tables, quiet areas, character meet and greets, instrument petting zoos, audience movement spaces and more help create a relaxed environment that allows audiences to embrace the transformative power of the arts in a comfortable and welcoming ballet experience.
SENSORY FRIENDLY DANCE-ALONGS
SF Ballet will offer two Nutcracker Sensory Friendly Dance-Along workshops on December 21st in the SF Ballet studios. Designed in partnership with Autism Society and College of Adaptive Arts, these relaxed and inclusive workshops are designed for participants with autism, sensory input disorders, sensory sensitivities, and other physical, cognitive, or developmental disabilities, and their families, friends, and care teams to experience the joy of dancing together.
DANCE CLASSES FOR PEOPLE WITH PARKINSON’S
Movement is medicine. Inspired by classical ballet technique and the SF Ballet repertory season, San Francisco Ballet School offers free weekly dance classes for people with Parkinson’s and other movement disabilities. These inclusive classes feature live piano accompaniment, and are offered in the ballet studio, on Zoom, and in the community to serve individuals across the Bay Area.
In the news
Header Photo: Jasmine Jimison and Cavan Conley // © Studio Schuller for San Francisco Ballet