Ever since opening its doors in 1884, the Opera House has provided a home for the Hungarian National Ballet, the country's premier dance ensemble and the only one to perform classical grand ballets.
In the front rank by international standards as well, the company comprises 120 members and gives an average of 110 performances each year. Along with great classics like The Nutcracker and Swan Lake, its repertoire embraces neoclassical works (such as John Cranko's Onegin and Kenneth MacMillan's Manon), choreographies by the greatest Hungarian masters (like Lilla Pártay's Anna Karenina and László Seregi's Spartacus) and pieces from modern artists (Johan Inger's Walking Mad, Jiří Kylián's Petite Mort and Six Dances) and contemporary Hungarian choreographers (including Gyula Harangozó Jr, Marianna Venekei, Pál Frenák and Zsolt Juhász).