Sign up to student schemes

One of the most popular is the Royal Opera House Student Standby scheme, where anyone with a student card can sign up entirely for free. This will enable you to pick up unsold tickets for as little as £10, in addition to student discounts on all other shows.

There are always cheaper tickets

If you don’t mind standing or perching on a bench at the back of theatre, with a partially restricted view, you can snatch up tickets for as little as £4 at the Royal Opera House.

Buy last minute tickets

You can usually buy unsold tickets at vastly reduced prices close to the performance. This is definitely for those of you who like spontaneity in their evening’s entertainment and don’t mind waiting around the box office.

Pick your performance wisely

Matinée performances and modern, less-known ballets tend to be cheaper, so try experimenting with something your haven’t heard of before – there’s much more to ballet than The Nutcracker and Swan Lake.

Smaller names and local theatre

You can get a completely different, more intimate ballet experience in a smaller, local theatre. The majority of ballet companies do not have a permanent base, instead of choosing to travel across the country. Seeing these smaller companies are great for students – the tickets are cheaper and you can also save on transport costs.

Support university dance societies

Cambridge University Ballet Club performs an annual full-length ballet at Anglia Ruskin’s Mumford Theatre in February, with discounted student tickets. Past productions include Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella and The Sleeping Beauty. Also look out for the CU Contemporary Dance Workshop performance in January.

Support local/youth performances

Local dance organisations produce highly professional performances throughout the year that are cheap to attend and highly welcoming. In Cambridge, keep your eyes peeled for the end of year performance of the vocational dance school, Bodyworks, and local dance schools such as King Slocombe.

 Attend the graduation performance of ballet schools

This is your chance to spot future stars, so that you can smugly say that you saw them before they were famous. These performances are great for ballet newbies, as they’re cheaper than a company show and tour across the country. Plus it’s always humbling to see what someone has achieved through sheer hard work by age 19.

Resort to cinema, TV or YouTube

Although the experience is totally different from seeing ballet live, it’s a great place to start. Performances from the Royal Ballet and Bolshoi Ballet are screened throughout the year. You can also get a unique insight into ballet via the companies’ YouTube channels – try the Royal Opera House, Anaheim Ballet, New York City Ballet and Tendu TV.