Northern Ballet Theatre

British ballet company founded in 1969, based at the Leeds Grand Theatre Opera House, England. The company has popularized ballet in the UK with its classical and modern dance dramas.

Originally known as the Northern Dance Theatre, NBT was founded by Canadian-born dancer Laverne Meyer. The company had 11 dancers and its first performance was at the University Theatre, Manchester, England. Ballet dancer Robert de Warren became artistic director in 1976 and renamed the company. The company increased to 20 dancers and began to draw international acclaim.

In 1987 former Royal Ballet dancer Christopher Gable starred as English painter L S Lowry, in a NBT ballet commissioned by Salford City Council to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the artist's birth. Gable went on to take over as artistic director of NBT. He focused on classical dance dramas such as Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, Don Quixote and Giselle. Italian-born English National Ballet dancer and choreographer Stefano Giannetti took over in 1999 after the death of Gable. He resigned the following year and was succeeded by David Dixon in 2001.