Royal Ballet seeks to widen appeal with arena show

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Royal Ballet will hold four dance performances at a London arena famed for hosting top rock acts in a bid to bring ballet to a wider audience.

The performances of "Romeo and Juliet" in June 2011 will mark the first time the Royal Ballet has danced at an arena venue in Britain. They can normally be found at the plush Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.

London's 20,000 seat O2 arena usually hosts such popular music acts as Arcade Fire, Scissor Sisters and Lady Gaga.

Organizers said that there will be 2,000 specially priced 10-pound ($15.77) tickets available for each Royal Ballet performance on a first-come-first-served basis.

Royal Opera House Chief Executive Tony Hall said that he hoped the lower prices would ensure that "as wide an audience as possible is able to enjoy live performances by The Royal Ballet."

(Reporting by Adam Ramsay, editing by Paul Casciato)