José Carlos Martínez (dancer) in the context of "Cartagena, Spain"

The Spanish National Dance Company (Spanish: Compañía Nacional de Danza, CND) was founded in 1979 under the name Ballet Nacional de España Clásico. Its first director was dancer Victor Ullate, followed by Maria de Avila, Ray Barra, Maya Plisetskaya, Nacho Duato (1990 – July 2010), Hervé Palito, José Carlos Martínez (December 2010 – 2019), and Joaquín de Luz.

In 2018 it was announced that the company would be moving to the railway museum, near the centre of Madrid.

The Paris Opera Ballet (French: Ballet de l'Opéra national de Paris) is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded as one of the most prominent ballet companies in the world, together with the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow and the Royal Ballet in London.

Since December 2022, the company has been under the direction of José Martínez, the director of dance. The ballet company consists of 154 dancers, among them 17 Danseurs Étoiles. The principal dancers give 180 dance performances each year, primarily at the Palais Garnier.