ballerinas female character dancers do not dance en pointe. The largest ballet company in the world is the Bolshoi Ballet of Moscow, which employs over 240 dancers, as of 2010. The largest companies in Western Europe and North America employ around one hundred. Many companies have a music director, generally a conductor by profession, though this is often a part-time position. The music director has a lower status in ballet than they have in opera, where they are the head of the company. Freelance conductors are hired to conduct specific productions as and when required. Large companies have their own orchestra, which is often shared with an opera company resident in the same theatre or opera house. Smaller companies hire a local orchestra on a contract basis for each season of performances, or hire a scratch orchestra for specific performances, e.g. when they are on tour. During company classes and rehearsals music is provided by one or more staff or freelance pianists. All but the smallest companies have a separate administrative staff that deals with marketing, accounts, personnel issues, logistics and so on. Larger companies employ a permanent staff of craftsmen and craftswomen such as prop makers and costume makers, and technical staff such as lighting technicians and stage managers. Smaller companies hire freelancers for these roles as and when required. Some companies also have physiotherapists, masseurs, and physical trainers on the staff. Asian classical ballet traditions The term "ballet" is sometimes used to refer to dance styles in any culture's classical tradition, mainly in reference to classical styles of dance performed in parts of Asia. Classical Ramayana Hindu ballet is often performed in Indonesia. The Royal Ballet of Cambodia is an example of a ballet company in the Eastern tradition. The companies listed below are ballet companies that perform according to the European tradition, although some international companies also perform contemporary ballets that merge Western and Eastern themes and dance techniques. Africa Algeria Algerian National Ballet Egypt Cairo Opera Ballet Company Tunisia Tunisian National Ballet South Africa Ballet Theatre Afrikan Bovim Ballet Cape Town City Ballet Joburg Ballet Pretoria Ballet South African Ballet Theatre Asia Armenia Armenian National Opera and Ballet Theater Azerbaijan Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater China Guangzhou Ballet Liaoning Ballet National Ballet of China Shanghai Ballet Suzhou Ballet Tianjin Ballet Hong Kong Hong Kong Ballet Indonesia Namarina Iran Les Ballets Persans (Iranian National Ballet