Dancing at Dusk – A moment with Pina Bausch’s The Rite of Spring(2020)

The Phantom of the Opera(en)

The deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House causes murder and mayhem in an attempt to make the woman he loves a star.

Frankenstein(en)

Inspired by Mary Shelley’s Gothic masterpiece, Frankenstein is the world premiere of Liam Scarlett’s new full-length ballet. A story of betrayal, curiosity, life, death and, above all, love, exploring the very depths of human nature. Federico Bonelli dances the role of Victor Frankenstein, Laura Morera is his Elizabeth, and Steven McRae is the creature. Koen Kessels conducts Lowell Liebermann’s newly commissioned score in this co-production between The Royal Ballet and San Francisco Ballet.

Hans Christian Andersen(en)

A small-town shoemaker with a knack for spinning yarns, Hans encounters happiness and heartbreak on his road to becoming a full-fledged writer.

Bolshoi Ballet: A Hero of Our Time(ru)

Pechorin, a young officer, embarks on a journey across the majestic mountains of the Caucasus, on a path set by his passionate encounters. Disillusioned and careless, he inflicts pain upon himself and the women around him… The story, based on the larger-than-life hero Pechorin, is adapted from Mikhail Lermontov’s literary masterpiece in three separate stories recounting his heartbreaking betrayals. Is Pechorin a real hero? Or is he a man like any other? This brand new production by choreographer Yuri Possokhov is a tragic poetic journey that can only be seen at the Bolshoi. Filmed live on April 9th 2017.

Like Water for Chocolate(en)

Tita, who lives on a ranch in Mexico, falls in love with a boy, Pedro, who lives nearby; but when they want to get married, Tita's family prevents it, because she must remain single to take care of her mother.

The Sleeping Beauty (Royal Ballet)(en)

The wicked fairy Carabosse is furious she wasn’t invited to Princess Aurora’s christening. She gives the baby a spindle, saying that one day the Princess will prick her finger on it and die. The Lilac Fairy makes her own christening gift a softening of Carabosse’s curse: Aurora will not die, but will fall into a deep sleep, which only a prince’s kiss will break. The masterful 19th-century choreography of Marius Petipa is combined with sections created for The Royal Ballet by Frederick Ashton, Anthony Dowell and Christopher Wheeldon. Recorded live as part of the Royal Opera House Live Cinema Season 2019/20 with encore screenings broadcast online during the #OurHousetoYourHouse programme.

The Cellist / Dances at a Gathering (The Royal Ballet)(en)

The Royal Ballet presents the world premiere of Cathy Marston's first work for the Company on the Main Stage alongside a revival of Jerome Robbins’s timeless classic of pure dance. The Cellist is a one-act ballet about British cellist Jacqueline du Pré, from her discovery of the cello through her celebrity as one of the most extraordinary players of the instrument to her frustration and struggle with multiple sclerosis. Jerome Robbins's Dances at a Gathering is a fluid exercise in pure dance for five couples, set to piano music by Fryderyk Chopin.

The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall(en)

A disfigured musical genius, hidden away in the Paris Opera House, terrorises the opera company for the unwitting benefit of a young protégée whom he trains and loves. The 25th anniversary of the first public performance of Phantom of the Opera was celebrated with a grand performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Marcos Morau : La Belle au bois dormant(fr)

Nutcracker: The Motion Picture(en)

In this Pacific Northwest Ballet performance, it is Christmas Eve and festivities are underway. Clara is excited when her godfather arrives with a bag full of gifts, one of which is an intriguing wooden nutcracker. That night, while the household sleeps, Clara visits the Christmas tree to inspect her nutcracker and soon finds herself immersed in a dream world both dark and enchanting.

Bakelite(en)

This underwater ballet is an ecological story depicting our paradoxical relationship with plastic. Bakelite launched the #SickOfPlastic campaign from On Est Prêt, along with the Surfrider Foundation, Break Free from Plastic and the Resilient Foundation. Photography was directed by Jacques Ballard, a specialist in underwater cinematography.

Esmeralda(en)

La Esmeralda is a ballet in three acts and five scenes, inspired by the novel Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo, originally choreographed by Jules Perrot to music by Cesare Pugni, with sets by William Grieve and costumes by Mme. Copère.

The Royal Ballet: Within the Golden Hour / Medusa / Flight Pattern(en)

Christopher Wheeldon's Within the Golden Hour is based around seven couples separating and intermingling, to music by Vivaldi and Ezio Bosso and lit with the rich colours suggested by sunset. In Flight Pattern, Crystal Pite combines Górecki's haunting “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs” with a large dance ensemble to create a poignant and passionate reflection on migration. Between them, Medusa is new work inspired by the Greek myth, created for The Royal Ballet by the acclaimed choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, which juxtaposes Purcell arias with an electronic score by Olga Wojciechowska.

Coppélia (The Royal Ballet)(en)

Coppélia, a mechanical doll made by the toy-maker Dr. Coppelius, is so life-like that some believe she is his daughter. The mistake leads to intrigue and jealousy in love. Directed by Ross MacGibbon, with Leanne Benjamin and Carlos Acosta.

The Bolshoi Ballet: The Nutcracker(en)

A masterpiece of classical dance, this Nutcracker is a magical version of the score by Tchaikovsky filmed at the Bolshoi Theatre. Recorded live in December 2010.

Don Quixote (The Royal Ballet)(en)

Carlos Acosta's first venture directing one of ballet's 19th century classics was eagerly anticipated, as was his own starring role in the production (as Basilio), opposite the Argentinian Royal Ballet principal Marianella Nuñez (Kitri). Still built on Petipa's original choreography, Acosta's clear dramatic structure and vivid stage action gave the ‘boy gets girl despite her father’ story a more convincing air than usual, with Don Quixote's parallel obsession with Dulcinea-Kitri coherently woven into the plot.

Matthew Bourne's The Red Shoes(en)

The Red Shoes is a tale of obsession, possession and one girl's dream to be the greatest dancer in the world. Victoria Page lives to dance but her ambitions become a battleground between the two men who inspire her passion. Matthew Bourne’s magical adaptation of the classic Powell and Pressburger film is set to the achingly romantic music of golden-age Hollywood composer Bernard Herrmann, the production is orchestrated by Terry Davies, with stunning designs by Lez Brotherston, lighting by Paule Constable, sound by Paul Groothuis and projection design by Duncan McLean. Filmed live at Sadler’s Wells in London especially for cinemas.

Bolshoi Ballet: Spartacus(en)

The Bolshoi’s grandiose epic Spartacus recounts the story of a Roman slave’s fight for freedom. With its famous Khachaturian score, since the 1960s it has been considered one of the greatest ballets in the Bolshoi repertoire. The choreography by Yuri Grigorovich fills the Bolshoi stage with dynamic scenes of tension and conflict, and gives full expression to the virility and strength for which Russia’s male dancers are renowned.

Giselle: Ballet in Cinema(xx)

The ultimate romantic ballet, performed by former Bolshoi Ballet principals Olga Smirnova and Jacopo Tissi, who fled Russia and joined the Dutch National Ballet, where this production is filmed. The young peasant girl Giselle falls in love with Albrecht, a nobleman already betrothed who hides his true identity from her. When she learns the truth, she becomes mad and dies. Against her own will, Giselle joins the Wilis: vengeful spirits of jilted brides who condemn Albrecht to dance until he dies of exhaustion.

Starstruck: Gene Kelly's Love Letter to Ballet(en)

In 1960, American dancer and actor Gene Kelly created for the Paris Opera Ballet an original choreography that was highly acclaimed at the time, yet rarely performed thereafter; a genius work that the Scottish Ballet, accompanied by the stirring and evocative score by composer and pianist George Gershwin, epitome of orchestral jazz, brings back to life sixty years later.