Ballet Performance Videos - Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake.

Prima ballerina Zizi Jeanmaire performs the works of world-renowned choreographer/dancer Roland Petit and delivers an emotional and passionate tribute to the acclaimed artist. This magnificent program contains three dance pieces, shot on film, that showcase the superlative Zizi Jeanmaire along with ballet greats Rudolf Nureyev, Dirk Sanders, and the one and only Roland Petit. Carmen: Carmen is the historical ballet that marks the debut of Roland Petit as a choreographer and the dancing debut of prima ballerina Zizi Jeanmaire. In an erotic and emotionally charged performance, Jeanmaire and Petit take on the roles of the fatal lovers, and deliver an astounding performance. Le Jeune Homme Et La Mort (The Young Man and The Death): Jeanmaire is joined by dance legend Rudolf Nureyev in what has become a cult repertoire ballet-the quintessential result of the prolific reunion between Jean Cocteau and Roland Petit. Le Croqueuse de Diamants (The Gold Digger): This rare historical ballet marks Roland Petit's foray into the world of musical comedy. Jeanmaire sings and dances in the role of the Gold Digger and is teamed with dance great Dirk Sanders. 80 mins. (2005) DVD-All Region.

Originally founded in 1773, the Bolshoi Ballet is one of the world's most renowned dance companies. Famous for its dramatic performances, the company has become a symbol of excellence in the classical Russian tradition and gained a nearly mythical reputation in the West. This stunning collection presents three classic ballets by some of the Bolshoi Ballet's most legendary stars. Includes: Romeo and Juliet, starring Natalia Bessmertnova and Mikhail Lavorosky, Giselle, also starring Natalia Bessmertnova and Mikhail Lavrosky, and The Nutcracker, with Vladimir Vasiliev and Yekaterina Maximova (in the first act) and Vyacheslav Gordeyev and Nadia Pavlova starring in the second act. 280 mins. (2004) DVD-Region 1.

Regarded as the greatest of all the classical ballets, this spectacular production was filmed live in Russia at the Maryinsky Theater featuring the Kirov Ballet. Tchaikovsky's score, the first in his trimvirate of ballets, is the perfect compliment to this masterpiece, the greatest romantic ballet of all-time. Prima ballerina Galina Mezentseva gives a memorable in the dual role of Odette/Odile, and Konstatin Zalinsky portrays Prince Siegfried. Choreography by Lev Ivanovich Ivanov and Marius Petipa. 144 mins. (1992) DVD-All-Region.

It is difficult to believe today that Swan Lake was a failure on its first production in 1877 and was not a success until the Petipa/Ivanov version of 1895. Today it is regarded as one of the greatest works in the art of ballet. The magic of Tchaikovsky’s music, embodying the love of Prince Siegfried for the enchanted Swan Queen has greatly contributed to making this the best loved of all classical ballets. This production, with designs by the late Leslie Hurry, stars Natalia Makarova as Odette-Odile and Anthony Dowell as Prince Siegfried. Prince Siegfried celebrates his twenty-first birthday; his mother tells him it is time to marry but he prefers to go hunting. Alone, by a lakeside, he sees a swan who turns to human form. She is an enchanted princess who can be saved only by true love. He promises this, but is tricked by the wicked magician who disguises his own daughter as the swan-maiden. In despair, Siegfried and the swan-maiden leap to death together and their sacrifice destroys the evil power. 137 mins. (1982) DVD-Region 1.

This fascinating look at world of international ballet competitions features a young Mikhail Baryshnikov competing and winning in Moscow in 1969. The Moscow International Competition of Ballet Artists at the Bolshoi Theater attracts young dancers from around the world to compete for gold and silver medals, much like the Olympics. In this acclaimed film of the 1969 Competition, Baryshnikov performs an excerpt from La Bayadere and a solo from an original ballet by Leonid Jakobson entitled Vestris. Also featured in this historic documentary is a young Ludmila Semenyaka performing a scene from Act III of Giselle. 71 mins. (2007) DVD-All-Region.

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William Forsythe's research into ways of engendering and organizing movement has led him to pursue counterpoint, proprioperception, entrainment, and authenticity for organizational principles that also allow improvisation. Artistic director and choreographer of the Ballet Frankfurt and himself trained in ballet, Forsythe shows an appreciation of and often a critical engagement with classical dance, transforming and revitalizing it. When he works collaboratively, Forsythe challenges the traditional distinction between choreographer and dancer, thus questioning hierarchy, authorship and disciplinary boundaries. 78 mins. (2007) DVD-Region 1.

The aristocratic beauty of the Bolshoi Ballet brings this acclaimed production of Swan Lake alive with ennobling presence and artistry. Natalia Bessmertnova is soft and lyrical in the dual role of Odette and Odile; her eminently feminine quality makes her the ideal interpreter of this classic. The elegance and magnetism of Siegfried is masterfully portrayed by Alexander Bogatyrev. With exquisitely designed sets, and a dance corps whose skill rivals that of the principal ballerinas. This historic production was choreographed by the critically acclaimed master Yuri Grigorvich, with Tchaikovsky’s timeless score performed by the Moscow Symphonic Orchestra under the baton of Algis Zhuraitis. 117 mins. (2008) DVD-All-Region.

“One of the best dance films ever made” – NY Times. Spartacus is the Bolshoi doing what the Bolshoi does best: interpreting contemporary works whose thematic origins are classic. Vladimir Vasiliev, “a dancer of unshakable heroic optimism, exceptional virtuosity, and irresistible dynamism” (Horst Koegler), is perfect as Spartacus. Natalia Bessmertnova, one of the Bolshoi’s most lyrical, feminine dancers, is also seen in one of her finest roles. Anna Kisselgoff, dance critic of The New York Times, writes “Yuri Grigorovich’s Spartacus already familiar to American audiences, comes into its own here as both ballet and film. The inherent cinematic approach in Mr. Grigorovich’s staging of Aram Khachaturian’s score falls perfectly in place…Vladimir Vasiliev, as the slave who leads an unsuccessful revolt against the Romans, dances and acts on a heroic level that is the performance of a lifetime. Marius Liepa matches him on every point magnificently as the villain, the Roman general Crassus, and Natalia Bessmertnova and Nina Timofeyeva round out the ballet’s great original cast. With its phalanxes confronting the camera head-on and its slow-motion shots of Mr. Vasiliev soaring through the sky, the film takes its chances. It is also one of the best dance films ever made.” 92 mins. (2008) DVD-All-Region

"The Australian Ballet production is a Roman epic with many spectacular elements." - The Herald. A powerful and moving work, Spartacus shows episodes from an uprising of slaves in ancient Rome. The dramatic effects of this action are played out by those chiefly concerned: Spartacus, leader of the revolt; his wife Flavia; and Crassus, commander of the Roman army. 118 mins. (2008) DVD-Region

“We will never see dancers quite like this again.” –Clive Barnes The first part of this film features Galina Ulanova in excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. Utilizing dazzling special effects, this production takes full advantage of the artistic qualities of the cinema, rather than merely recording the event. This is truly an historical film document, for it is the only extant tape of Ulanova as Odette. The second part of this three-part ballet film contains a most unusual event, a one-of-a kind sequence in which two of the world’s greatest ballerinas, Galina Ulanova and Maya Plisetskaya, dance together in a memorable performance of B.V. Asafiev’s ballet, The Fountain Of Bakhchisarai. This is the only filmed record of these two great dancers performing together and it provides a unique opportunity to compare their different styles. The great Russian dancer Vakhtang Chabukiani is featured in the third part of this film in a performance of B.V. Asafiev’s The Flames Of Paris, which is a colorful homage to the French Revolution. This film also features the soloists and ballet troupe of the Bolshoi Theatre, and soloists, ballet troupe, choir and orchestra of the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theatre. Swan Lake features: Odette...Galina Ulanova; Odile...Natalia Dudinskaya; and Prince...Konstantine Sergeyev. The Fountain Of Bakhchisarai features: Maris...Galina Ulanova; Zarema...Maya Plisetskaya; Girzi...Peter Gussiev; and Vaclav...Yuri Zhdanov. The Flames Of Paris features: Philippe...Vakhtang Chabukiani; and Jeanne...M. Gottlieb. 82 mins. (2008) DVD-All-Region

Based on Anton Chekhov’s play, Three Sisters, Kenneth MacMillan’s one-act ballet is unequivocally a masterpiece, revealing as it does the intricate relationship of the characters trapped in the stultifying atmosphere of a Russian provincial town at the turn of the 20th century. In this studio recording, Darcey Bussell dances the role of Masha, the sister married to a boring, worthy schoolteacher, danced by Anthony Dowell, and drawn into an adulterous affair with Colonel Vershinin, danced with passionate intensity and thrilling virtuosity by Irek Mukhamedov. 125 mins. (2009) DVD-Region 1