
Clara
Clara
Nutcracker / Prince

Drosselmeier

Sugar Plum Fairy

County Durham, England, 1984. The miners' strike has started and the police have started coming up from Bethnal Green, starting a class war with the lower classes suffering. Caught in the middle of the conflict is 11-year old Billy Elliot, who, after leaving his boxing club for the day, stumbles upon a ballet class and finds out that he's naturally talented. He practices with his teacher Mrs. Wilkinson for an upcoming audition in Newcastle-upon Tyne for the royal Ballet school in London.

When rebellious street dancer Andie West lands at the elite Maryland School of the Arts, she finds herself fighting to fit in while also trying to hold onto her old life. When she joins forces with the school's hottest dancer, Chase Collins, to form a crew of fellow outcasts to compete in Baltimore's underground dance battle The Streets.

Giselle is the quintessential Romantic ballet. Its title role, one of the most technically demanding and emotionally challenging in the classical repertory, is here danced by Alina Cojocaru, partnered by Johan Kobborg as Count Albrecht. This tale of the transcendental power of love over death is evocatively portrayed through Peter Wrights sensitive staging and John Macfarlanes designs, which beautifully contrast the human and supernatural worlds mastered from a High Definition recording and true surround sound. Conductor : Boris Gruzin Orchestra : The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House

William Shakespeare's tragedy about the feuding Montagues and Capulets, whose children find each other and overcome the deep-seated hatred, has inspired countless artists. John Cranko also took up this timeless material in 1962 and created one of his most popular ballets. Sergei Prokofiev's descriptive music - in combination with Jürgen Rose's opulent sets and costumes – forms the perfect back drop which allows the scenes to unfold just as if they had sprung directly from an Italian Renaissance painting.

Going to see Nutcracker with the whole family has been a tradition in other countries for many years. Now it is a tradition in the Netherlands as well. It became apparent that the Netherlands had also adopted this tradition in 1996, when the Dutch National Ballet presented its own version of the famous fairytale ballet. It is a magical production that has won the hearts of more than 250,000 people to date. Choreographers Toer van Schayk and Wayne Eagling created a Nutcracker for the children and adults of today. It is more dynamic and exciting, and less sweet than usual. They also chose to give a Dutch twist to their interpretation of the story, with skaters on the canals and a living room that transforms into a snowy forest. Unlike the original story, the production by Eagling and Van Schayk (who also designed the delightful sets and costumes) does not take place on Christmas Eve in a German town, but during St. Nicholas celebrations in Amsterdam, around 1810.

With the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra and conductor Brian Castles-Onion, a gritty set design, sumptuous bold costumes, stunning choreography, and the inestimable direction of Gale Edwards and Bizet's glorious opera is brought to life like never before in this second Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour.

Product Description ••••• A complete 1978 performance of this classic ballet stars the magnificent Nadezhda Pavlova and Vyacheslav Gordeev; the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra is conducted by Alexander Kopilov. DVD Bonus: Scenes from Don Quixote filmed at the Bolshoi in 1964 and starring the legendary dancers Maya Plisetskaya and Maris Liepa; Bolshoi Orchestra conducted by Youri Fayer.

From The Royal Ballet’s classical origins in the works of Petipa, to the home-grown choreographers who put British ballet on the world stage, this mixed programme highlights the versatility of the Company. Petipa’s Raymonda Act III is Russian classical ballet summarized in one act, full of sparkle and precise technique, while Ashton’s Enigma Variations is quintessentially British in every way – from its score by Elgar and period designs by Julia Trevelyan Oman, to Ashton’s signature style, the essence of British ballet. Concerto, MacMillan’s fusion of classical technique with a contemporary mind, completes a programme that shows the breadth of the Company’s heritage.