Giselle - Fernando Bujones Video  (D1289)

Ballet virtuoso Fernando Bujones stars in the brilliant production of Giselle with the Ballet Teatro Municipal of Rio de Janeiro. This electrifying performance captures Bujones at the peak of his career.

Critically acclaimed as one of the great male dancers of the 20th century, Bujones' stamina and explosive style fill his every performance with special excitement. Clive Barnes hailed Bujones' technique as possibly unmatched anywhere. Reporting on his role in Giselle, the NY Times asked could any dancer jump so high?

102 mins. (2008)
DVD - Region 1 (Canada, United States; U.S. territories; Bermuda)

Giselle - The Kirov Ballet Video (D4069)

Starring: Galina Mezentseva, Konstantin Zaklinsky, Angelina Kabarova. Conductor: Viktor Fedotov. Choreographer: Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot. Composer: Adolphe Adam.

The romantic ballet, Giselle, first seen in 1841, was the finest of the ballets staged in Paris during the age of Romanticism. Over the years Giselle disappeared from the repertory outside Russia, and has only survived through the recognition of its quality and the preservation of its traditions by the Kirov Ballet. The role of Giselle has been compared to that of Hamlet. She is a simple peasant girl, driven from joy to madness and death through an unhappy love. She is transformed into a ghost and ordered to help destroy the man who betrayed her, while still seeking to sustain him because of her undying love.

108 mins. (2006)
DVD - Region 1 (Canada, United States; U.S. territories; Bermuda)

Giselle Video

DVD Only (D1300) - $29.99
Ballet great Rudolf Nureyev stars as Albrecht in a lovely production of the dance perennial.  This was one of Nureyev’s greatest successes in his native Russia, and he has performed the role around the world ever since.

Giselle – perhaps the quintessential ballet heroine – is danced by the great Canadian prima ballerina Lynn Seymour. Nureyev’s production brings this timeless tragedy of love found, lost and redeemed to life.

78 mins. (2004)
DVD - All Region

Creole Giselle Video

DVD Only (D1291) - $29.99
Now, for the first time on home video, the Dance Theatre of Harlem is presented in Creole Giselle, their acclaimed interpretation of the ballet classic.

Making only minor changes in the story, music and traditional choreography of the repertory staple, DTH founder Arthur Mitchell has set the ballet in 1841 Louisiana.  It was a time when social status among freed blacks was measured by how far removed one’s family was from slavery: the community’s “aristocrats” looked down on those whose immediate family had been enslaved. Thus, in the DTH version, Giselle faces the same social obstacles and heart-breaking rejection by Albert and his family as their classical counterparts.

Giselle is danced by Virginia Johnson, hailed as “strong and yet delicate … very moving … remarkable.” Eddie J. Shellman co-stars, and was praised as “an attractive and unusually brash Albert, his solos securely dispatched.” See for your self why Creole Giselle is one of the Dance Theatre of Harlem’s most popular works.

88 mins.  (2005)
DVD - All Region

Great Pas de Deux Video

DVD Only (D2022) - $19.99
This superb collection of stunning pas de deux, from many of the best-loved classical ballets, features some of the most celebrated partnerships of recent times, including Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev in a convert performance from Le Corsaire.

91 mins. (1995)
DVD - Region 1 (Canada, United States; U.S. territories; Bermuda)

Grupo Corpo Brazilian Dance Theatre Video

The 19-member Grupo Corpo, Brazil's most popular contemporary dance ensemble, constructs adventurous feasts for the senses. With captivating performances presented throughout the world, Grupo Corpo presents an in-your-face spirit and sense of full-out dynamism that is visually riveting and viscerally charged. Its compelling style grafts the pliancy of modern dance and rhythmic complexity of Afro-Brazilian dance onto ballet.

129 mins. (2004)
DVD - Region 1 (Canada, United States; U.S. territories; Bermuda)

Kirov Classics Video

DVD Only (D0086) - $29.99
This production of Les Sylphides is from Agrippina Vaganova’s 1928 restaging under its original name. The dancers include soloists Altynai Asylmuratova and Konstantin Zaklinsky (Mazurka and Valse), Yelena Pankova (second Valse) and Anna Polikarpove (Prelude).

Like many spectacular Soviet ballets, Oleg Vinogradov’s Petrushka is a glorious feast of vigorous steps, danced with inexhaustible energy by a large cast. However, it is far removed from Fokine’s original Petrushka about the sad puppet who could not win the love of a heartless ballerina. Instead, this innovative ballet concerns itself with the politics of today and shows a populace intoxicated by propaganda. Barber’s Adagio, set to Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings, is an example of Vinogradov’s more lyrical choreography, and is beautifully danced by Yelena Yevteeva and Eldar Aliev.

In contrast, the pas de deux from Le Corsaire is a showpiece danced with dazzling virtuosity by Lyubov Kunakova and Faroukh Ruzimatov. The Fairy Doll, staged by Nicolai and Sergei Legat in 1903, is a pantomimic divertissement, charmingly danced by Larissa Lezhnina, Dmitry Gruzdev and Yaroslav Fadayev, and Arthur Saint-Leon’s Markitenka to a lively score by Cesare Pugni is a pas de six of exuberant dancing.

Originally a two-act ballet, the Pacquita we know today is essentially the ballet’s glittering core, the Grand Pas, which was choreographed by Petipa in 1881. Inspired by the flamboyance of Ludwig Minkus’ music, Petipa created a stylistic showpiece, flavored with a delectable Spanish air.

147 mins. (1991)
DVD - Region 1 (Canada, United States; U.S. territories; Bermuda)

Kirov Celebrates Nijinsky Video (D2918)

Mikhail Fokine was Diaghilev’s chief choreographer 1909-14 and he is considered to have been the creator of modern dance. This sparkling Russian gala features four Fokine ballets, all associated with Nijinsky.

Recorded live from the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, the Kirov Ballet brings to life, once again, the full glory of the Ballets Russes. Featuring Sheherazade, Le Spectre de la Rose, The Polovtsian Dances, and The Firebird.

110 mins. (2005)
DVD - Region 1 (Canada, United States; U.S. territories; Bermuda)

The Glory of The Kirov Video

DVD Only (D2021) - $29.99
From the early days of this century, the Maryinsky Ballet, later the Kirov, dazzled audiences with the beauty of the dance.

Five years research in Russia’s archives has unearthed fascinating footage, much of it never before available in the West, of many of the company’s great dancers. Mikhail Baryshnikov, Boris Bregvadze, Nikita Dolgushin, Natalia Dudinskaya, Tamara Karsavina, Irina Kolpakova, Gabriela Komleva, Ninel Kurgapkina, Natalia Makarova, Rudolf Nureyev, Olga Moiseyeva, Alla Osipenko, Vladilen Semenov, Konstantin Sergeyev, Alla Sizova, Galana Ulanova, Sergei Vikulov.

90 mins.  (1995/2005)
DVD - All Region

La Bayadere - Kirov Theatre Video (D1113)

La Bayadere (The Temple Dancer) was filmed live at the Kirov Theater (on the stage where it premiered in 1877) starring Gabriella Komleva as the pathetic temple dancer, Nikia; Tatiana Terekhova as Gamzatti, the Rajah's daughter, and Rejen Abdyev as Prince Solor.

This performance exhibits the perfection achieved by the Kirov corps de ballet. The orchestra, under the baton of Victor Shirokov, plays Minkus' scintillating music. A piece of history, and a work of art, La Bayadere is quite simply a gem to be savored again and again.

130 mins. (2008)
DVD - All Region

La Fille Mal Gardee - The Australian Ballet Video  (D2115)

"Comedy, pathos and lyricism unite in choreographic perfection to create one of the masterpieces in the 20th century ballet repertoire." - The Herald.

Set in a peasant village in the French countryside, La Fille Mal Gardee is a delightful tale of the difficult path of young love. Widow Simone is determined to betroth her willful daughter Lise to the eccentric son of a rich farmer, but Lise and her love Colas conspire to thwart the widow's plans.

104 mins. (2008)
DVD - Region 1 (Canada, United States; U.S. territories; more)

La Fille Mal Gardee Video (D2966)

Frederick Ashton's delightful ballet has proved irresistible to audiences of all ages and The Royal Ballet's production has immediate appeal for newcomers to ballet as well as for those who return time and again to enjoy its lyrical comedy.

100 mins.  (2005)
DVD - Region 1 (Canada, United States; U.S. territories; more)

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