16mm film close-up of a ballet shoe being untied.
The former principal ballerina tells her story, with historic performances from the BBC archives and candid interviews from throughout her career. Showing how she grew up in front of the camera and mastered television.
Discover Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (The Trocks), an all-male company that for 45 years has offered audiences their passion for ballet classics mixed with exuberant comedy. With every step they poke fun at their strictly gendered art form.
The first woman to appear in front of an Edison motion picture camera and possibly the first woman to appear in a motion picture within the United States. In the film, Carmencita is recorded going through a routine she had been performing at Koster & Bial's in New York since February 1890.
Steven McRae, principal dancer with the world-renowned Royal Ballet, is 33 years old and at the pinnacle of his career when he severely damages his Achilles tendon in the middle of a show attended by 2,500 spectators. This is the story of his amazing rehabilitation and the nerve-racking days leading up to his triumphant return to the stage.
Shannon Davidson and Ashley Shaw at the iconic Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, delving into their thoughts and feelings about the timeless classic "The Red Shoes" to celebrate its 75th anniversary.
RHYTHM IS IT! records the first big educational project of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle. The orchestra ventured out of the ivory tower of high culture into boroughs of low life for the sake of 250 youngsters. They had been strangers to classical music, but after arduous but thrilling preparation they danced to Stravinsky's 'Le Sacre du Printemps' ('The Rite of Spring'). Recorded with a breathtaking fidelity of sound, this film from Thomas Grube and Enrique Sánchez Lansch documents the stages of the Sacre project and offers deep insights into the rehearsals of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
Ballet Boys takes you through disappointments, victories, forging of friendship, first loves, doubt, faith, growing apart from each other, finding your own way and own ambitions, all mixed with the beautiful expression of ballet.
Stephen Dwoskin brings together members of the Ballet Negres dance company, founded in London in 1946.
The Los Angeles-based Marat Daukayev School of Ballet gathers the resources, volunteers, and cast to put on The Nutcracker.
Misty Copeland was promoted to principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre in 2015, becoming the first Black American ballerina to do so in the elite classical company's 75-year history. Misty sheds light on beating all odds through a difficult upbringing and learning ballet at 13 years old. She also expresses the importance of giving back to the communities she hopes to inspire. Friends and colleagues also share their admiration for the prominent dancer and advocate.
A behind-the-scenes look at Moscow's prestigious Bolshoi Theatre as it's rocked by an acid-attack scandal in 2013.
An intense, intimate and beautiful journey into the mind of Alba, a 16 year old ballet dancer at the acclaimed Corella Dance Academy in Barcelona. Her inner thoughts start to question the life she is leading, her lost adolescence, and her place in the world.
Stories about young Ukrainian dancers and their hasty flight to the Netherlands. You see their new life as refugees. The former conservatory in The Hague is a shelter for them where they collect their lives and find refuge in their profession: dance. The formation of a new ballet company, The United Ukrainian Ballet, is an important foothold in winning back their lives. They find comfort in each other and close friendships develop. In addition, there is the great love for ballet, for the dancers the best way to express themselves.
September 2015 marks the 300th anniversary of the death of King Louis XIV of France and this documentary looks at how Louis XIV not only had a personal passion and talent for dance, but supported and promoted key innovations, like the invention of dance notation and the founding of the world's first ballet school, that would lay the foundations for classical ballet to develop.
Choreographed by Frederick Ashton in honor of William Shakespeare's 400th birthday, this magical production -- based on the Bard's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" -- features Felix Mendelssohn's famed score and sublime sets that add to the charm. Ethan Stiefel delivers an impressive performance as the lordly Oberon, Alessandra Ferri shines as fairy queen Titania, and Herman Cornejo is pitch-perfect as the impish Puck.
An insight into the life of the world's most famous male dancer, Rudolf Nureyev.
