DVD Videos

In celebration of the creation of 'Le Sacre du printemps' in Paris in 1913, Bel Air present a new edition in a DVD-book of a wonderful Stravinsky night at the Mariinsky with the original Nijinsky version of the 'Rite of Spring' and 'The Firebird' both conducted by Valery Gergiev.

The premiere of 'The Rite of Spring' at the Théâtre des Champs Élysées, Paris, on May 1913 caused a veritable scandal. The audience was shocked by the primitive violence of the ballet. It was so radically rejected that the ballet was taken off after eight performances. Although long forgotten, thanks to the relentless work of Millicent Hodson, Nijinsky’s original choreography was recreated.

'The Firebird' is a Russian folk tale in two scenes commissioned from the young Stravinsky by Diaghilev and premiered at the Paris Opera House in 1910. The ballet was an immediate success. The Ballets Russes enabled the choreographer Fokine to bring to this enterprise the right amount of novelty needed to captivate but not alienate the audience. It was a total success.

CONTENTS: DVD BOOK, 2 ballets 85 min.

Bonus: Documentary on the Ballets Russes (8 min), interviews with Millicent Hodson & Kenneth Archer (30 min), 36pp illustrated in 3 languages

Format: Colour, 16/9, NTSC, Sound: PCM Stereo - Dolby Digital 5.1.

Legend has it that “Cloud Gate” is the name of the oldest known dance in China, a ritualistic dance which was supposed to have been performed more than 5,000 years ago. In 1973 the choreographer Lin Hwai-min used this classical name for the company he founded, the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, which was the fi rst company in the Chinese speaking part of the world to dedicate itself to the modern dance theatre.

A visually stunning paean to spiritual pilgrimage, “Song of the Wanderers” creates a world intense of reverences, distinctly Asian in its imagery yet with powerful relevance far beyond Asia. Spiritually evocative movement set to soulful Georgian folk songs, brought to life on a truly astonishing set of 3,5 tons of shimmering golden grains of rice.

“Aisa’s leading contemporary dance theatre.” The Times

“One of the finest dance companies in the world.” The Globe and Mail

BONUS: Documentary about the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan including interviews with the director and artists

Sound Format: PCM Stereo

Picture Format: 16:9

DVD Format: DVD 5 / NTSC

Languages (Bonus): GB (Original Language), DE, FR (Subtitles)

Running Time: 58 mins (ballet) & 22 mins (documentary)

FSK: 0

Following studies in Paris as a young man, August Bournonville became a solo dancer at the Royal Ballet in Copenhagen. From 1830 to 1877 he was choreographer for the Royal Danish Ballet, for which he created more than fifty ballets admired for their exuberance, lightness and beauty.

The bewitching ballet La Sylphide is his ‘best work, incorporating a unity of dance and drama that can transform its apparent charm into a special grandeur’. NEW YORK TIMES

Widely considered to be the first ‘romantic’ ballet, La Sylphide brims with features of the romantic literature of the time, such as elements of the supernatural, the loss of innocence and a deep sense of sadness.

The story tells of the doomed love between a beautiful Sylph and the soon-to-be-married farmer, James. The Scottish setting is perfectly evoked by the folk-infused score of Danish composer, Herman Severin Løvenskiold.

Originally created by Filippo Taglioni in Paris in 1832, La Sylphide was the first ballet to include dancing en pointe as an aesthetically important feature, rather than merely an impressive stunt. Transformed later in the century by Bournonville, the new choreography contains several elements typical of his ballets, including mime, quick footwork and the elevated importance of the male protagonist. In this production, the male lead is portrayed by Flemming Flindt, who was among the ‘finest classical dancers of his generation’ (The Telegraph), while the role of the Sylph is danced by Lucette Aldous, whose technically dazzling performance also provides an incredibly moving end to the work.

This film, recorded in 1961, seeks to provide a close representation of the ‘Bournonville style’, as a lack of dance notation in the 19th century leaves us without an authentic record of the original choreography. The film is an important record of the history of Bournonville’s La Sylphide, which has been dubbed as ‘one of the most enchanting ballets of all time’. (New York Times)

Also featured on the DVD is the pas de deux from Flower Festival in Genzano, another Bournonville creation and a hugely popular piece for ballet companies. It was recorded for the BBC ‘Gala Performance’ series, where they managed to secure Rudolph Nureyev and Merle Park, both on sparkling form.

This is the first release of this material on DVD.

Sound format: Enhanced Mono

DVD format: NTSC

Picture format: 4:3

Running time: 80’

Subtitles: n/a

Menu languages: English

Booklet languages: E/F/G

Region code: 0

Territory Restrictions: None

Choreography Kenneth MacMillan.

Given its premiere by The Royal Ballet in 1965 with Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn dancing the title roles, Kenneth MacMillan’s first full-evening ballet has become a signature work for the Company, enjoying great popularity around the world. From the outset, the production teems with life and colour as the townspeople, market traders and servants of the rival Montagues and Capulets go about their daily business in vibrant crowd scenes. But Romeo and Juliet take centre stage for those great pas de deux: the meeting in the ballroom, the balcony scene, the morning after the wedding and the final devastating tomb scene. Although The Royal Ballet has performed Romeo and Juliet over 400 times, each performance and pairing is subtly different, and Lauren Cuthbertson and Federico Bonelli are utterly captivating in the title roles. This performance was broadcast live from Covent Garden to cinemas worldwide.

Kenneth MacMillan's first full-evening ballet has become one of The Royal Ballet's signature works.

This production was one of the big successes of last season’s Royal Opera House Live Cinema Season.

Acclaimed performances by star principals, Lauren Cuthbertson and Federico Bonelli.

Extra features: Documentaries on Kenneth MacMillan's production, and "Sharps, Points and Pirouettes" the famous sword fight scene.

Includes deluxe slipcase.

Running time: 158 minutes

Subtitles (extra features only): EN/FR/DE/IT/ES/PT/JP

Sound format: 2.0LPCM + 5.1(5.0) DTS

Choreography: Heinz Spoerli

Set design: Peter Schmidt

The starting point and destination of Heinz Spoerli's new ballet is the 'Magnificat' by Johann Sebastian Bach.

From the beginning of the 'Allemande' movement of the Partita in A minor for solo flute, through the joy of 'Brandenburg Concerto' No. 3, this is the question of faith, which sparked Heinz Spoerli's interest in this piece.

Heinz Spoerli intensifies the emotions here, by inserting two moving arias from the cantatas "Wo soll ich fliehen hin" and "Ich habe genug".

This is an important aspect for Heinz Spoerli in his discourse with the text of the 'Magnificat', in which his deep respect for all religions, or rather every faith, is not about the worship of a certain creator-figure, but more about the conditions and prerequisites of this for the expression of a profound devoutness, which also involves rejection, exlusion, uncertainty and separation.

The Orchestra La Scintilla is conducted by Marc Minkowski. In 1996 it was founded as independent ensemble by specialist musicians of the Zurich Opera Orchestra and soon obtained an excellent reputation. The spark that ignited the enthusiasm for new 'old music' gave its name to the ensemble: "La Scintilla" – The Spark. Performances with eminent authorities in the field such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, William Christie, Mark Minkowski, Reinhard Goebel and Giuliano Carmignola were so successful that the Opera House Zürich has this ensemble perform all baroque operas and nearly all operas of the classical period.

"La Scintilla" gives concerts with well-known soloists, instrumentalists and singers and has toured North America and Europe with Cecilia Bartoli.

Lighting design Jacques Rouveyrollis

Choreography Igor Moiseyev

The 70 dancers of the Igor Moiseyev Ballet take us on a journey around the world and through the regions of the former Soviet Union, revealing an incredible multitude of folklores, including Moldovan, Belarussian, Ukrainian, Nanai, Kalmyk, Tatar, Adjaran and Caucasian.

14 dazzling, surprising and joyful ballets, including the major works from the repertoire of Igor Moiseyev. A show acclaimed throughout the world.

Igor Moiseyev staged the acrobatic parades on Red Square from the 1930s and established the Theatre of Folk Art. In 1936, Vyacheslav Molotov put him in charge of the new dance company, which has since become known as the Moiseyev Ballet. Among about 200 dances he created for his company, some humorously represented the game of football and guerrilla warfare. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, Moiseyev's work has been especially admired "for the balance that it maintained between authentic folk dance and theatrical effectiveness". In 1955 the company performed in Paris, the first Soviet ensemble to appear in the West after the war, and scored an enormous success. In 1957, they came to London, and in 1958, by then numbering 100 dancers, they made their New York début, at the Metropolitan Opera House – the first major Soviet ensemble to appear in the United States.

Moiseyev was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1953, Hero of Socialist Labor in 1976, received the Lenin Prize (1967, for the dance show A Road to the Dance), four Stalin/USSR State Prizes (1942, 1947, 1952, 1985), Russian Federation State Prize (1996), was awarded numerous orders and medals of the Soviet Union, Spain and many other countries. On the day of his centenary, Moiseyev became the first Russian to receive Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 1st class — the highest civilian decoration of the Russian Federation. In 2001, he was awarded the UNESCO Mozart Medal for outstanding contribution to world music culture. He died in Moscow in 2007. The Moiseyev Dance Company continues under the directorship of Yelena Shcherbakova.

Choreography PATRICE BART after JEAN CORALLY and JULES PERROT

Costumes & Sets ANGELO SALA

Patrice Bart’s choreography for the Teatro alla Scala in Milan alludes to the original by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot, who had created it for the Paris Opera ballet company. The costumes and sets by Angelo Sala, reconstructions of those designed by Alexandre Benois at the beginning of the 20th century for Sergei Diaghilev and his “Ballets russes”, succeed in evoking the unique flair of the originals. The orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala under Paul Conelly interpret Adolphe Adam’s colourful score masterfully and in perfect correlation with the magical images presented on stage.

The Italian prima-ballerina Alessandra Ferri is to be acknowledged especially amongst all of the brilliant performers. She is doubtless the star of this traditionally based new production of the well-loved ballet classic Giselle – one of the most famous Romantic ballets of all time.

Sound Format: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1

Picture Format: 16:9

DVD Format: DVD 9 NTSC

Running Time: 116 mins

FSK: 0

Libretto by MARIUS PETIPA after the story by ETA Hoffmann

Choreography by VASILY VAINONEN

Production design by SIMON VIRSALADZE

Mariinsky Theatre Musical Director, Valery Gergiev, conducts Tchaikovsky’s glorious score in this enchanting, traditional, Russian production of The Nutcracker. Vainonen’s stunning choreography is complemented by Simon Virsaladze’s wonderfully colourful designs, and the roles of Masha and her Nutcracker Prince are danced by two of the Mariinsky’s award-winning, international soloists, all of which make this as magical and memorable a Christmas treat as ever.

NEWLY RECORDED IN HIGH DEFINITION

NTSC 16:9

L-PCM STEREO + DTS + 5.1 SURROUND SOUND

103 MINS

ALL REGIONS

Choreography: Sir Frederick Ashton

La Fille mal gardée – or The Badly Guarded Girl – is one of the best loved comic ballets of all time.

Said to have been inspired by Pierre Antoine Baudouin’s 1789 painting, La Réprimande/ Une Jeune Fille Querellée par Sa Mère, and first presented at The Grand Theatre de Bordeaux, France, on the 1st July of the same year, its refreshing simplicity and boisterous radiance has established it as a popular choice in the repertory of ballet companies the world over, centuries after it was first created.

This DVD showcases Frederick Ashton’s version – widely regarded as the definitive interpretation – initially devised for the London Royal Ballet in 1960 and first screened on the BBC over the Christmas period of 1962.

This performance featured the cast of the 1960 original, with Nadia Nerina in a role that Ashton created with her in mind. Nerina’s “joyous, soaring skill, which is Lise’s signature” (Financial Times) and David Blair’s technical and interpretative genius in the role of Colas are perfectly offset by Stanley Holden’s hilarious travesti turn as Widow Simone, and Alexander Grant, who brings pathos and humour to the character of Alain.

The score perfectly complements Ashton’s whimsical choreography. La Fille mal gardée is at once energetically fresh and quaintly naïve, and this DVD is testament to the youthfulness and vibrancy of Ashton’s version of this timeless ballet.

The talents of Nadia Nerina have also been seen on ICAD5030 (Giselle), and more recently on ICAD5058 in a performance of Coppélia.

Picture format: 4:3

Running time: 90’

Subtitles: n/a

Menu languages: English

Booklet languages: E/F/G

Region code: 0

Territory Restrictions: None

»KÖRPER TRILOGY« A THREE-PIECE CHOREOGRAPHIC CYCLE

In 1999 Sasha Waltz started working on her three-piece choreographic cycle about the human body. In »Körper«, following up this extraordinary research, she investigates the anatomy and the physical appearance of the human being, relating her dancers‘ bodies to architecture, science, and history. »S« searches for the origin of life, of Eros, and of sensibility. »noBody« asks about the metaphysical existence of humanity.

PART III »noBody«

»noBody« questions the metaphysical existence of humanity. It addresses the absence of the body, and confronts us with feelings that our own realization of being mortal awakes in us. Without a body, what makes us human? In »noBody« the choreographer, accompanied by 25 dancers, faces the challenge of rendering the non-physical visible by using the physical body itself. »noBody« is co-produced by the Festival d’Avignon. In July 2002, the piece was performed eight times at Cour d’Honneur, Pope Palace. Its unique historical setting, together with the Mendelsohnian architecture of the Schaubühne, was a huge influence during the development of this production.

SPECIAL FEATURES: Behind the Scenes, Interviews, Trailer

Sound Format: PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1

Picture Format: 16:9

DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC

Languages (Bonus): DE, GB, FR, ES, JP

Running Time: 85 mins + 8 mins (bonus)

FSK: 12