These two valuable studio performances comprise rare archive material featuring internationally renowned dancers released for the first time on DVD.
Les Sylphides, introduced by one of the founders of modern British ballet, Tamara Karsavina, is one of the earliest examples of a complete filmed ballet in the BBC archives.
The production boasts a stellar cast, including Alicia Markova, Prima Ballerina Assoluta and Founder and President of English National Ballet.
Markova, invited by Diaghilev to join his Ballet Russes at just fourteen, was the first British dancer to become the principal dancer of a ballet company. Svetlana Beriosova became a prima ballerina at Sadlers Wells in 1955, and Violetta Elvin, one of the Bolshoi’s most promising talents was often seen as Fonteyn’s closest rival.
Giselle, one of the most popular ballets from the Romantic era, features Nadia Nerina in the title role. Renowned as the best technician at Covent Garden in the 1950s and 1960s, Nerina was famous for her acrobatic lifts.
New York Times critic on Nerina: “She is as pretty as a picture, has great charm and can dance like a million dollars.....we shall all be fighting to drink champagne out of her slippers!"
1DVD
Sound format: Ambient Mastering
Picture format: 4:3
Running time: 92’
Subtitles: F/G
Menu languages: English
Booklet languages: E/F/G
Region code: 0
Territory Restrictions: None
Penguin Guide