New on DVD

Kenneth Macmillan’s
Romeo and Juliet

With the Royal Ballet
Featuring Lauren Cuthbertson
and Federico Bonelli
Music by Prokofiev

Extra Features:
Documentary:
Kenneth Macmillan’s
Romeo and Juliet
Sword Fighting:
Sharp Points and Pirouettes
Cast Gallery

First premiered in 1965, Romeo and Juliet has become a signature work for the Royal Ballet, with over 400 performances. In this 2012 performance, Lauren Cuthbertson and Federico Bonelli are utterly captivating in the title roles. Filmed live at Covent Garden and broadcast to cinemas worldwide.

DVD 173 min. first release 2013
VNX090 $24.95

Choreography by Bournonville
Historical Performances

Bonus:
La Sylphide (Act II Pas de deux)
With Flemming Flindt
and Elsa-Marianne von Rosen
Recorded in 1960

DVD 81 min. first release 2013
VNX024 $24.95

Magnificat

With dancers of the Zurich Ballet
Choreography by Heinz Spoerli
Music by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by the Orchestra La Scintilla and Zurich Opera

This tribute to the music of Bach by one of Europe’s outstanding choreographers and ensembles begins with eight short pieces and concludes with the Magnificat, a 27-minute liturgy of praise by Mary on being chosen to bear the Son of God. Bach’s faultless harmony of rules determines the proportions of the dance while his polyphony shapes the sequence of steps. Spoerli approaches the spirit of the Magnificat with his deep respect for all faiths and the expression of profound devoutness. Booklet enclosed.

Program:
Partita in A minor for solo flute: Allemande
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3
Violin Sonata No. 1: Adagio
Aria: Ergiesse dich reichlich du göttliche Quelle
Violin Sonata No. 1: Fuga
Violin Sonata No. 1: Siciliana
Aria: Ich habe genug
Violin Sonata No. 1: Presto
Magnificat

73 min., 2013
VNX085  $24.95

An Evening with
the Royal Ballet

Highlights from Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Le Fille Mal Gardée, Coppélia, Romeo and Juliet, Sylvia, The Firebird and Voices of Spring.

Featuring Carlos Acosta, Roberto Bolle, Darcey Bussell, Alina Cojocaru, Tamara Rojo, Lauren Cuthbertson, Miranda Nunez

Program:
Romeo and Juliet: The Ballroom
Voices of Spring
The Firebird: Infernal Dance
La Fille Mal Gardée: Act 1 Pas de deux
La Fille Mal Gardée: Clog Dance
Giselle: Act 2 Pas de deux and conclusion
Romeo and Juliet: Balcony Pas de deux
Sylvia: Act 3 Pas de deux
Swan Lake: The Cygnets
Coppélia: Act 2, Coppélia comes to life
The Nutcracker: Act 2 Pas de deux
Swan Lake: Act 4 Pas de trios and apotheosis

90 min.
VNX080  $19.95

Igor Moiseyev Ballet
Live in Paris

The world-famous Moiseyev Ballet takes us on a folkloric tour of dances from the former Soviet Union, including Moldovian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Nanai, Kalmyk, Tatar, Adjaran, and Caucasian, as well as the Arogonese Jota from Spain and the Gaucho from South America.

70 dancers and 35 musicians perform 14 dazzling, surprising, and joyful dances on this DVD. The accompanying booklet in English and French provides background information for each dance, a brief biography of Igor Moiseyev, and a history of the Moiseyev Ballet.

107 min. 2013
VNX086 $24.95

The Sleeping Beauty

With The Bolshoi Ballet,
featuring David Hallberg
and Svetlana Zakharova

Choreography by Marius Petipa
with new choreography
by Yuri Grigorovich

“An American Prince at the Bolshoi.” Dance Magazine

“Svetlana Zakharova as Aurora is radiant.” Financial Times

Booklet enclosed.

138 minutes
VNX130 $29.95

Maria Fay's Floor Exercises

3 Sample Classes, Including 70 Exercises and Enchaînements, Musical Accompaniment

The viewer is taken on a journey through 3 sample classes at different technical levels, preceded by a warm-up section. In the Warm-up are the movements that help make the dancer more pliable, loosening the joints and stretching the muscles gradually. With emphasis on breath control, the Floor Barre section contains all the exercises adapted from classical ballet barre practice in addition to some movements performed in the center that can be executed while lying on the floor.

Maria Fay, a native of Hungary, was leading dancer and choreographer for the Budapest State Theatre Ballet Company. Moving to England in 1956, she started to teach at the Royal Ballet School, the Royal Academy of Dancing, and opened her own studio. Based upon exercises developed for her own injuries, she invented others while working with injured dancers, eventually producing her floor-barre system to the benefit of the whole dance community. She has taught and coached in 26 internationally-renowned ballet companies, including the Royal Ballet, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Royal Swedish Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet, the Dutch National Ballet. The National Ballet of China, Ballet Rambert, London Festival Ballet, and the National Ballet of Spain.

110 min., 2005, all regions
ISBN 9780871273772
VDH038D 39.95

Legacy
Nadia Nerina
Robert Helpmann
Margot Fonteyn
Rudolf Nureyev

Historical performances of:

Les Sylphides
with Nadia Nerina,
Philip Chatfield,
Rowena Jackson,
and Julia Farron (April 1956)

Coppélia
with Nadia Nerina,
Robert Helpmann, and
Donald Britton (October 1957)

Giselle (Act II Pas de Deux)
with Margot Fonteyn
and Rudolf Nureyev (June 1962)

Booklet enclosed

DVD 100 min. first release 2012
VNX184 $24.99

Giselle

Choreographic version
by Yuri Grigorovich, after Coralli
With stars and ensemble
of the Bolshoi Ballet

Featuring Svetlana Lunkina,
Dimitry Gudanov,
Vitaly Biktimirov,
and Maria Allash

A new production
from the Bolshoi
filmed in 2011.

Booklet enclosed.

Black & White Ballets

Choreography by Jiří Kylián
Performed by the
Nederlands Dance Theater

Kylián’s sequence of Black and White Ballets include: Falling Angels, Six Dances, No More Play, Sweet Dreams, Sarabande, Petite Mort. Lighting effects sometimes frame the dancers in the darkness of the stage and sometimes clearly illuminate them. A connecting element between the individual segments of Black and White is the transient presence of the 18th-century costumes in the otherwise abstract six ballets.

Booklet included.

DVD 101 min. first release 2012
VNX081 $29.99

Jiří Kylián
Forgotten Memories

With Additional
ballet performance
Wings of Wax
Performed by the
Nederlands Dance Theater

For the first time one can have a real close look at Kylián’s life, his way of thinking and at his most significant creations. Includes excerpts from 16 works, including Kaguyahime, Bella Figura, Symphony of Psalms, Sinfonietta, No More Play, One of a Kind, Birth-day, Last Touch First, Tar and Feathers.

Booklet included

DVD 76 min. first release 2011
VNX183 $24.99

Never Stand Still

Dancing at Jacob’s Pillow

Legendary dancers and choreographers Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, Suzanne Farrell, Mark Morris, Judith Jamison, and Bill Irwin appear alongside new innovators and archival footage in this documentary about Jacob’s Pillow.

74 min.
VFR420D $29.95

Raymonda

Featuring Olesia Novikova,
Friedemann Vogel
and Mick Zeni

A 2011 production
filmed at La Scala,
with recreation of
the original sets
and costumes.

154 min.
VNX119D $29.99

Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake

A modern classic, the longest running ballet both on Broadway and in London’s West End, it is best known for replacing the traditional female corps de ballet with a menacing male ensemble with bare chests, knee-length feathered trousers and black facial markings – and for its radical departure from the familiar classic Russian ballet.

119 min.
VKU293D $29.99

Margot Fonteyn Michael Somes
Tchaikovsky
Ballet Masterpieces

Excerpts from studio productions from the late 1950s of Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake and The Nutcracker (Act 2), featuring Royal Ballet legend Margot Fonteyn and archetypal ballet prince Michael Somes.

72 min.
VNX082 $24.99

Alonzo King
Lines Ballet

“Alonzo King is one of the few bona fide visionaries in the ballet world today.”
– San Francisco Chronicle

Special Features:
Alonzo King – Poet of Dance, a film by Marita Stocker, including interviews with Alonzo King and the dancers as well as backstage and rehearsal footage.
Booklet enclosed.

160 min.
VNX181D $29.99

Treasures of
the Russian Ballet

The greatest Russian dancers
in extracts from the great ballets:

The Stone Flower with
Yuri Soloviev and Alla Sizova
Swan Lake with Galina Ulanova
and Nicolai Fadeyechev
Cinderella with Raisa Struchova
and Mikhail Lavrosky
Giselle with Ekaterina Maximova
and Maris Liepa
Gayaneh with Nina Timofeyeva   
and Nicolai Fadeyechev
Don Quixote with Maya Plisetskaya
and Vladimir Vasiliev

Booklet enclosed.

82 min.
VNX063D $24.99

Sylvie Guillem
At Work
& Portrait

Sylvie Guillem At Work shows the prima ballerina in her daily round of classes, rehearsals, and performances, Guillem’s preparation for Nureyev’s Raymonda, her first performances in Rudi Van Dantzig’s Four Last Songs, and William Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, And her appearance at a gala, dancing Béjart’s La Luna, are all recorded for posterity on the DVD.

Sylvie Guillem Portrait centers on Guillem rehearsing and performing a range of classical and contemporary pieces, which display her astonishing virtuosity. She talks incisively about working with some of the world’s top choreographers.

104 min., boxed set of 2 DVDs
VNX158D $25.95

Les Sylphides

Giselle

These two exceptional performances represent some of the earliest filmed dance material from the BBC archives and feature stellar casts.

Les Sylphides: Svetlana Beriosova, Violetta Elvin, Alicia Markova, John Field in a 1953 recording.

Giselle: Nadia Nerina, Nikolai Fadeyechev, Niels Bjørn Larsen, Lydia Sokolova, Margaret Hill, Julia Farron, Alfred Rodrigues, Peter Wright in a 1958 recording.

94 min., subtitles and French and German

La Bayadére

Choreography by
Natalia Makarova
after Marius Petipa

With the corps de ballet and orchestra of La Scala

This production, filmed in 2006 features the respected dancer Robert Bolle as Solor and Svetlana Zakharova as Nikiya.

126 min.,
first DVD release 2012

VNX138D $29.95

The Nutcracker

Choreography by
Yuri Grigorovich

With the Bolshoi Ballet,
orchestra, and
children’s chorus

In this outstanding 2010 performance, there is more dancing and less pantomime than in other versions. Nobody does it better than the Bolshoi!

103 min., booklet included.
First DVD release 2012
VNX096D $29.95

Great Dancers
of Our Time

Vladimir Malakhov
Lucia Lacarra
Kiyoko Kimura

With Diana Vishneva,
Nadja Saidakova,
Cyril Pierre,
Christoph Böhm

Here is your chance to see three of the most fascinating dancers on the international ballet scene. Each of the featured ballet stars dances excerpts from his or her favorite dances:

Vladimir Malakhov dances in Manon, Voyage, Le Spectre de la Rose.
Lucia Lacarra dances in Pas de deux from Swan Lake, Variation from Swan Lake, Lady of the Camelias.
The astonishing Kiyoko Kimura dances in three pieces by the choreographer Uwe Scholz: J.S. Bach, Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, Nos. 1&2; W.A. Mozart, Piano Concerto K 271, Andantino; and Anton Bruckner, Symphony No. 8: Adagio.
(See also Kiyoko Kimura’s performance of Uwe Scholz’s choreography for Mozart’s Great Mass)

Includes 12-page full color booklet with commentary by distinguished critic Horst Koegler in English, French, and German.
A choice of languages is available on the DVD: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish

Tribute to
Jerome Robbins

En Sol
Choreography by Jerome Robbins, music by Ravel
Triade
Choreography by Benjamin Millepied, music by Muhly
In the Night
Choreography by Jerome Robbins, music by Chopin
The Concert
Choreography by Jerome Robbins, music by Chopin
Featuring dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet with etoiles Marie-Agnes Gillot, Laëtitia Pujol, Benjamin Pech, Clairemarie Osta, Agnès Letestu, Delphine Moussin, Nicolas Le Riche, and Dorothée Gilbert.

This tribute to Jerome Robbins was recorded at the Paris Opera in 2008 with three pieces by Robbins, and one by up-and-coming choreographer Benjamin Millepied. En Sol (In the Sun) suggests a sun-drenched beach where the dancers are having fun cavorting to the jazzy overtones of Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G. Triade shows a meeting of four people and their interrelatedness. In the Night, choreographed to Chopin’s Nocturnes, presents three couples who personify three phases of love under a starry sky. The Concert, Ou les malheurs de chacun (or The Perils of Everybody) is a comedy inspired by the silent movie series “The Perils of Pauline” and a satire of classical ballet.

Includes 36-page full color booklet in English, French, and German with an essay on Jerome Robbins by noted dance writer Deborah Jowitt.

(for more on Jerome Robbins see
Jerome Robbins: Something to Dance About)

111 min., first US release 2012
VNX163D $29.95

Dance Theatre
of Harlem

The Dance Theatre of Harlem
performs a selection of
its most popular works:

Fall River Legend
Choreography by
Agnes de Mille

Troy Game
Choreography by
Robert North

The Beloved
Choreography by Lester Horton

John Henry
Choreography by Arthur Mitchell

120 min. 
VNX032D $29.95

Frederick Ashton

Featuring artists
of The Royal Ballet
including stars
Steven McRae,
Darcey Bussell,
Jonathan Cope
and Carlos Acosta

Les Patineurs,
Divertissements and
Scènes de Ballet

Les Patineurs evokes an Edwardian skating party, with all its youthful charm and humor, in contrast to Scènes de Ballet, in which sharp geometric shapes and the music of Igor Stravinsky combine to create Ashton’s most modernist work. Divertissements, a collection of six balletic miniatures, feature some of Ashton’s most beautiful and lyrical choreography.

120 min.
VNX053D $29.95

German Lineage
in Modern Dance

Solos by Wigman, Hoyer, Holm, Nikolais, Louis
Performed by Betsy Fisher

Blending academic research and artistry, Dr. Betsy Fisher, internationally renowned dancer, choreographer, and Professor of Dance at the University of Hawaii, created this homage to the legacy of German expressionist dance. Includes narration and original photographs.

Program:
Hexantanz: Wigman 1926,
additional choreography by Fisher, 1994
Swinging Landscapes: Wigman, 1929
Homage to Mahler (solo excerpt): Holm, 1976
Affectos Humanos: Hoyer, 1962
Tribe: Nikolais, 1975
Figura: Louis, 1978

Dr. Betsy Fisher, a former member of the Murray Louis Dance Company, was directed by Nikolais and Louis in their solos and directed in the other solos by those closely associated with the choreographers. She has performed these pieces in many locations in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

DVD 58 min. 2012
VDP577D $49.95

Sensuality
and Nationalism
in Romantic Ballet

Conceived and Written
by Claudia Jeschke
and Robert Atwood

Performed by
Rainer Krenstetter,
Nadege Hottier,
and members of
The Brooklyn Ballet and
The Manhattan Youth Ballet

Innovations in 19th Century ballet highlighted the stories and characters of everyday people combined with influences from national dance. This illustrative program presents a sampling of restaged dances based solely on documentation provided by 19th century dance literature and iconography. Dance footage is supplemented by an extraordinary collection of illustrations from the Derra de Moroda Dance Archives of Salzburg, Austria.

Program:
Fandango: recreated from Christoph Willbald Gluck’s ballet, “Don Juan ou le Festin de pierre.”
Vestris Gavotte: restaged from the notated score, London, 1831
Cachuca: restaged from the notated score, Leipzig, 1887, and reconstructed by Ann Hutchinson Guest
Pas de l’Abeille: recreated from the ballet “La Peri ” composed in 1843 by Theophile Gautier and Jean
Coralli, based on Gautier’s description and Henri Justament’s notation of veil dances
Pas de la Esmeralda: recreation of step material from the the ballet “Quasimodo ou la Bohémienne” create in 1859 by Henri Justament, based on Justament’s written notation
Tyrolienne: recreation of a couple dance from the ballet “Quasimodo ou la Bohémienne” created in 1859 by Henri Justament, based on Justament’s written notation

Professor Claudia Jeschke is Chair of the Department of Dance Studies at the University of Salzburg and Director/Curator of the Derra de Moroda Dance Archives, Salzburg, Austria.

Robert Atwood is pedagogue of classical ballet at The Ailey School, and lecturer and author on dance history.

DVD 57 min. 2012
VDP599 $49.95

Béjart!
Did You Say Béjart?

A Profile of the
Legendary Choreographer

A documentary on the life and work of Maurice Béjart (1927-2007), one of the great choreographers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Features clips of such signature works as Symphonie pour l’homme seul, Le Sacre du printemps, L’Oiseau de feu, Bolero, Les Chaises, Bhakti, Kabuki. Infused with both ballet and modern dance, and delivered with showmanship, his work was immensely popular everywhere in the world, attracting huge audiences, though in Britain and the US he received scorn from tradition-minded critics. Noted for his direction of two companies: The Ballet of the Twentieth Century in Brussels followed by the Béjart Ballet based in Lausanne, Switzerland. Advised by his philosopher father, Gaston Berger, that the two most important things in life are love and intelligence, this DVD shows this thinking in his unremitting passion for dance as well as his creative genius.

DVD 91 min. filmed in 2005,
first released in 2012
VKU036D $19.95

Ballet Favorites

This glittering evening at the ballet features these stunning sequences:

Swan Lake:
Siegfried and Odette Pas de deux – Yulia Makhalina and Igor Zelensky (Kirov Ballet)

La Fille Mal Gardée:
The Clog Dance, The Maypole Dance, The Clog Dance – Lesley Collier and Anthony Dowell (The Royal Ballet)

The Nutcracker: Variations and Grand Pas – Galina Mezentseva and Konstantin Zaklinsky (The Royal Ballet)

Giselle: The Mad Scene, Myrtha and the Willis – Irina Kolpakova (Kirov Ballet)

The Sleeping Beauty:
The Garland Waltz, The Rose Adagio - Alessandra Ferri and Wayne Eagling (Kirov Ballet)

Romeo and Juliet:
The Dance of the Knights, Juliet’s Bedroom Pas de deux – Darcy Bussell and Jonathan Cope (The Royal Ballet)

The Prince of the Pagodas:
Act III Pas de deux – Cynthia Harvey and Mikhail Baryshnikov (The Royal Ballet)

Don Quixote:
Act I (complete) – (American Ballet Theatre)

DVD 90 min.
VKU025D $ 19.95

Peter and the Wolf

Featuring Royal Ballet Principal
Sergei Polunin as the Wolf
With Students of the Royal Ballet School

Choreography by Matthew Hart
Music by Prokofiev
Narrator: Will Kemp

A delight for children of any age, the Royal Ballet’s 2011 production is stylish and inventive. A brave young boy (danced by Royal Ballet student Kilian Smith) does battle with a big bad wolf, assisted by a mini-carnival of animal friends and a corps de ballet which at times represents a meadow, a forest, and a lake.

DVD, 30 min.
VNX121D $19.95

Alice’s Adventures
in Wonderland

Featuring Laura Cuthbertson as Alice, Sergei Polunin as Jack/the Knave of Hearts, and Steven McCrae as the Mad Hatter
With artists of the
England’s Royal Ballet

Choreography by
Christopher Wheeldon
Music by Joby Talbot

This multi-million dollar spectacle, premiered in 2011, is noted for its fantastic scenery and stage effects, especially the Cheshire cat – who alternately emerges and dissolves, its body parts manipulated by dancers.

In a touch of ironic humor the entrance to the Duchess’s chaotic kitchen, a scene of furious sausage-making, is marked with a sign saying Home Sweet Home. The episodes follow the story in dance terms and relate the Wonderland characters to real people in Alice’s life, including the author Lewis Carroll (The White Rabbit), her real mother (The Queen of Hearts), and Jack, the garden boy (The Knave of Hearts). The commissioned music by Joby Talbot is especially noteworthy.

DVD, 120 min.
VNX079D $ 29.95

Dance Horizons Selection of Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop, and Break Dance DVDs

Jazz Dances for Kids and Teens
With Bob Rizzo

Four full-length routines for beginner through advanced levels. There are a variety of styles including Hip Hop, Musical Theatre, Jazz, and Broadway. Each dance is performed to music, followed by step-by-step breakdowns shown from the back.

DVD 75 min.
VRB458 $44.95

Street Groove
With Derek Mitchell

Three full length street jazz routines for advanced beginner through advanced levels. Derek and his dancers teach you each dance step-by-step, slowly and clearly from the back.

DVD 60 min.
VRB486 $44.95

Tap & Glide
With Mark Goodman

Three swing-inspired tap dances for beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels that will have you gliding across the floor.

DVD 75 min.
VRB491 $44.95

Contemporary Jazz Combinations and Routines With Albert Cattafi

Choreographer Albert Cattafi introduces you to his energetic style of Contemporary Jazz as he guides you through “across the floor” combinations, floor work, improvisational skills, and two routines for intermediate and advanced levels. Throughout Al emphasizes musicality, level changes, and dynamics.

DVD 60 min.
VRB416$44.95

Contemporary Turns and Jumps
With Albert Cattafi

Albert takes you step-by-step through a variety of show-stopping turns and jumps in the Contemporary style. From basic through advanced moves seen in today’s hottest music videos and TV realty shows such as So You Think You Can Dance, Albert will give you the style, skills and confidence to master these steps. Every combination has a version for different levels, with an easy-to-follow breakdown for every step. For intermediate and advanced levels.

DVD 60 min.
VRB417 $44.95

Albert Cattafi, a Mr. Dance of America, trained at the Joffrey Ballet School. He assisted and danced for Emmy award-winning choreographer Mia Michaels, toured the US and Europe in A Few Good Men…Dancin’, and danced in Rasta Thomas’s Bad Boys of Dance.

Hip Hop for Kids
With Roger G

An introduction to Hip Hop for children that begins with a warm up and a basic chapter, then progresses with each section getting a little harder and more challenging. Includes music CD with the dance song called The Hip Hop Bounce.

DVD 30 min.
VWM269D $16.95

School House Hop
Hip Hop Dance for
Beginners Ages 5-14
With Roger G

An easy-to-follow Hip Hop workout introducing such moves as Chicken Noodle Soup, The Snap, and Walk it Out.

DVD 45 min.
VWM288D $19.95

How to Break Dance
with Mike Garcia, also known as Breaker

How to Break Dance
Volume 1

Garcia breaks the moves down in an intelligent and concise manner. Moves covered include windmill, handspin, uprock, sixstep, glide, popping, single and double leg swipes. Breaking footage also included.

DVD 34 min.
VWM270 $19.95

How to Break Dance
Volume 2

Every move is broken down step-by-step for easy learning. Includes Headspin, Flare, Backspin, Coindrop, Robot, Turtles, and Freezes.

DVD 30 min.
VWM271D $19.95

How to Break Dance
Volume 3

Every move is broken down step-by-step for easy learning. Includes Wave Breakdown, Strobe Walk, Centipede, Moon Walk, Locking, Body Shake, The Wall, The Ball.

DVD 40 min.
VWM272D $19.95

How to Break Dance
Volume 4

Every move is broken down step-by-step for easy learning. Includes Air Flares, Hollow Back, Brooklyn Toprock, Puppet, Boomerang, Flip, Halos, Breakers, No-handed Windmills, Munchmills.

DVD 40 min.
VWM273D $19.95

Three Ballets
by Wayne McGregor

Chroma, Infra, Limen

Featuring Principals and Corps de Ballet of The Royal Ballet
24-page full-color booklet in English, French, and German included

The diversity of Wayne McGregor’s astonishing talent is demonstrated through Chroma, Infra, and Limen, each created for The Royal Ballet, for whom he is the Resident Choreographer. Employing a generous mix of classical ballet virtuosity with modern contractions, gestures, and abstracted imagery, his many-layered and beautiful dances provide visual, sensual, and kinesthetic stimulus for the viewer.

DVD 98 min., 2011
VNX025D $29.95

The Great Ballets of Rudolf Nureyev
(Boxed Set)

Dancer’s Dream

Raymonda,
Romeo & Juliet,
Sleeping Beauty,
La Bayadère

Featuring Stars and the Corps de Ballet of the Paris National Opera Ballet, including performances by Rudolf Nureyev, Elisabeth Platel, Manuel Legris, Elisabeth Maurin, Kader Balarbi, Isabel Guérin, Laurent Hilaire, and Aurèlie Dupont

4 DVDs 363 min.
VNX030D  $59.95

Don Quichot
(Don Quixote)

Choreography by Marius Petipa and Alexander Gorsky with Additional Choreography by Alexei Ratmansky
Featuring Anna Tsygankova as Kitri, Matthew Golding as Basilio and stars and corps de ballet of the Dutch National Ballet
Music by Ludwig Minkus

Special Features:
Behind the Scenes: filmed by a dancer using a bodycam during Rehearsal.
Interviews with the principal dancers and actors
24 page full-color Booklet in English, French, German, and Dutch

Originally choreographed by Petipa in 1869 and adapted by Gorsky in 1900 and 1902, this 2010 production contains new choreography by Ratmansky, who conducted research on the piece at the Harvard University Library. Achieving a balance between mime and dance, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza are personified with poignancy and humor. Anna Tsygankova and Matthew Golding dance brilliantly.

DVD 152 min., 2011
VNX036D $39.95

2010 Production, Birmingham Royal Ballet

Cinderella

Featuring Elisha Willis and Ian Mackay  

With Principal Dancers and Corps de Ballet of the Birmingham Royal Ballet

Choreography by David Bintley

Music by Sergei Prokofiev

This new production, costing over 1.5 million dollars, is a theatrical banquet for the eyes in terms of scenery, lighting and costuming. Choreographed with real emotional resonance, it opens with the funeral of the young Cinderella’s mother and her introduction to her future stepmother and stepsisters. Flashing ahead ten years, the grown Cinderella is bullied in a dismal kitchen by her sisters who tread a nimble line between comedy and nastiness. The fairy godmother arrives and all turns to magic. The gleaming coach is brought on by mice and lizards, and the ball scene is a feast of swirling decadence. At the stroke of midnight Cinderella disappears through the whirring mechanism of an amazing clock. In the end, the prince rescues her from her greasy kitchen, but she, in turn, rescues him from a court without love.

109 min., filmed in 2010, first DVD release 2011
VKU060D $29.95

Great Stars of Russian Ballet

Great Stars of
Russian Ballet
Volume 1

Historic Performances
1971-1983

A series of spectacular performances of ballet classics and modern works. The first volume includes The Dying Swan (Plisetskaya), the Black Swan pas de deux from Swan Lake (Plisetskaya & Kovtun), the Béjart Romeo and Juliet (Maximova & Vasiliev), Don Quixote (Timofeeva & Godunov), and much more.

Click for details and a complete list of performances

95 min., 2011
VVA368D  $34.95

Great Stars of
Russian Ballet
Volume 2

Historic Performances
1955-1991

The second volume in this series of spectacular performances includes Icarus (Maximova & Vasiliev), Walpurgis Night (Maximova, Yagoudin, Vlasov), Raymonda (Kolpakova & Semenov), Don Quixote (Vaslieva & Galimullin), Black Swan pas de deux (Bessmertnova & Bogatirev), La rose malade (Plisetskaya & Kovtun), and much more.

Click for details and a complete list of performances

93 min., 2011
VVA369D $34.95

Great Stars of
Russian Ballet
Volume 3

Historic Performances
1972-1992

A series of spectacular performances of ballet classics and modern works. The third volume includes Nocturne (Plisetskaya and Verdishev), Don Quixote (Maximova and Vasiliev), The Flower Festival in Genzano (Paliy and Malakhov), Grand Pas Classique (Timashova and Gorbatsevich), and much more.

Click for complete list of performances

95 min., 2011
VVA370D $34.95

Great Stars of
Russian Ballet
Volume 4

Historic Performances
1968-1992

The fourth volume in this series of spectacular performances includes Spartacus (Vasiliev), Don Quixote (Semenyaka and Baryshnikov), Swan Lake - Black Swan pas de deux (Tayakina and Kovtun), The Fountain of Bakhchisarai (Kolpakova and Selutsky), and much more.

Click for details and a complete list of performances

97 min., 2011
VVA371D $34.95

Angelin Preljocaj, Choreographer

Siddharta

Starring Nicolas Le Riche
and Aurélie Dupont

With the Corps de Ballet
and Orchestra of the
Paris National Opera

Choreography by
Angelin Preljocaj

Music by Bruno Montovani

22-page booklet in
English, French, and German included

Inspired by an extended trip to India, Angelin Prelocaj choreographed the story of the transformation of the young prince Siddharta into the Buddha, the Enlightened One, an itinerant preacher who traveled throughout northern India. The 16 scenes focus on a minimalist adaptation of Siddharta’s quest for the absolute, freed from the shackles of specified time and historical location. His journey reaches its climax with the moment of enlightenment, which sees the two dancers, Siddharta (Nicolas Le Riche) and The Awakening (Aurélie Dupont) become one.

100 min., 2010
VNX127D $29.95

Pierre Lacotte, Choreographer, after Filippo Taglioni

La Sylphide

Starring Aurélie Dupont
and Mathieu Ganio

With the Corps de Ballet and Orchestra of the Paris National Opera

Choreography by Pierre Lacotte after Filippo Taglioni

Music by Jean-Madeleine Schneitzhoeffer

15-page booklet in
English, French and German included

Bonus: La Sylphide Rediscovered

First performed in Paris in 1832, La Sylphide marks the advent of Romanticism in ballet. Unfurling against the rich backdrop of Scotland, a country dear to Romantic imagery, the story recounts the impossible love of a mortal for a supernatural creature.

127 min., filmed in 2004, first DVD release 2011
VNX073D $29.95

La Bayadère
(The Temple Dancer)

Natalia Makarova, Choreographer, after Marius Petipa

Starring Tamara Rojo and Carlos Acosta

With the Corps de Ballet of the Royal Ballet

Choreography by Natalia Makarova after Marius Petipa

Music by Ludwig Minkus

26-page full color booklet in
English, French, and German

Extra Features:

• Cast Gallery
• Tamara Rojo on dancing La Bayadère
• Leanne Cope and Francesca Filpi on the Corps de Ballet
• Tamara Rojo and Carlos Acosta rehearse
• Natalia Makarova on choreographing La Bayadère

Marius Petipa’s exotic ballet, set in legendary India, is a story of love, death and vengeful judgment. The second scene of Act 2, The Kingdom of the Shades, is one of the most famous in all of ballet.

167 min., filmed in 2009, first DVD release 2011
VNX070D $29.95

A Midsummer
Night’s Dream

George Balanchine, Choreographer, with Alessandra Ferri

Starring Alessandra Ferri
and Roberto Bolle

With the Corps de Ballet of
the Teatro alla Scala, Milan

Choreography
by George Balanchine

Restaged by Patricia Neary
and Sara Leland

Music by Felix Mendelssohn

16-page booklet in English, French, and German

Balanchine’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy of star-crossed lovers is a ballet for the entire family. The spectrum of dance is broad, ranging from the aristocratic classicism for Oberon and Titania to the shirt-sleeved workmen in the artisan scenes. A combination of both styles is seen in the duet for Titania and Bottom wearing a donkey’s head.

104 min., filmed in 2007, first DVD release 2010
VNX076D $29.95

Loïe Fuller: Dancing
in the Light Fantastic

Featuring reconstructions of Night, Fire Dance, and Lily

A Momenta production, funded by The Illinois Humanities Council, The National Endowment for the Humanities, and The Illinois General Assembly
For the first time, this DVD offers a comprehensive look at Loie Fuller’s life, work, and her influences on today’s dance and film artists. It is divided into four sections:

1. 1834-1889: Family beginnings in the Illinois farmland.
2. 1889-1895: Early performing and the shaping of her distinctive style.
3. 1895 & 1900: Fame in Paris. Three famous dances are reconstructed.
4. 1900-Present: Fuller’s influence on dance, film, costuming, staging and theater.

Includes archival film and photographs as well as contemporary reconstructions.

66 minutes, 2010
VMN001 $39.95

Three Ballets by Kenneth MacMillan

Elite Syncopations (1974)
Music: Scott Joplin and others

The Judas Tree (1992)
Music: Brian Elias

Concerto (1966)
Music: Shostakovich
Piano Concerto No. 2

Featuring Artists of the Royal Ballet with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House

Kenneth MacMillan’s versatility is celebrated here in three very different ballets: the humorous romp Elite Syncopations, set to the easy-going rhythms of ragtime, is in stark contrast to The Judas Tree, that depicts the horrific fate of a woman at the hands of 13 men. Concerto, danced to the Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 2, is an abstract work of beauty, exuberance, and reflection.

114 minutes, first DVD release 2010

VNX160D $30.00

Also available on Blu-ray

Kaguyahime The Moon Princess

Performed by the
Nederlands Dans Theater

Choreography by Jirí Kylián

Music composed for
traditional Japanese instruments
by Maki Ishii

This Asian-fusion ballet, loosely based on an ancient Japanese legend, combines both modern and ballet styles. It opens with the conductor and musicians in a silent movement ritual before the music starts. The story is about a beautiful otherworldly girl (the Moon Princess) who rejects five suitors bearing gifts. She is eventually wooed by the Emperor, but she rejects him as well – wishing to bring peace, she only succeeds in provoking conflict. Realizing that she is not a part of the world and certainly not the world of the 21st century (symbolized by a backdrop of automobiles), she returns to her home in the moon and to the mythological past.

In the original tale, the Emperor is so distraught that he burns her farewell letter to him on the top of a mountain, which can still be seen as the wisp of smoke emerging from the summit of Mount Fuji.

69 minutes, first DVD release 2010
VKU176 $30.00

What a Beautiful documentary! ...done with admiration,
adoration,good taste and love... a remarkable service
to dance and the history of modern dance.
- Robert Lindgren
  Founding Dean, North Carolina School of the Arts
  Past President, School of American Ballet

A New Dance for America

The Choreography, Teachings and Legacy of Doris Humphrey

Narrated by Doris Humphrey, Lindsay Crouse, and Ina Hahn
Written and directed by Ina Hahn
Featuring rare archival footage of Doris Humphrey
and the Humphrey-Weidman Company

The story of the life and works of modern dance pioneer Doris Humphrey (1895-1958) is the focus of this documentary. It leads from her birth in Oak Park, Illinois, to growing up in a theatrical hotel in Chicago where she supported her parents as a dance teacher at the age of 18, the launch of her professional career in the Denishawn Company, establishing her own company with partner Charles Weidman, to serving as artistic director and choreographer for José Limón. Historical and contemporary performance excerpts cover the span of her career from her earliest composition, Valse Caprice (1920), to her last, Brandenberg Concerto (1958), and represent some of her finest pieces such as Soaring, Passacaglia in C Minor, New Dance and Day on Earth.

Attention has been paid to placing her growth as a dance artist and her contribution to the development of modern dance within the context of twentieth century history. Interviews with former dancers who worked with her and with her son complete the picture of this indomitable woman who, along with Charles Weidman and Martha Graham, forged a new art form growing out of the national experience of pioneering, freedom of expression, wide open spaces and democratic values.

80 min., color and b&w, 2010

VWH002 $29.95