This Christmas, step into the magical world of The Nutcracker. For the first time in many years, the Royal Ballet has given full access behind the scenes for a landmark 90-minute documentary as they prepare for this season's yuletide production.
County Durham, England, 1984. The miners' strike has started and the police have started coming up from Bethnal Green, starting a class war with the lower classes suffering. Caught in the middle of the conflict is 11-year old Billy Elliot, who, after leaving his boxing club for the day, stumbles upon a ballet class and finds out that he's naturally talented. He practices with his teacher Mrs. Wilkinson for an upcoming audition in Newcastle-upon Tyne for the royal Ballet school in London.
A Christmas classic revisited in dance form at the Finnish National Opera: Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. It's the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a grumpy, miserly old man who, on Christmas Eve, is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. A magical tale popular with all ages, adapted into a ballet by an all-British artistic team including composer Sally Beamish and choreographer David Bintley.
When everyone in town falls under the spell of charismatic cosmetic surgeon Doctor Coppelius, feisty Swan must act to save her sweetheart Franz, before his heart is used to spark life into Coppelia – the ‘perfect’ robot-woman the Doctor has created.
A shy Greenwich Village book clerk is discovered by a fashion photographer and whisked off to Paris where she becomes a reluctant model.
Shadow / Self is a film project that combines dance, fashion and music to explore the darker side of the feminine psyche. A story of human struggle told with movement, beauty and light.
George Balanchine's jewel-themed triptych, strikingly choreographed to the music of Faure, Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky. This three act masterpiece is renowned as the world's first full-length abstract ballet. The Russian-born co-founder of the New York City Ballet, Balanchine was inspired by the artistry of jewellery designer Claude Arpels to create a trio of distinct movements revealing the essence of each precious stone. Each part also evokes three different cities: Paris, New York and St. Petersburg. 'Emeralds' was conceived as a tribute to the French romantic school, with music by Gabriel Faure. The fiery and energetic 'Rubies' taps into the rich tradition of Broadway musicals, with music by Stravinsky. 'Diamonds' honours the grandeur of Imperial Russia and the Maryinsky Theater, choreographed to the music of Tchaikovsky. With its jewel-like costumes, this is a celebration of the influences on the choreographer who was described as the father of American ballet.
The Nutcracker is Mikhail Baryshnikov's breathtaking and critcally acclaimed Emmy nominated production. The thisspectacular performance is danced by the magnificent team of Baryshnikov, one of the greatest classical dancers of the century, and Gelsey Kirkland, both chowcased at the peak of the their careers, with members of the American Ballet Theatre.
Loaded with a love story and set in the club scene in Cape Town, it’s a feel good rags to riches film about Raps, a gifted young dancer from the Cape Flats who thinks all he needs is fame and money. However, it all gets complicated when he falls in love with the gorgeous young wife of the gangster-cum-producer who’s making his career happen.
Embarking on a journey to fulfill her dreams as a dancer, a young girl discovers a new style of dance that will prove to be the source of both conflict and self-discovery.
An aspiring DJ, from the South Bronx, and his best friend, a promoter, try to get into show business by exposing people to hip-hop music and culture.
Young Cuban Rafael just buried his mother, and comes to Houston to meet his father John for the first time. The difficult part is that John doesn't know he is Rafael's father. John runs a dance studio, and everyone prepares for the World Open Dance championship in Las Vegas. It soon becomes clear Rafael is a very good dancer, and Ruby is the biggest hope for the studio at the championship.
A pair of thieves enjoy the heist of their lives. But a cunning detective threatens to ruin their game. On this board of deceit and passion, every move could be their last.
Anna Kendrick joins the K-Pop supergroup f(x) on their World Tour and things go as well as you'd expect.
Starting out as a comedic courtroom adventure, the DS game Gyakuten Saiban attracted vast amounts of fans with its fun system, intriguing plot, enchanting characters and wonderful BGM tracks. To praise the game's excellent music, a classical orchestral performance was arranged in April for all fans to come together and enjoy. For those who unfortunately missed the event, you can take part in it, although belatedly, through the DVD recording of the concert. Through the DVD view menu, watch the game's images that were projected onto the large screen during the performance.
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.
A small-town shoemaker with a knack for spinning yarns, Hans encounters happiness and heartbreak on his road to becoming a full-fledged writer.
A child is born. We see underwater swimmers representing this. He is young, in a jungle setting, with two fanciful "instincts" guiding him as swooping bird-like acrobats initially menace, then delight. As an adolescent, he enters a desert, where a man spins a large cube of metal tubing. He leaves his instinct-guides behind, and enters a garden where two statues dance in a pond. As he watches their sensual acrobatics of love, he becomes a man. He is offered wealth (represented by a golden hat) by a devil figure. In a richly decorated room, a scruffy troupe of a dozen acrobats and a little girl reawaken the old man's youthful nature and love.
For Donald's birthday he receives a box with three gifts inside. The gifts, a movie projector, a pop-up book, and a pinata, each take Donald on wild adventures through Mexico and South America.
Lila