Giselle (Mariinsky Theatre)

It is a story in which the young heroine, dying from a broken heart, mysteriously hears the call of ghosts tempting her to join their round dance, and having become one of them she saves the lover who betrayed her.

Nutcracker Sweeties

Nutcracker Sweeties is Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington’s big band take on the Tchaikovsky classic—The Nutcracker as you've never seen or heard it before! It portrays Broadway and America in the 1940s: full of humor, irony, commentary, swing, and blues. The cast, dressed in an array of glamorous Jasper Conran costumes, includes pom-pom girls, drum majorettes, sailors, GIs and Candy Kane. David Bintley’s choreography is a catwalk of jazz styles. With its eye-catching clothes and flashing neon sets, Nutcracker Sweeties is imaginative, funny and visually irresistible.

The Blu-ray Experience II: Opera, Ballet & theatre

Tip Toe

A performance film following the young ballerinas of Na Ponta dos Pés, an art school founded by Tuany Nascimento in Rio de Janeiro.

The White Crow

The story of Rudolf Nureyev, whose escape to the West stunned the world at the height of the Cold War. With his magnetic presence, Nureyev emerged as ballet’s most famous star, a wild and beautiful dancer limited by the world of 1950s Leningrad. His flirtation with Western artists and ideas led him into a high-stakes game of cat and mouse with the KGB.

The Nutcracker

The young Clara creeps downstairs on Christmas Eve to play with her favourite present – a Nutcracker. But the mysterious magician Drosselmeyer is waiting to sweep her off on a magical adventure. After defeating the Mouse King, the Nutcracker and Clara travel through the Land of Snow to the Kingdom of Sweets, where the Sugar Plum Fairy treats them to a wonderful display of dances. Back home, Clara thinks she must have been dreaming – but doesn’t she recognize Drosselmeyer’s nephew?

John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet

William Shakespeare's tragedy about the feuding Montagues and Capulets, whose children find each other and overcome the deep-seated hatred, has inspired countless artists. John Cranko also took up this timeless material in 1962 and created one of his most popular ballets. Sergei Prokofiev's descriptive music - in combination with Jürgen Rose's opulent sets and costumes – forms the perfect back drop which allows the scenes to unfold just as if they had sprung directly from an Italian Renaissance painting.

Giselle

The peasant girl Giselle discovers the true identity of her lover Albrecht – and that he is promised to another. Giselle kills herself. Her soul enters the ranks of the Wilis – shades of young women who died before their wedding day. All men that come across their path are compelled to dance themselves to death, and Albrecht falls into their trap. Giselle’s intercession saves Albrecht and releases her soul from the Wilis’ power.

Black Swan

A committed dancer struggles to maintain her sanity after winning the lead role in a production of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake."

Don Quixote from Birmingham Royal Ballet

Birmingham Royal Ballet perform Don Quixote in a production by Carlos Acosta. Based on Spain’s most famous novel, the classic ballet follows Don Quixote’s extraordinary adventures as he helps young lovers Kitri and Basilio find happiness. Filmed at the Birmingham Hippodrome, Don Quixote features some of ballet’s most iconic and virtuosic dance moments. Starring Momoko Hirata as Kitri, Mathias Dingman as Basilio and Tom Rogers as Don Quixote.

Bolshoi Ballet: Don Quixote

Inspired by heroic stories of brave knights, Don Quixote of La Mancha and his faithful servant Sancho Panza set out on an adventure to meet his ideal woman, Dulcinea. Cervantes’ hero comes to life in the Bolshoi's critically acclaimed staging of this exalting performance. With panache and sparkling technique, principal dancers Ekaterina Krysanova and Semyon Chudin lead the spectacular cast of toreadors, flamenco dancers, gypsies, and dryads in virtuosic dancing that is quintessential Bolshoi. Captured live on April 10, 2016

Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake

Director and choreographer Matthew Bourne's radical reworking of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. The score remains the same, but the famous corps de ballet is now danced by men.

Lo Schiaccianoci al Teatro alla Scala

The Wayward Daughter

Reconting the triumph of thwarted love thanks to cunning, Frederick Ashton’s virtuoso rendition of Dauberval's 18th Century classic "La Fille mal gardée" is a masterpiece. Its lasting popularity is not merely due to the perfect fluidity of the choreography, but also to the irresistible charm of the characters, brought to life with humour and subtlety. Be it in the farmyard or the cornfield, the hearts of Lise and Colas search for - and eventually find - each other, and in the manner of a musical, their delightful story will carry you away with its whimsy and smiles.

L'Histoire de Manon

Manon, a winsome girl with dangerously innocent allure, gives in to the temptation of wealth and becomes calculating and corrupt. For her brother Lescaut she is a bargaining chip, for old Monsieur G. M. she is an object of desire, for the student Des Grieux she is pure and simple love. MacMillan’s exhilarating and engaging ballet gives new life to the character created by Prévost and popularized through opera, delineating the allure and tragedy of the protagonist and crafting splendid male roles. Fifty years after its debut, it has lost none of its dramatic and theatrical power.

A Christmas Carol

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.

In Her Hands

Dance film inspired by the life and work of the artists Camille Claudel and Auguste Rodin.

Don Quixote (Kirov Ballet)

The story of Don Quixote tells of the old knight who dreams of chivalry and his comic squire, Sancho Panza. This performance by the Kirov has been hailed as one of the greatest large cast ballet productions ever recorded on film. The tremendous resources of the Kirov Ballet flash and dash through the four acts of joyous Petipa and Gorsky choreography making Don Quixote a thrilling visual treat. This delightful spectacle features the great Soviet dancers Tatyana Terekhova and Farouk Ruzimatov as the lovers Kitri and Basilio. Don Quixote is performed by Kirov star Vladimir Ponomaryov. Filmed live at the Kirov Theatre in Leningrad.

Billy Elliot: The Musical Live

In County Durham, England, 1984, a talented young dancer, Billy Elliot, stumbles out of the boxing ring and onto the ballet floor. He faces many trials and triumphs as he strives to conquer his family’s set ways, inner conflict, and standing on his toes in a musical that questions masculinity, gender norms and conformity.

Paris Opera Ballet: The Nutcracker

On Christmas Eve, young Clara receives a nutcracker doll and drifts into a dream where toys come alive. Guided by the transformed nutcracker prince, she moves through a world of toy soldiers, rats, and magical creatures, facing her fears and desires. Snowflakes, flowers, and fantastical landscapes frame a vivid choreography set to Tchaikovsky’s iconic score.

Take the Lead

A former professional dancer volunteers to teach dance in the New York public school system and, while his background first clashes with his students' tastes, together they create a completely new style of dance. Based on the story of ballroom dancer, Pierre Dulane.

Grace Unplugged

A talented young singer and aspiring songwriter’s Christian faith and family ties are tested when she defies her worship-pastor father and pursues pop-music stardom in GRACE UNPLUGGED, a moving and inspiring new film that explores the true meaning of success.

Battle of the Year

A down-on-his-luck coach is hired to prepare a team of the best American dancers for an international tournament that attracts all the best crews from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years.

Hounddog

A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.

A

A young alcoholic ambient musician locks himself in his apartment on a dangerous seven day bender as he attempts to finish his upcoming album.

A Chorus Line

A group of dancers congregate on the stage of a Broadway theatre to audition for a new musical production directed by Zach. After the initial eliminations, seventeen hopefuls remain, among them Cassie, who once had a tempestuous romantic relationship with Zach. She is desperate enough for work to humble herself and audition for him; whether he's willing to let professionalism overcome his personal feelings about their past remains to be seen.

Honey: Rise Up and Dance

Street dancer Skyler comes out of the shadow of her trained dancer sister, Tosha, & joins a dance competition with the Honey dance studio; the prize is a college scholarship.

Jersey Boys

A musical biopic of the Four Seasons—the rise, the tough times and personal clashes, and the ultimate triumph of a group of friends whose music became symbolic of a generation. Far from a mere tribute concert, it gets to the heart of the relationships at the centre of the group, with a special focus on frontman Frankie Valli, the small kid with the big falsetto.

Kid Galahad

After completing military service, Walter Gulick takes a job as a sparring partner at a gym, the owner of which sees potential in Walter as a professional fighter—and takes him under his wing.

Coda

A famous pianist at the twilight of his career meets a free-spirited music critic who soon becomes his rock as his mental state deteriorates.

Clika

Aspiring small-town musician Chito is determined to make it big. When a clip of him performing one of his songs goes viral, he seizes the opportunity and pushes to carve out a place for himself in the new wave of Mexican-American music... and ultimately gets caught in a game more dangerous than anticipated.

Too Late Blues

Ghost is an ideological musician and leader of a jazz band who would rather play his blues in the park to the birds than compromise himself. His peripatetic performances lead him to cross paths with a singer, while his masculinity is thrown into question following a violent brawl.

Dance Academy: The Movie

This 2017 movie follows the original dance academy TV show and tracks where the characters are in their lives now.

Fame

A chronicle of the lives of several teenagers who attend a New York high school for students gifted in the performing arts.

You Got Served

At Mr. Rad's Warehouse, the best hip-hop crews in Los Angeles compete for money and respect. But when a suburban crew crashes the party, stealing their dancers — and their moves — two warring friends have to pull together to represent the street.

Mo' Better Blues

Talented but self-centered trumpeter Bleek Gilliam is obsessed with his music and indecisiveness about his girlfriends Indigo and Clarke. But when he is forced to come to the aid of his manager and childhood friend, Bleek finds his world more fragile than he ever imagined.

The Unforgivable

A woman is released from prison after serving a sentence for a violent crime and re-enters a society that refuses to forgive her past.

TÁR

As celebrated conductor Lydia Tár starts rehearsals for a career-defining symphony, the consequences of her past choices begin to echo in the present.

A Time for Dancing

Their love of dance, and their friendship, is challenged for two high school girls when one is diagnosed with cancer.

Hands of Stone

The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.