ACK Library website: VCE Dance 2019-2023: Ballet

Significant Classical Choreographers

Performed by The Kirov Ballet, choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, music by Tchaikovsky.
In this production of the best loved classical ballet 'Swan Lake' the naturally gifted Yulia Makhalina dances the challenging role of Odette/Odile while the part of Prince Siegfried is danced by Igor Zelensky. This classic Kirov production includes the familiar happy ending in the final act where Siegfried fights and ultimately defeats the evil magician von Rothbart and at dawn is reunited with Odette. (Via YouTube).

George Balanchine (Overview)

An exploration of George Balanchine's biography, style and legacy. Via the New York City Ballet.

George Balanchine and Agon

Meet the master artist through one of his most important works, Agon. Explores Balanchine's choreographic style and frames an understanding of his work through modern and classical techniques. (Via ArtsEdge).

Balanchine Playlist

A playlist of Balachine works, comparing different interpretations of his choreography over time. (Via YouTube.)

Ballet Companies

The Australian Ballet

Company website

The Australian Ballet's YouTube Channel

The Australian Ballet. Caring for tradition, daring to be different. Feast your eyes on the latest video content from The Australian Ballet. Whether you want be inspired by upcoming performances or are interested in interviews with our artists and staff, The Australian Ballet YouTube channel is guaranteed to entertain you.

Bolshoi Ballet

Company Website (English version).

Bolshoi Ballet YouTube Channel

Bolshoi Theatre YouTube Channel

Playlist of relevant Bolshoi Ballet videos.

Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company Offical Website

The Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company is based in equal measure in the cities of Dresden and Frankfurt am Main. Internationally acclaimed choreographer Jacopo Godani serves as artistic director of the company. The repertoire of the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company consists primarily of works by Godani. His goal is the production of a vibrant new choreographic language, one that requires virtuosity in its expression while posing physical challenges to the performers. On this journey, dance’s traditional heritage will converge with contemporary thought, giving rise to a highly unique ensemble. (English version).

Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company Vimeo Channel

Hamburg Ballet

Company Website (English version).

Houston Ballet

Company Website

Houston Ballet YouTube Channel

Houston Ballet has been called "one of America's best ballet companies" by The New York Times. This channel features a video archive of Houston Ballet performances, dancer spotlights, and other Houston Ballet news.

New York City Ballet

Company website

New York City Ballet's YouTube Channel

New York City Ballet is one of the foremost dance companies in the world with a roster of 90 extraordinary dancers and an unparalleled active repertory of more than 150 works, nearly all of which were created for the Company, and many of them considered modern masterpieces.

New York City Ballet on Film

A playlist of trailers for films featuring the New York City Ballet: Bringing Balanchine Back, NY Export: Opus Jazz, and Ballet 422.

A Ballet In Sneakers (short film)

Following the New York City ballet's performance of Jerome Robbins' 1958 'ballet in sneakers', this short documentary charts the progression of the latest production and looks back at how the original performances wowed audiences around the world. (From the US) (Documentary) (Via Enhanced TV - login required.)

Significant Classical Dancers

Vaslav Nijinsky (Encyclopædia Britannica)

Vaslav Nijinsky, Russian-born ballet dancer of almost legendary fame, celebrated for his spectacular leaps and sensitive interpretations. After a brilliant school career, Nijinsky became a soloist at the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, in 1907, appearing in such classical ballets as Giselle, Swan Lake, and The Sleeping Beauty. In 1909 he joined Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, and the company’s choreographer Michel Fokine created Le Spectre de la rose, Petrushka, Schéhérazade, and other ballets expressly for him. Nijinsky’s own works as a choreographer include L’Après-midi d’un faune and Le Sacre du printemps. Biography, legacy and suggested additional reading.

In The Spirit Of Diaghilev

To celebrate the centenary of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, these are three works commissioned from choreographers Wayne McGregor (Dyad 1909), Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui (Faun) and Russell Maliphant (Afterlight) which aim to reflect the revolutionary spirit of the original performances by Nijinsky and the Russian troupe. Before each performance, short inserts provide some background information while the choreographers discuss the sources of inspiration for each piece. (From the UK) (Masterpiece) (Dance) (Via EnhancedTV - login required).

Margot (full movie)

Beautiful and heartbreaking, Margot brings to the screen with breathtaking vividness the glamorous and turbulent life of Britain's first international ballet superstar.

Inspired by Meredith Daneman's riveting biography, this film focuses on Dame Margot Fonteyn's relationship with Rudolf Nureyev. A relationship which electrified Fonteyn's career when she was already past the age most dancers retire, and a relationship that intrigued the world. Was the ardour that Fonteyn and Nureyev expressed for each other while dancing also consummated in bed?

At the age of 40, Dame Margot Fonteyn (Anne Marie Duff -- TheVirgin Queen; Shameless) was already one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century, but beneath her elegantly poised facade was a woman painfully aware of the future. Torn between her loyalties to The Royal Ballet and her marriage to the notorious and unfaithful Panamanian diplomat, Roberto 'Tito' de Arias (Con O'Neill -- Criminal Justice), Fonteyn sensed mounting pressure to consider retirement.

But as Fonteyn's stardom was beginning to wane, her unexpected pairing with the young Russian emigre Rudolph Nureyev (Michiel Huisman - The Young Victoria) caused a global sensation. And while her private life collapsed, Fonteyn's passionate and vibrant relationship with Nureyev transformed her into a worldwide celebrity and created one of the most enduring and celebrated ballet partnerships of all time. (Via Enhanced TV - login required.)

Rudolf Nureyev (Encyclopædia Britannica)

Rudolf Nureyev, a ballet dancer whose suspended leaps and fast turns were often compared to Vaslav Nijinsky’s legendary feats. He was a flamboyant performer and a charismatic celebrity who revived the prominence of male ballet roles and significantly widened the audience for ballet. Biography and legacy.

Nureyev: From Russia With Love (full documentary film)

Tells the story of Nureyev's life in Russia up to and including his defection to the West. Extensive home movies and previously unseen archives from Nureyev's childhood and adolescence in Russia, including his early triumphs on stage in Leningrad, are moving examples of an immense talent in its early stages of development. Friends, lovers and fellow dancers all have vivid memories of their experiences with him; not all are complimentary. (From the UK, in English, Russian and French, English subtitles) (Via Enhanced TV - login required.)

In Nureyev's Steps

The Paris Opera Ballet stages a tribute to legendary Russian-born ballet superstar Rudolph Nureyev. Nureyev hit the world headlines when he defected from the Soviet Kirov Ballet at the Paris Airport in 1961. Nureyev became a star on and off stage, associating with the likes of Jackie Onassis, Mick Jagger and Andy Warhol. Throughout the 1960s he formed a legendary professional partnership with British prima ballerina Margot Fonteyn. In 1983 he was appointed director of the Paris Opera Ballet, while continuing to dance and to promote young dancers like Sylvie Guillem, Isabel Guerin, Elisabeth Morin, Charles Jude and many others. These dancers pay tribute to the exceptionally talented and charismatic man who inspired their careers. (From France, in French, English subtitles) (Via Enhanced TV - login required.)

Nureyev's Don Quixote (full ballet)

With the Australian Ballet, starring Rudolf Nureyev and Sir Robert Helpmann, this ballet is considered one of Australia's greatest artistic achievements - originally filmed in an airport hangar in Melbourne in 1973, in 40 degree heat over 25 days. (Via Enhanced TV - login required.)

Mikhail Baryshnikov (Encyclopædia Britannica)

Mikhail Baryshnikov, Soviet-born American ballet dancer who was the preeminent male classical dancer of the 1970s and ’80s. He subsequently became a noted dance director. Biography and legacy.

Iconoclasts: Mikhail Baryshnikov And Alice Waters

An inside look at the lives of friends, world-renowned dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov and author, award-winning chef and advocate Alice Waters. (Via Enhanced TV - login required.)

Did you know Mikhail Baryshnikov appeared in the tv show Sex and the City? In the show's final season, he plays a fictional Russian artist Aleksandr Petrovsky who is a love interest to Carrie.

Misty Copeland Official Wedsite

An Unlikely Ballerina. (New Yorker article)

The rise of Misty Copeland. By Rivka Galchen. (Via Ebsco)