Ballet performance video 5

Fonteyne and Nureyev: The Perfect Partnership Video

DVD Only (D1151) - $19.99
Margot Fonteyn & Rudolf Nureyev … perhaps the greatest partnership in the history of ballet.  For the first time, their most acclaimed performances, which have long thrilled audiences worldwide, have been captured together on one videocassette.  The program traces their partnership from its glorious inception in 1962 (in “Giselle” at Covent Garden), to its grand finale some 17 years later. It is unique in that it includes rare, behind-the-scenes footage of both dancers. This special tribute program has now become even more of a treasure due to the passing of both Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev.  Their legendary partnership was recently hailed by the press as when “… ballet was never more gripping, never more transporting, than when her perfect pose met his ardent theatricality.”  Robert Powell narrates and ballet personalities such as dame Ninette de Valois, founder of The Royal Ballet, provide their thoughts and memories on the lives of Fonteyn, Nureyev and their association.  The synergy of their partnership was electrifying, and their impact on the world of ballet remains unmatched.  This collector's item is an intriguing visual biography of the greatest ballet partnership of all time.

90 mins.  (DVD - 2005)
DVD - All Region

William Forsythe: From A Classical Position - Just Dancing Around Video

William Forsythe's research into ways of engendering and organizing movement has led him to pursue counterpoint, proprioperception, entrainment, and authenticity for organizational principles that also allow improvisation.

Artistic director and choreographer of the Ballet Frankfurt and himself trained in ballet, Forsythe shows an appreciation of and often a critical engagement with classical dance, transforming and revitalizing it. When he works collaboratively, Forsythe challenges the traditional distinction between choreographer and dancer, thus questioning hierarchy, authorship and disciplinary boundaries.

78 mins. (2007)
DVD - Region 1.

Giselle - Fernando Bujones Video  (D1289)

Ballet virtuoso Fernando Bujones stars in the brilliant production of Giselle with the Ballet Teatro Municipal of Rio de Janeiro. This electrifying performance captures Bujones at the peak of his career.

Critically acclaimed as one of the great male dancers of the 20th century, Bujones' stamina and explosive style fill his every performance with special excitement. Clive Barnes hailed Bujones' technique as possibly unmatched anywhere. Reporting on his role in Giselle, the NY Times asked could any dancer jump so high?

102 mins. (2008)
DVD - Region 1 (Canada, United States; U.S. territories; Bermuda)

Giselle - The Kirov Ballet Video (D4069)

Starring: Galina Mezentseva, Konstantin Zaklinsky, Angelina Kabarova. Conductor: Viktor Fedotov. Choreographer: Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot. Composer: Adolphe Adam.

The romantic ballet, Giselle, first seen in 1841, was the finest of the ballets staged in Paris during the age of Romanticism. Over the years Giselle disappeared from the repertory outside Russia, and has only survived through the recognition of its quality and the preservation of its traditions by the Kirov Ballet. The role of Giselle has been compared to that of Hamlet. She is a simple peasant girl, driven from joy to madness and death through an unhappy love. She is transformed into a ghost and ordered to help destroy the man who betrayed her, while still seeking to sustain him because of her undying love.

108 mins. (2006)
DVD - Region 1.

Giselle Video

DVD Only (D1300) - $29.99
Ballet great Rudolf Nureyev stars as Albrecht in a lovely production of the dance perennial.  This was one of Nureyev's greatest successes in his native Russia, and he has performed the role around the world ever since. Giselle – perhaps the quintessential ballet heroine – is danced by the great Canadian prima ballerina Lynn Seymour. Nureyev's production brings this timeless tragedy of love found, lost and redeemed to life.

78 mins. (2004)
DVD - All Region