Manon (The Royal Ballet) (2018)

Giselle

The peasant girl Giselle discovers the true identity of her lover Albrecht – and that he is promised to another. This is one of The Royal Ballet’s most loved and admired productions, faithful to the spirit of the 1841 original yet always fresh at each revival. This performance features former Bolshoi star and now Royal Ballet Principal Natalia Osipova in a breath-taking interpretation of the title role.

The Nutcracker

This all-time ballet favourite, in which young Clara is swept into a fantasy adventure when one of her Christmas presents comes to life, is at its most enchanting in Peter Wright's glorious production.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker (Valery Gergiev)

During a Christmas Eve party and a young girl, Clara, being given a nutcracker doll by her godfather, Drosselmeyer. Later in the evening when Clara sleeps, she finds herself in the midst of the Nutcracker’s battle against the Mouse King and his army of mice. Coming to Clara’s aid, the Nutcracker is transformed into a Prince and journeys with her to an enchanted island where spectacular celebrations are held in their honor. Pre-recorded at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg in December 2011, Wassili Vainonen’s version of the beloved holiday ballet is for the first time in 3-D in select theaters.

Save the Last Dance

After the death of her mother, Sara moves to the South Side of Chicago to live with her father and gets transferred to a majority-black school. Her life takes a turn for the better when befriends Chenille and her brother Derek, who helps her with her dancing skills.

The Sleeping Beauty (Royal Ballet)

The wicked fairy Carabosse is furious she wasn’t invited to Princess Aurora’s christening. She gives the baby a spindle, saying that one day the Princess will prick her finger on it and die. The Lilac Fairy makes her own christening gift a softening of Carabosse’s curse: Aurora will not die, but will fall into a deep sleep, which only a prince’s kiss will break. The masterful 19th-century choreography of Marius Petipa is combined with sections created for The Royal Ballet by Frederick Ashton, Anthony Dowell and Christopher Wheeldon. Recorded live as part of the Royal Opera House Live Cinema Season 2019/20 with encore screenings broadcast online during the #OurHousetoYourHouse programme.

Center Stage

A group of 12 teenagers from various backgrounds enroll at the American Ballet Academy in New York to make it as ballet dancers and each one deals with the problems and stress of training and getting ahead in the world of dance.

The Phantom of the Opera

The deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House causes murder and mayhem in an attempt to make the woman he loves a star.

Billy Elliot

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.

Bolshoi Ballet: Coppélia

Swanhilda notices her fiancee Franz is infatuated with the beautiful Coppélia who sits reading on her balcony each day. Nearly breaking up the two sweethearts, Coppélia is not what she seems and Swanhilda decides to teach Franz a lesson… The Bolshoi’s unique version of Coppélia exhibits a fascinating reconstruction of the original 19th century choreography of this ebullient comedy involving a feisty heroine, a boyish fiancee with a wandering eye, and an old dollmaker. The company’s stunning corps de ballet shines in the divertissements and famous “dance of the hours,” and its principals abound in youthful energy and irresistible humor in this effervescent production.

Step Up 2: The Streets

When rebellious street dancer Andie lands at the elite Maryland School of the Arts, she finds herself fighting to fit in while also trying to hold onto her old life. When she joins forces with the schools hottest dancer, Chase, to form a crew of classmate outcasts to compete in Baltimore s underground dance battle The Streets.

The Sleeping Beauty

The Sleeping Beauty holds a special place in The Royal Ballet’s repertory. It was the ballet with which the Company reopened the Royal Opera House in 1946 after World War II, its first production at its new home in Covent Garden. Margot Fonteyn danced the role of the beautiful Princess Aurora in the first performance, with Robert Helpmann as Prince Florimund. Sixty years later, in 2006, the original 1946 staging was revived by then Director of The Royal Ballet Monica Mason and Christopher Newton, returning Oliver Messel’s wonderful designs and glittering costumes to the stage.

The ROH Live: Jewels

Now celebrating its 50th year, George Balanchine’s sparkling ballet still shines with all the brilliance of the gemstones that inspired it.

La Fille mal gardée

Ever since its triumphant premiere in 1960, Frederick Ashton's La Fille mal gardee has been treasured as one of his happiest creations - his artistic tribute to nature, and an expression of his feelings for his beloved Suffolk countryside. Marianela Nunez and Carlos Acosta perfectly portray the young lovers Lise and Colas, determined to thwart the plans of Widow Simone to marry off her wayward daughter to Alain, the simple son of wealthy Farmer Thomas. Osbert Lancaster's colourful, picture-book designs, along with Ferdinand Herold's tuneful score, arranged by John Lanchbery, provide the perfect setting for Ashton's blissfully bucolic ballet, complete with haywain, pony, maypole and ribbons, a cockrel and his chickens and, of course, the famous clog dance, here wonderfully led by William Tuckett as the irascible but lovable Widow Simone.

Bolshoi Ballet: A Hero of Our Time

Pechorin, a young officer, embarks on a journey across the majestic mountains of the Caucasus, on a path set by his passionate encounters. Disillusioned and careless, he inflicts pain upon himself and the women around him… The story, based on the larger-than-life hero Pechorin, is adapted from Mikhail Lermontov’s literary masterpiece in three separate stories recounting his heartbreaking betrayals. Is Pechorin a real hero? Or is he a man like any other? This brand new production by choreographer Yuri Possokhov is a tragic poetic journey that can only be seen at the Bolshoi. Filmed live on April 9th 2017.

The Bolshoi Ballet: A Contemporary Evening

For one evening, the Bolshoi takes on a new challenge with audacity in The Cage by Jerome Robbins, Harald Lander’s Études and Alexei Ratmansky’s Russian Seasons.

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.

Swan Lake

Matthew Bourne choreographs this performance of Tchaikovsky's ballet, filmed live in London. The show, the longest running ballet on both Broadway and the West End, follows the story of Prince Siegfried, who promises his love to swan maiden Odette, only to be tricked by magician Von Rothbart. The stars include Richard Winsor, Dominic North, Nina Goldman, Madelaine Brennan, Steve Kirkham and Joseph Vaughan.

In Her Hands

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

The Nutcracker

In 1920s Vienna, a young girl receives a magical doll on Christmas Eve.

Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary

A cinematic version of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet's adaptation of Bram Stoker's gothic novel Dracula. Filmed in a style reminiscent of silent Expressionist cinema of the early 20th century (complete with intertitles and monochrome photography), it uses dance to tell the story of a sinister but intriguing immigrant who preys upon young English women.

The Winter's Tale (The Royal Ballet)

The story follows the destruction of a marriage through consuming jealousy, the abandonment of a child and a seemingly hopeless love. Yet, through remorse and regret – and after a statue comes miraculously to life – the ending is one of forgiveness and reconciliation. Wheeldon continues his highly successful collaboration with designer Bob Crowley and composer Joby Talbot, the team behind Alice, in one of the highlights of The Royal Ballet Season.

Romeo and Juliet: Beyond Words

As members of the feuding Capulet and Montague families, Romeo and Juliet should be sworn enemies, but they fall deeply in love and marry in secret. That very day, disastrous circumstances lead Romeo to fight and kill Juliet’s cousin Tybalt, setting off a chain of events that culminate in tragedy.

The Tales of Hoffmann

A young poet named Hoffman broods over his failed romances. First, his affair with the beautiful Olympia is shattered when he realizes that she is really a mechanical woman designed by a scientist. Next, he believes that a striking prostitute loves him, only to find out she was hired to fake her affections by the dastardly Dapertutto. Lastly, a magic spell claims the life of his final lover.

Tales of Beatrix Potter

The Royal Ballet Company brings Squirrel Nutkin, Tom Thumb, Hunca Munca, Jemima Puddle-Duck, Jeremy Fisher, Pigling Bland, and Pigwig to the screen doing pirouettes and pas de deux in this filmed ballet production directed by Reginald Mills. The film more properly belongs, however, to choreographer Frederick Ashmore, composer John Lanchbery, and costume designer Rostislav Douboujinsky. This literal adaptation concerns the shy Beatrix Potter and how, when all of the toy animals in her room come to life, she emerges from her shell and begins to enjoy life. Sequences include a rowdy dance with Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca destroying a collection of plaster food, a midnight pas de deux between Pigling Bland and Pigwig, and a corps de ballet of dancing mice.

Aria

Ten short pieces directed by ten different directors, including Ken Russell, Jean-Luc Godard, Robert Altman, Bruce Beresford, and Nicolas Roeg. Each short uses an aria as soundtrack/sound, and is an interpretation of the particular aria.

Concerto / Enigma Variations / Raymonda Act III (Royal Ballet)

From The Royal Ballet’s classical origins in the works of Petipa, to the home-grown choreographers who put British ballet on the world stage, this mixed programme highlights the versatility of the Company. Petipa’s Raymonda Act III is Russian classical ballet summarized in one act, full of sparkle and precise technique, while Ashton’s Enigma Variations is quintessentially British in every way – from its score by Elgar and period designs by Julia Trevelyan Oman, to Ashton’s signature style, the essence of British ballet. Concerto, MacMillan’s fusion of classical technique with a contemporary mind, completes a programme that shows the breadth of the Company’s heritage.

Like Water for Chocolate

Tita, who lives on a ranch in Mexico, falls in love with a boy, Pedro, who lives nearby; but when they want to get married, Tita's family prevents it, because she must remain single to take care of her mother.

Matthew Bourne's Romeo + Juliet

Matthew Bourne's Romeo and Juliet is a passionate and contemporary re-imagining of Shakespeare's classic love story. Bursting with youth, vitality and Matthew Bourne's trademark storytelling.

The Company

Ensemble drama centered around a group of ballet dancers, with a focus on one young dancer who's poised to become a principal performer.

The Nutcracker

On Christmas Eve, a little girl named Marie falls asleep and dreams herself into a fantastic world in which her toys become larger than life. She meets up with the Nutcracker Prince who takes her on a journey to his kingdom and defends her from the Mouse King.

Pippi Longstocking

Pippi Longstocking, a superhuman girl, extremely strong, redhead with pigtails and freckles, moves to Villa Villekulla, a wooden house located in a small town, together with her monkey, Mr. Nilsson, and her horse, Little Old Man. She soon befriends the children who live next door, Tommy and Annika, with whom she will live many fun adventures. (At Finnish National Opera and Ballet, December 14, 2019.)

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

One sunny afternoon, during a garden party, young Alice sees with surprise how the writer Lewis Carroll, a friend of her parents, unusually turns into a white rabbit, and immediately feels the irrepressible desire to follow him into a magical rabbit hole.

The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall

A disfigured musical genius, hidden away in the Paris Opera House, terrorises the opera company for the unwitting benefit of a young protégée whom he trains and loves. The 25th anniversary of the first public performance of Phantom of the Opera was celebrated with a grand performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Nutcracker: The Motion Picture

In this Pacific Northwest Ballet performance, it is Christmas Eve and festivities are underway. Clara is excited when her godfather arrives with a bag full of gifts, one of which is an intriguing wooden nutcracker. That night, while the household sleeps, Clara visits the Christmas tree to inspect her nutcracker and soon finds herself immersed in a dream world both dark and enchanting.

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

Plot unavailable

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.

The Champion

Eikichi Yamashiro, who is a former contender for the boxing title, works as a manager at a Club Champion owned by his fiancé Natsuko’s father. He lost a title match five years ago as he was besotted by Natsuko, but Eikichi actually cannot give up the dream of the championship. One day, he meets Shuntaro Fuma, who is a punk kid but a promising boxer, and realizes the dream that he himself could never fulfill. Then, they together start to train with the aim of the title. Mari Shiraki is an up-and-coming ballerina under the patronage of Eikichi as well. Eikichi forbids Shuntaro and Mari to be romantically involved with someone during their training, however, they start to go on a date. (source: Nikkatsu International)

The Royal Ballet: The Nutcracker

Clara is given an enchanted Nutcracker doll on Christmas Eve. As midnight strikes, she creeps downstairs to find a magical adventure awaiting her and her Nutcracker. Recorded on stage 3 December 2018—15 January 2019 as part of the Autumn 2018/19 season.

Don Quixote (Royal Opera House)

Don Quixote and his servant Sancho Panza set out to have a chivalrous adventure. They meet Kitri and Basilio, a young couple who cannot marry because Kitri's father is determined to marry her off to the wealthy Gamache. Don Quixote decides to intervene. It was on stage 15 February—4 April 2019 as part of the Winter 2018/19 season.

The Coronation Concert

Take That, Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, Andrea Bocelli, Sir Bryn Terfel, Freya Ridings and many more perform live from Windsor Castle in celebration of Their Majesties' coronation.

Swan Lake

Perhaps the most popular ballet video ever released, this version of Tchaikovsky's beloved work stars one of the most famous classical dance partnerships of all time, Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn. Nureyev choreographed this production for the Vienna State Opera Ballet. Two icons of 20th-century dance in magnificent form. Ballet authority John Lanchbery, former music director of the Sadler's Wells and Royal Ballet companies, as well as of American Ballet Theatre and Australian Ballet, conducts the Vienna Symphony Orchestra in Tchaikovsky's enchanting score.

The Blu-ray Experience: Opera & Ballet

Including world-class artists such as Bryn Terfel, Cecilia Bartoli, Anne Sofie von Otter, Jose Cura, Simon Keenlyside and Agnes Letestu, this 50-minute sampler will give you a taste of many beloved classics in opera and ballet.

Carlos Acosta: Spartacus

Internationally acclaimed as the greatest male dancer of his generation, Carlos Acosta stars as the rebel slave in the most spectacular of Soviet ballets. Filmed in Paris after triumphant performances in Moscow and London, the Bolshoi's classic production presents the Cuban star at the height of his physical and dramatic powers -- as the greatest Spartacus of our time.

Mayerling

Edward Watson takes the role of Crown Prince Rudolf in Kenneth MacMillan's compelling ballet which lives out the final eight years of Rudolf's life with its relentless downward spiral of political intrigue, drugs and murder. It culminates with the suicide pact at the hunting lodge - known as Mayerling - between Rudolf and his 17-year-old mistress, Mary Vetsera (Mara Galeazzi). Filmed in high definition and recorded in true surround sound.

Black Tights

Lively scenes of Paris, all narrated by Maurice Chevalier, link together four dramatic ballet choreographies by Roland Petit: La Croqueuse de diamants (The Gold Digger), Cyrano de Bergerac, Deuil en 24 heures (A Merry Mourning), and Carmen.

Pas de Deux

Two ballet dancers perform a dance enhanced with surreal after-image visuals.

Matthew Bourne's The Red Shoes

The Red Shoes is a tale of obsession, possession and one girl's dream to be the greatest dancer in the world. Victoria Page lives to dance but her ambitions become a battleground between the two men who inspire her passion. Matthew Bourne’s magical adaptation of the classic Powell and Pressburger film is set to the achingly romantic music of golden-age Hollywood composer Bernard Herrmann, the production is orchestrated by Terry Davies, with stunning designs by Lez Brotherston, lighting by Paule Constable, sound by Paul Groothuis and projection design by Duncan McLean. Filmed live at Sadler’s Wells in London especially for cinemas.

Sylvia (Royal Ballet)

Darcey Bussell and Roberto Bolle star in Frederick Ashton's Sylvia, restored to the splendour of its elegant and opulent three-act form for the 75th anniversary celebrations of The Royal Ballet. With origins in Greek mythology, Sylvia was loved by Aminta, abducted by Orion and eventually rescued by Eros. Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 1st and 5th December 2005.

Out Where the Stars Begin

When the ballerina star of a musical feature walks off in a huff, aided by the fit-throwing director, her understudy steps in and a star is born.

Bolshoi Ballet: Carmen Suite / Petrushka

Carmen: Impetuous Carmen seduces Don José in order to convince him to let her out of jail. Once outside, she thinks she’s finally free before realizing that she’s in fact prisoner of a love triangle: she wants to be with the famous Torero Escamillo, but she can’t make Don José go away. Petruska: At Saint-Petersburg’s carnival, three puppets are playing the same role over and over: the unhappy lover Petrushka, the coquette and a Moor. Fed up with this endless part that never goes well for him, Petrushka attacks his rival and flees from the puppets theater. Carmen Suite, staged by Alberto Alonso, is a one act ballet about a passionate, free-spirited woman caught in a love triangle. Stanislavsky’s Petrushka, choreographed by Edward Clug, encapsulates the story of a puppet that came to life, burdened by the human emotions of love, jealousy, and rage. Both stories envelop the characters which refuse to abide by the rules, to whom even the thought of submission is repulsive.

Bolshoi Ballet: La Sylphide

On his wedding day, the young Scotsman James is awakened with a kiss from an ethereal winged creature, a Sylph. Entranced by her beauty, James risks everything to pursue an unattainable love. La Sylphide is one of the world’s oldest surviving ballets, and a treasure in Danish ballet master August Bournonville’s style. Staged for the Bolshoi by Bournonville expert Johan Kobborg, this production is the ultimate romantic masterpiece. Captured live from the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.

Bolshoi Ballet: The Nutcracker

On Christmas Eve, Marie’s Nutcracker doll magically transforms into a prince and their wonderful adventure begins. The holiday classic returns to the majestic Bolshoi stage for a live broadcast of a timeless story, The Nutcracker, taking audiences of all ages on a magical journey through a world of enchantment complete with dancing snowflakes and dolls that have come to life, accompanied by Tchaikovsky’s beloved score.

Edward Scissorhands

In a castle high on a hill lives Edward; a boy created by an eccentric inventor. When his creator dies he is left alone and unfinished with only scissors for hands until a kindly townswoman invites him to live with her suburban family. Can Edward find his place in the well-meaning community which struggles to see past his curious appearance to the innocence and gentleness within?

Center Stage: On Pointe

Jonathan Reeves is tasked with infusing more contemporary styles and modernism into the American Ballet Academy, and enlists his top choreographers Charlie, Cooper and Tommy to recruit dancers to compete at a camp where the winners will be selected to join the Academy. Bella Parker, who has always lived in the shadow of her hugely successful sister Kate, finally gets her chance to step into the limelight as one of the dancers recruited for the camp.

High Strung

When a hip hop violinist busking in the New York subway encounters a classical dancer on scholarship at the Manhattan Conservatory of the Arts, sparks fly. With the help of a hip hop dance crew they must find a common ground while preparing for a competition that could change their lives forever.