Choreographer
The ultimate romantic ballet, performed by former Bolshoi Ballet principals Olga Smirnova and Jacopo Tissi, who fled Russia and joined the Dutch National Ballet, where this production is filmed. The young peasant girl Giselle falls in love with Albrecht, a nobleman already betrothed who hides his true identity from her. When she learns the truth, she becomes mad and dies. Against her own will, Giselle joins the Wilis: vengeful spirits of jilted brides who condemn Albrecht to dance until he dies of exhaustion… Giselle touches upon the great and universal romantic themes, and Rachel Beaujean and Ricardo Bustamante’s acclaimed production pays tribute to one of the oldest and greatest works of classical dance.
Choreographer
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.
Choreographer
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.
Choreographer
Learning that Albrecht, her beloved, is in fact a nobleman engaged to be married to a princess, the naive peasant girl Giselle dies. The Queen of the Wilis—the spirits of deceased young virgins—decides that Albrecht should follow Giselle to the grave, and condemns him to dance until he dies of exhaustion. But Giselle’s spirit dances with him and saves him. With music by Adolphe Adam and a libretto by Théophile Gautier and Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges, the ballet touches on the great romantic themes: local colour, a pastoral love affair doomed to end in tragedy, a plunge into fantasy and redemption through the power of love.
Choreographer
As young dancers, they were best friends and fierce rivals. Deedee left the stage for marriage and motherhood, while Emma would become an international ballet icon. But when Deedee's teenage daughter is invited to join Emma's dance company and begins an affair with a young Russian star, the two women are forced to confront the choices they've made, the resentments they've hidden and the emotional truths they must face at the turning point.
Choreographer
The ballet tells the story of a peasant girl named Giselle whose ghost, after her premature death, protects her lover from the vengeance of a group of evil female spirits called Wilis
Choreographer
A film version of the ballet Giselle. Filmed in a studio, using innovative editing and cinematography to go along with the choreography, this film stands out from filmed stage-performances.
