Return of the Firebird presents film recreations of three of the most celebrated Ballet Russes premieres from Paris in the early years of the twentieth century. They are headed by The Firebird, whose performance brought the young Igor Stravinsky overnight fame. In this, as in the other two ballets, the lead male role is taken by the charismatic young Russian dancer, Andris Liepa, who also conceived the project and directs these films. Accompanying The Firebird is Petrushka (Stravinsky's next success) and Scheherazade, Fokine's ballet set to the popular score by Rimsky-Korsakov.

Today it is difficult to imagine the impact on audiences at the beginning of the 20th century of Serge Diaghilev (1872-1929) and his Ballets Russes. In celebration of the debut of the Ballets Russes in Paris in 1909, this wonderful Stravinsky evening at the Mariinsky Theatre showcases the original Nijinsky version of The Rite of Spring for the first time on DVD along with The Firebird, both conducted by Valery Gergiev. Thanks to the relentless work of Millicent Hodson, Nijinsky's original choreography has now been recreated, performed by the lead dancers and Ballet Company of the Saint Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre conducted by Valery Geriev, known the world over for his interpretation of Stravinsky's works.

For the twentieth anniversary of Rosas in 2002, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker asked filmmaker Thierry De Mey to make a cinematic version of Fase. Earlier on, De Mey also filmed other choreograpic works of De Keersmaeker such as Rosas danst Rosas (1997) and Tippeke (1996). De Mey selected a suitable location in Belgium for each of the four movements comprising Fase: 'Clapping' was shot in the Felix Pakhuis, an impressive factory setting in Antwerp, just prior to the renovation of the building. The filming of 'Come Out' took place on the top floor of Coca-Cola's new office building in Anderlecht. 'Violin Phase', a solo by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, was shot at the height of the summer in the woods of Tervuren. Lastly, 'Piano Phase' was filmed in the dance company's large rehearsal space in Brussels. Extraordinary camera angles, attention to positioning in space, poetic cinematography and the precision of the montage endow the filmed version of this minimalist and repetitious work with a surprising and unforgettable dynamic.

You are invited to the dance fairy-tale about the beautiful princess Goldilocks, the intrepid Jiřík and a love that helps them overcome all the obstacles laid in their path. In the several years that have elapsed since its premiere, this extremely successful production of Prague’s National Theatre Ballet has packed the auditorium of the Estates Theatre, whose exquisite interior augments the inspired sets. The performance's creators have managed to enter the fantasy world of the very youngest spectators, actively drawing them into the action and also warming up the auditorium – thanks to captivating expressional means, a singing narrator accompanying the audience throughout the entire fairy-tale, as well as Vladimír Franz's subtle and comprehensible music written tenderly and with the sense for children’s ears.

Romeo and Juliet is nowadays probably Prokofiev’s best-loved work, and has established itself as a ‘modern’ classic of the international ballet repertoire, though it did not become an acclaimed success until the Kirov Ballet’s production in 1940.
The composer wrote this ballet music at an extremely critical period in his life: after nine years of self-imposed exile, Sergey Prokofiev had spent a difficult decade moving back and forth between two worlds – the West and Stalin’s Soviet Union.
This clash of cultures – with echoes of Orwell’s 1984, and the fall of the Berlin Wall – is something which Enki Bilal has drawn on in his stage design, as has the French choreographer Angelin Preljocaj. The HDTV images have a clarity which also tellingly conveys the extraordinary quality of this 1992 Lyons ballet production, under the direction of Kent Nagano.

Rudolf Nureyev’s colourful, “movie-star” version of Prokofiev’s Cinderella retains the classic Perrault story but sets it in America during the difficult years of the Great Depression in the 1930s and 1940s. Agnès Letestu stars as Cinderella who, living with her alcoholic father, tyrannical stepmother and two spiteful stepsisters, dreams of escape and stardom in Hollywood. After a promising screen-test during which The Film Star, suavely portrayed by José Martinez, falls head over heels in love with her, she is fearful that her new-found happiness is too good to be true and will vanish with her youth. Fortunately, her magical protector (in the form of The Producer) and her lover move heaven and earth for a ‘happily ever after’ ending. This is Paris Opera Ballet at its very best.