Dance and music enthusiasts rejoice! If you enjoy our annual summer performances by the Baton Rouge Youth Ballet, we have special treats awaiting you. Ballet troupes in colorful costumes perform fairy tale and folktale stories from around the world, and you can watch them all from the comfort of your home at your convenience through medici.tv. Explore the platform for more ballet and classical music content. Curated by Samantha Matherne.
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Cinderella by Frederick Ashton, music by Sergei Prokofiev
Marianela Nuñez (Cinderella), Vadim Muntagirov (The Prince), Luca Acri and Gary Avis (The Step-Sisters)…– The Royal Ballet
75 years after it first lit up London’s Royal Ballet, Sir Frederick Ashton’s classic 1948 choreography for Prokofiev’s Cinderella returns to Covent Garden in a glorious frenzy of shapes and colors, taffetas and tulles, with an astonishing cast — including Marianela Nuñez and Vadim Muntagirov — bringing the fairy tale to colorful life!
The story of Cinderella has inspired countless writers, artists, composers, and choreographers over the centuries, and this comic ballet is one of the most memorable adaptations. In Ashton’s reimagining, the stepsisters’ grotesqueness is counterbalanced by the infinite grace of the title character (an exquisite Marianela Nuñez) and the charm of the Prince (Vadim Muntagirov). Gorgeous costumes by Alexandra Byrne enhance and round out the kaleidoscoping magic of this remarkable anniversary performance.
The Little Mermaid by Jan Kodet, music by Zbyněk Matějů
Magdaléna Matějková (The Little Mermaid), Ondřej Vinklát (The Prince), Michaela Wenzelová (The Witch) — Czech National Ballet
Relive the marvelous and famed adventures of the little mermaid, heroine of the eponymous tale by Hans Christian Andersen, on the stage of Prague’s National Theatre, in a new and poetic ballet choreographed by Jan Kodet on a score by Czech contemporary composer Zbyněk Matějů. A fantastic show for the whole family, staged by the brilliant scenic duo made up of Martin Kukučka and Lukáš Trpišovský!
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by George Balanchine, music by Mendelssohn
Eleonora Abbagnato (Titania), Paul Marque (Oberon), Fanny Gorse (Helena) — Paris Opera Ballet
Countless choreographers have sought inspiration in the work of the Bard, including the great Jean-Georges Noverre, proponent of the expressive ballet d’action, and Marius Petipa, who was the first to use Mendelssohn’s incidental music to accompany a staging of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The legendary George Balanchine, who also loved the Mendelssohn score, tried his hand at the task in 1962, creating this storied choreography for the New York City Ballet—faithful to the text while incorporating subtle hints of pantomime, the Balanchine Midsummer Night’s Dream sets the comic love story in two dazzling acts.
Theseus, the duke of Athens, and Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons (danced by the mesmerizing Alice Renavand), find themselves caught in a quarrel between the king and queen of the fairies, Oberon and Titania. When the mischievous Puck enters the fray with a love potion and a troupe of amateur actors, anything is possible… This wildly entertaining, gorgeously wrought production by the Paris Opera Ballet benefits as much from its Shakespearean source and Balanchine’s choreography as from the breathtaking sets and costumes by world-famous fashion designer Christian Lacroix, all of which combine to create a dreamlike, bewitching, and delightfully immersive atmosphere.
The Painting on the Wall by Angelin Preljocaj, music by Nicolas Godin
Based on a Chinese folktale — With the Ballet Preljocaj
Experience the magic of Angelin Preljocaj’s La Fresque (The Painting on the Wall)! Inspired by a 13th-century Chinese folktale of the same name, this striking ballet recounts the story of a young man so enthralled by the painted image of a woman that he ends up transported into the world of the painting to pursue his love. Using this romance as a lens, Preljocaj questions the concept of the image: “I would like this show to explore the mysterious relationships between representation and reality,” he says. “Dance creates links between static image and motion, immediacy and duration, animate and inert.”
The sumptuous set design by Constance Guisset, coupled with the ambient and ethereal music by Nicolas Godin (of the band Air), enhances the fluid movements of the dancers of the Ballet Preljocaj, all parts combining to form a hypnotic whole that immerses even the spectators in that imagined realm of the painting, evoking “a dream state that grows increasingly hypnotic as the beat pulses on” (The Guardian).
Scheherazade by Mauro Bigonzetti, music by Rimsky-Korsakov
Czech National Ballet
To escape the wrath of her tyrannical and murderous husband, King Shahryar, Scheherazade told him a new story every night for 1001 nights, always ending on a cliffhanger to maintain his interest. Through the power of her narration, Scheherazade transformed the ruler and eventually became his queen. Thus goes the story framing One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of Middle Eastern folktales, commonly known as Arabian Nights. Renowned Italian choreographer Mauro Bigonzetti brings this famous tale to life in his exceptional production of Scheherazade for the Czech National Ballet, in collaboration with Carlo Cerri and the music of Rimsky-Korsakov’s sweepingly majestic orchestral suite. The ballet features a mesmerizing, diverse dance idiom with extraordinary visual dimensions, creating a beautiful blend of contemporary and classical elements.
Sleeping Beauty by David McAllister, after Marius Petipa, music by Tchaikovsky
Lana Jones (Princess Aurora), Kevin Jackson (Prince Désiré), Amber Scott (The Lilac Fairy), Lynette Wills (Carabosse)
A princess in a deep sleep, a wicked fairy godmother, a prince’s kiss… Rediscover Marius Petipa’s Sleeping Beauty—based on the fairy tale by Charles Perrault and the brothers Grimm—set to Tchaikovsky’s sweeping, timeless score in this incredible production by David MacAllister. The dancers of the Australian Ballet transport us into a fairytale world and bring to life the adventures of the prince and princess, from the witch’s curse through the enchanted kiss.
Resplendent in the sumptuous costumes of award-winning designer Gabriela Tylesova, the world-renowned dancers shine brightly against the splendid décor of the Arts Centre Melbourne. The ballet concludes with the marriage of the two soul mates, a grand celebration of love amidst golden confetti, accompanied by Tchaikovsky’s majestic music performed by the Orchestra Victoria… David McAllister, the artistic director of the Australian Ballet, successfully revives Marius Petipa’s celebrated ballet with a stellar casting, featuring the dazzling Lana Jones in the role of Princess Aurora and the exceptional Kevin Jackson as Prince Charming!
Swan Lake by Valery Kovtun after Petipa, music by Tchaikovsky
Natalia Matsak (Odette / Odile), Denys Nedak (Prince Siegfried), Yaroslav Tkachuk (Rothbart) — Ballet of the National Opera of Ukraine
Of the many beloved classical ballets in the repertoire, Swan Lake may be the most iconic of all, performed perhaps more than any other for a greater number of dazzled spectators all over the world since its first staging in 1877. The “classic” version by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, first performed in 1894, laid the foundations for all subsequent productions, most notably that of the great Rudolf Nureyev. Valery Kovtun’s version, presented by the storied Ballet of the National Opera of Ukraine—world-renowned representatives of one of the grandest balletic traditions—remains true to the spirit of the original, guaranteeing emotion and enchantment amid the sounds of Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece, one of the most lush and beautiful scores ever written.
La Sylphide by Erik Bruhn after Bournonville, music by Herman Løvenskiold
Leanne Stojmenov (The Sylph), Daniel Gaudiello (James), Vivienne Wong (Effie), Andrew Wright (Gurn) — Australian Ballet
Revisit a monument of ballet history: La Sylphide, in a production directed by Erik Bruhn following the legendary original choreography of August Bournonville! This veritable tragedy in dance tells the story of a young Scotsman who leaves his fiancée out of love for a sylph—a spirit of the air that he alone can see…
The impeccable artists of the Australian Ballet, led by Leanne Stojmenov and Daniel Gaudiello, offer a dazzling interpretation of La Sylphide, set among the sumptuous sets by Anne Fraser which beautifully complement this romantic masterpiece, whose Paris premiere in 1832 is widely thought to mark the beginning of en pointe dancing by the incredible Marie Taglioni!
Kaguyahíme: The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter by Jo Kanamori, music by Debussy
Tokyo Ballet
Dancer and choreographer Jo Kanamori brings Japan’s oldest surviving literary tale to life on the ballet stage: the tenth-century masterpiece Kaguya-hime (The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter), in a sublime imagining with the Tokyo Ballet, set to the music of Claude Debussy. The story of a beautiful and mysterious young princess with cosmic origins who captivates a host of suitors—including the Emperor of Japan—Kaguya-hime has inspired many artistic creations, including the 2013 Studio Ghibli film The Tale of Princess Kaguya, directed by Isao Takahata. Kanamori’s three-act work, which evolves through the seasons and alternates between contemporary and traditional settings, is supremely interpreted by the world-renowned Tokyo Ballet. Akira Akiyama interprets the delicate role of Princess Kaguya in dances created to some of Debussy’s most sumptuous music, including the Suite bergamasque that gives us the famous Clair de lune—which, fittingly for our lunar princess, means “moonlight.”
Shelf Analysis 