International Cinema Festival of India

One of the most famous and well-loved ballets ever performed is Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. With its magical and melodic score this ballet is an enduring Christmastime favorite. The first version was staged by the legendary choreographer Marius Pepita and premiered in December 1892. The plot revolves around the dream of young girl Clara whose godfather is the maker of the most magical toys. Set at Christmas-time, Clara has a dream that her toys come to life and this beautiful ballet is a visualization of that dream. The Nutcracker has been staged many times with notable versions being choreographed by Mikhail Baryshnikov and Rudolph Nureyev.

The ballet Swan Lake received its premiere in Moscow at the Bolshoi Theatre in February 1877. Set to the music of Tchaikovsky the story tells of the young Prince Franz who falls in love with Odette a princess who is under the spell of an evil magician. Odette can only take on her human form at night, during the day she is turned into a swan. This spell can only be broken by the love of a virgin prince. The ballet is a romantic tragedy but the ending where the couple are reunited in the afterlife is moving and uplifting. The version of Swan Lake staged in St Petersburg 1895 by Marius Pepita and Lev Ivanov is widely regarded as the definitive version.

The ballet The Sleeping Beauty is a classic ballet based on the well-loved fairytale of a princess who sleeps for 100 years after pricking her finger on a spinning wheel. The Sleeping Beauty with music by Tchaikovsky premiered in St Petersburg on the 18th of December 1892. It was choreographed Marius Pepita, famous for his contribution to 19th Century ballet.

The ballet of William Shakespeare’s well-known play about ill-fated lovers, Romeo and Juliet, is set to the music of Sergei Prokofiev. There have been many notable versions of this enduring ballet staged, with some of the most famous interpretations being choreographed by John Cranko and performed by the Stuttgart Ballet in 1962 and also Kenneth MacMillan’s 1965 version for The Royal Ballet.

The Theatre Imperial de l’Opera in Paris saw the premiere of the ballet Copplia in May 1870. The music for the ballet is by Lo Delibes. The ballet is a comic romance that features a young boy called Franz who mistakenly falls in love with a doll, Copplia, that he sees sitting on a balcony. His fiance Swanhilda impersonates Copplia in an attempt to win back her love. Confusion breaks loose, but the couple are happily reunited by the end of the story in this light-hearted and endearing ballet.

Cinderella is a comic ballet based on the well-known fairytale with music by Sergei Prokofiev. It was first performed at the Bolshoi Theatre in November 1945 choreographed by Rostislav Zakharov. Sir Frederick Ashton’s version of the ballet Cinderella premiered in Moscow in 1948.

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