Irek Mukhamedov

When everyone in town falls under the spell of charismatic cosmetic surgeon Doctor Coppelius, feisty Swan must act to save her sweetheart Franz, before his heart is used to spark life into Coppelia – the ‘perfect’ robot-woman the Doctor has created.

Nikiya, a temple dancer, is in love with the warrior Solor. The High Brahmin also desires Nikiya, and when she rejects him, he plans to take revenge on Solor. When the High Brahmin tells the Rajah about Solor’s secret love, the Rajah decides that Nikiya, not Solor, should be killed. Princess Gamzatti is to be married to Solor. She overhears and tries to bribe Nikiya to give up Solor, but Nikiya refuses. The Rajah and Gamzatti arrange for Nikiya to be killed by a snake bite during the engagement festivities. Despondent, Solor is filled with remorse and haunted by visions of Nikiya. He cannot complete the wedding ceremony. The gods are angered and destroy the temple with all inside it. In the afterlife, Solor and Nikiya are finally united.

Spartacus, the story of a Roman slave's fight for freedom, is one the great epic adventure stories. Grigorovich's choreography fills the huge Bolshoi stage with dynamic scenes of tension and conflict.

Winter Dreams is a one-act ballet created by Kenneth MacMillan in 1991 for the Royal Ballet. The music is by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, with some traditional Russian music. The story is based on the play Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov. The first performance was on 7 February 1991, at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

The role of Anastasia entered Natalia Bessmertnova's creative biography as one of the roles that best suited her acting personality and professional abilities. The libretto has no literary basis; it was written by the choreographer himself. The score was assembled by Mikhail Chulaki from fragments of Sergei Prokofiev's music for Sergei Eisenstein's film of the same name and other works by the composer. According to Yuri Grigorovich, it was the music that became the primary creative impetus for the ballet's creation.

60-minute film in which ballet star Darcey Bussell undertakes a very personal journey to meet the heroes and dancers who transformed male ballet.

Become a ballerina! Prima Princessa brings you England's world famous Birmingham Royal Ballet performing excerpts from The Nutcracker that will inspire the ballerina in you! Come join in the holiday fun with Prima Princessa as she takes you to a magical show filled with snow fairies, toy soldiers, tutus, pirouettes and plies.(Amazon editorial)