The Ballet of Othello

Film-Concert. The program includes scenes from plays, ballets, and operas; folk songs and romances; B. Eder with a group of trained lions; S. Obraztsov's puppet theater; and dances by soloists of the I. Moiseyev Ensemble. The host is Nikolai Cherkasov.

In the Caucasus foothills, battles rage against the German fascist invaders who have broken through. Reinforcements, including Russians, Ukrainians, and Kazakhs, are moving to defend the region. Along the way, the soldiers stop at a half-ruined ancient castle. There, a grey-haired old man recounts the legend of Dzhurga, a valiant warrior who once lived there. The legend comes to life on the screen, depicting a wedding feast in the castle where Dzhurgai celebrates his union with a shepherdess. However, the festivities are interrupted by a foreign enemy attacking Georgia. Led by Dzhurgai, Georgian warriors fight bravely and emerge victorious against the Mongol hordes.

An anthology of three filmed ballets, two written for the film and the third an abridgment of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake". It was entered into the 1954 Cannes Film Festival. Filmed in color.

A pair of short ballets, written for the screen, filmed and performed by artists of the Georgian SSR. In color, with narration.

La Bayadère is a three-act ballet by the French choreographer Marius Petipa. Set in 19th-century India, La Bayadère tells the sad love story of the noble warrior Solor and his Nikiya, a temple dancer or 'bayadère', who is poisoned by her rival, Gamzatti. This production of the ballet features the revised choreography by Vladimir Ponomarev and Vakhtang Chabukiani (1941), and includes dances by Konstantin Sergeyev and Nikolai Zubkovsky. The ballet’s music, composed by Ludwig Minkus, is performed by the Mariinsky Orchestra under the direction of Boris Gruzin. Among the performers are Viktoria Tereshkina, Anastasia Matvienko, Vladimir Shklyarov, and Vladimir Ponomarev. This performance was recorded at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, in July 2014.

A filmed choreodrama that played an important role in the Georgian and Soviet contemporary ballet scene. In a Spanish village oppressed by a tyrannical Commander, a defiant young woman inspires the people to rise up, transforming personal resistance into a collective revolt for dignity and freedom.

When the beautiful dancer Nikiya and the warrior Solor meet in secret, they swear eternal mutual fidelity. However, the High Brahmin, who is also in love with Nikiya, overhears them. He rushes to reveal their secret to the Rajah, who has decided that Solor will marry his beloved daughter Gamzatti. Recorded live, January 2013.