Ballet & Dance

A Christmas classic revisited in dance form at the Finnish National Opera: Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Recorded on 9 December 2023 at the Finnish National Opera and Ballet. It's the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a grumpy, miserly old man who, on Christmas Eve, is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. A magical tale popular with all ages, adapted into a ballet by an all-British artistic team including composer Sally Beamish and choreographer David Bintley. Director: Jussi Buckbee Choreography: David Bintley Director: Anna Fleischle Composer: Sally Beamish Costumes: Anna Fleischle Music director: Paul Murphy Finnish National Ballet Finnish National Opera Orchestra

"Ivan the Terrible" is a classical ballet in 2 Acts. The world premiere of the ballet Ivan the Terrible took place at the Bolshoi Theater on 20th of February 1975. Yuri Vladimirov performed as the tsar, Natalia Bessmertnova as Anastasia, and Boris Akimov as Kurbsky. The second production, in 1977, was performed by Vladimir Vasiliev (Ivan IV), Lyudmila Semenyaka (Anastasia) and Boris Akimov ((Prince Kurbsky). The premiere caused great resonance. That same summer the troupe toured in the USA, where „Ivan the Terrible” created a great sensation and collected innumerable comments from viewers and media. Next year the ballet was staged at the Paris Opera, where it met the same warm reception, and soon it was shown on the stage constructed specifically for this performance in Louvre during the summer season. "Ivan the Terrible" is music by Sergei Prokofiev originally composed for the Sergei Eisenstein film about the sixteenth-century ruler. Prokofiev composed music to Part 1 in 1942-44, and to Part 2 in 1945; the score is cataloged as Op. 116. After the composer’s death, music for the film was arranged first into an oratorio (with speaker, soloists, chorus, and orchestra) by Alexander Stasevich (1961), who was the conductor of the film score, and later into a concert scenario by Christopher Palmer (1990). It was Abraham Stassevitch, conductor for Sergei Prokofiev's score for director Sergei Eisenstein's "Ivan the Terrible - Part II" (1958), who proposed to Grigorovich that he transfigure IVAN, along with its music, into a full-length dramaturgic dance work. In 1973 the choreographer and theatre director of Bolshoi Yuri Grigorovich, commissioned the distinguished Soviet composer as well as professor of composition, Mikhail Chulaki, to create a balletic scoring based upon Eisenstein's cinema masterpiece. It is cobbled from 377 fragments from Prokofiev's Ivan Part II musical design in addition to other pieces by the great composer. In 1976, based on this Bolshoi Theater performance, the film-ballet was shot, which was released on screens in 1978 by Mosfilm. Composer: Sergei Prokofiev, in a musical edition and composition by Mikhail Chulaki Choreography: Yuri Grigorovich Costume Designer: Simon Virsaladze Set Designer: Simon Virsaladze Screenplay and Directors: Vadim Derbenev, Yuri Grigorovich Artistic Director: Yuri Grigorovich Cast & Characters: Ivan the Terrible - Yuri Vladimirov Anastasia - Natalia Bessmertnova Prince Kurbsky - Boris Akimov Ballet dancers and the orchestra of the Bolshoi Theater of the USSR Conducted by Algis Žiūraitis For Yuri Vladimirov, the title role became a milestone, and the part of Tsaritsa Anastasia became one of the most consistent to Natalia Bessmertnova’s acting personality and professional talents in her creative biography. The following tsars, which have always included artists, distinguished by technical virtuosity and endowed with acting temperament, – Mikhail Lavrovsky, Alexander Godunov, Irek Mukhamedov, Alexei Fadeyechev, Alexander Vetrov – left a vivid mark on this ballet’s history.

Notte della Taranta ("Taranta Night" in English) is a popular music festival in Salento, Puglia (Apulia), Italy, that aims to enhance traditional Salento music through its revival and contamination with other musical languages. The Notte della Taranta is focused on pizzica, a popular folk genre in Salento, and takes place in various municipalities in the province of Lecce and the Grecìa Salentina, especially in Melpignano. It gives great importance to the folk music tradition of taranta and pizzica. The festival tours around Salento, normally culminating in a grand finale concert in August, in front of the Augustinian Convent of Melpignano, which lasts until late night. Each year a new musical director is chosen, who has the task of arranging the traditional music of Salento, fusing its rhythms with those of other musical traditions. The festival started in 1998 by an initiative of several municipalities of the Salento, which sponsored the event. In August 2008 the "La Notte della Taranta" foundation was born with the aim of defining strategic and management directions and choices, promoting autonomous initiatives and coordinating the members' action for the valorisation and protection of the Salento area. In particular, it supports the study of the ethnographic heritage by promoting cultural, musical, social and communication events, and projects to support and develop research on the phenomenon of tarantism, Grike and Salento traditions, with specific reference to popular music. The most important book about pizzica and tarantism is "The Land of Remorse", written by the Italian philosopher, anthropologist and historian of religions Ernesto de Martino. The attendance of the final concert alone, which has taken place on the large lawn in front of the Augustinian Convent of Melpignano since 1999, went from 5,000 in 1998 to 200,000 in 2022. The 2020 edition took place without live spectators due to Covid restrictions. Cast & Crew: The Popular Orchestra of La Notte della Taranta and the Roma Sinfonietta Orchestra Concertmaster: Paolo Buonvino La Notte della Taranta Corps de Ballet Choreography: Sharon Eyal Tracklist: 1. QUANNU TE LLAI LA FACCIA LA MATINA 2. TARANTA DI LIZZANO 3. TAMBURIEDDHU MIU 4. BEDDHA CI DORMI (Sand by DIODATO) 5. KALINITTA (canto in grico)* 6. FERMA ZITELLA 7. SECUTA SECUTA 8. CENT’ANNI SALE 9. PIZZICA 10. ELA, ELA MU CONDÀ (canto in grico)* 11. FIMMENE FIMMENE (Sang by GIANNA NANNINI) 12. LU RUCIU DE LU MARE 13. CARPE NOCTEM (Composed by PAOLO BUONVINO) 15. AGAPI * These songs are sang in Griko, sometimes spelled Grico, a dialect of Italiot Greek spoken by Griko people in Salento (province of Lecce), and also called Grecanico, in Calabria. It features elements of Ancient Greek, Byzantine Greek and Italian. It is spoken in the Grecìa Salentina (Griko for "Salentine Greece"), in the province of Lecce.

A 1987 Trilion Pictures production presents George Frederick Handel's "Water Music" from The Banqueting House - Whitehall London. Musicians and dancers perform at the Banqueting House in Whitehall, London in authentic Baroque costume and with period surroundings. English Bach Festival Dancers Choreography by Belinda Quirey Costumes (from original designs) by Derek West The English Bach Festival Orchestra Conducted by and Solo Violinist: Christopher Hirons Director: Derek Hanlon The Water Music (German: Wassermusik) is a collection of orchestral movements, often published as three suites, composed by George Frideric Handel. It premiered on 17 July 1717, in response to King George I's request for a concert on the River Thames. The Water Music opens with a French overture and includes minuets, bourrées, and hornpipes. It is divided into three suites About the Baroque Dance: When we think of "baroque dance", we often think of enormous wigs and frilly dresses, a rond de jambe and graceful entrechats. This is of course true, to a certain extent: as the Belle Danse developed during the 17th century, it was a dance reserved for the nobility and gentlemen, wearing their finest clothes. However, under the reign of Louis XIV, the baroque dance was not only a source of entertainment or a simple pass-time. Quite the contrary, it was a veritable art-form, with a social and political impact. In 17th century France, dance was an integral part of a gentleman's education. The nobility learned to read and to write, to handle weapons, and to dance. But what did baroque dance actually look like? "This dance is built upon the premise that if you can walk, you can dance", explains choreographer Béatrice Massin, advisor to director Gérard Corbiau for the film Le Roi Danse (2000). "Everything is built from very simple elements since the ball dances were necessarily accessible to all, nobody was a professional at this time. The baroque body was a round one, fully capable of taking advantage of the space. A body that takes pleasure both in volume but also in height. On every strong beat, for example, the body rises. There is a particular way of using the arms since the shoulders were not free when wearing court costumes. In the baroque dance, the ports de bras (name of a general arm movement in dance and ballet) thus remains oriented towards the pelvis and the lower part of the body, whilst the bust stretches upward, as if to assert grandeur and ease. As for the steps, the premises of classical dance with entrechats, chassés, and pas de bourrée... All variants that were built from a walking step."

Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino (CGS), formed by writer Rina Durante in 1975, is a traditional music ensemble from Salento, Italy. The seven piece band and dancer perform a contemporary style of Southern Italy's traditional Pizzica music and dance. In the Italian province of Taranto (taking its name from Tarantas), Apulia, the bite of a locally common type of wolf spider ("Lycos" in Greek means "wolf"), named "tarantula" after the region, was popularly believed to be highly venomous and to lead to a hysterical condition known as tarantism. This type of dance became known as the "tarantella". The dance is believed to be a survival from a "Dianic or Dionysiac cult", driven underground. In 186 BC the tarantella went underground, reappearing under the guise of emergency therapy for bite victims. The stately courtship tarantella danced by a couple or couples, short in duration, is graceful and elegant and features characteristic music. On the other hand, the supposedly curative or symptomatic tarantella was danced solo by a victim of a Lycosa tarantula spider bite (not to be confused with what is commonly known as a tarantula today); it was agitated in character, lasted for hours or even up to days, and featured characteristic music. However, other forms of the dance were and still are dances of couples usually either mimicking courtship or a sword fight. The confusion appears to derive from the fact that the spiders, the condition, its sufferers (tarantolati), and the dances all have names similar to the city of Taranto. The dance originated in the Apulia region, and spread throughout the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The Neapolitan tarantella is a courtship dance performed by couples whose "rhythms, melodies, gestures, and accompanying songs are quite distinct" featuring faster more cheerful music. Its origins may further lie in "a fifteenth-century fusion between the Spanish Fandango and the Moresque ballo di sfessartia". The "magico-religious" tarantella is a solo dance performed supposedly to cure through perspiration the delirium and contortions attributed to the bite of a spider at harvest (summer) time. The dance was later applied as a supposed cure for the behavior of neurotic women (carnevaletto delle donne). The tarantella is a dance in which the dancer and the drum player constantly try to upstage each other by playing faster or dancing longer than the other, subsequently tiring one person out first. Tarantism, as a ritual, is supposed to have roots in the ancient myths. Reportedly, victims who had collapsed or were convulsing would begin to dance with appropriate music and be revived as if a tarantula had bitten them. The music used to treat dancing mania appears to be similar to that used in the case of tarantism though little is known about either. TARANTA (lyrics: M. Durante / music: L. Einaudi, M. Durante) Mauro Durante: violin, tamburello, backing vocals Giulio Bianco: recorders, bagpipes, harmonica, flutes, bass Emanuele Licci: vocals, guitar, bouzouki Massimiliano Morabito: organetto Giancarlo Paglialunga: vocals, tamburello, bendir, tapan Alessia Tondo: vocals, castanets, percussion Lyrics in English: I hold anguish in my chest this is killing me and never stops the ground is trembling under my feet there’s no stopping me falling what I eat has no taste for me there is no more light nor color people knew how you had to cure yourself If your ilness was called taranta And now that times have changed who can feel my pain who brings me the water to cure who shall I ask to grant me recovery I don’t know if it’s taranta that got me but it doesn’t let me and makes me crazy if it’s taranta don’t abandon me if you dance alone you cannot heal if it’s taranta let her dance if it’s melancholy throw it out

Pavane, (probably from Italian padovana, “Paduan”), is a slow majestic processional dance common in Europe during the 16th century (Renaissance). Until about 1650 the pavane opened ceremonial balls and was used as a display of elegant dress. Adapted from the basse danse, an earlier court dance, the pavane presumably traveled from Italy to France and England by way of Spain; in southern Spain it was performed in churches on solemn occasions. Although the dance is often associated with Spain, it was "almost certainly of Italian origin". The pavane, the earliest-known music for which was published in Venice by Ottaviano Petrucci, in Joan Ambrosio Dalza's Intabolatura de lauto libro quarto in 1508, is a sedate and dignified couple dance, similar to the 15th-century basse danse. Later composers occasionally used the pavane as an instrumental piece; e.g., Fauré (Pavane for Orchestra) and Ravel (Pavane for a Dead Princess). Composer: Henry Purcell Choreography: Jose Limon, N. Dolgushin Director: E. Popova Performers: Moor - Andres Williams Moor's Wife - Svetlana Smirnova Friend - Nikita Dolgushin Friend's Wife - Gabriella Komleva Symphony Orchestra of the Leningrad Conservatory Conductor: V. Chernushenko The dance performance was composed by José Limón to the music of the famous English composer Henry Purcell (1659-1695) for the plays “The Gordian Knot Untied”, “Abdelazar”, as well as the pavane from the play “Pavane and Chaconne for String Instruments” (arranged by Simon Sadove). The premiere of "The Moor's Pavane", shown for the first time at the American Dance Festival, was danced by: Jose Limon (Moor), Betty Jones (Moor's Wife), Lucas Hoving (Friend), Pauline Kohner (Friend's Wife). The ballet's subtitle, "Variations on the Theme of Othello," does not mean that it is a staging of Shakespeare's tragedy. "The Moor's Pavane" is a dance for two couples, which seems to take the form of a traditional pavane: a slow dance, where the performers in period costumes, solemnly change places, coming together and moving apart, sometimes holding hands, and communicating with each other in a reserved manner. At the same time, without violating the "court" ritual, the twists and turns of Shakespeare's tragedy are played out. At the moment when the Moor and Iago (called the Friend in the ballet) are next to each other, the Friend, leaning his hands on the Moor's shoulders from behind, seems to subjugate him, whispering slander. And now the Moor, poisoned by the poison of slander, goes to meet the Wife (as Desdemona is called here), and casts hostile glances at her. The Friend's Wife is at first outraged by her husband's intrigues, but then is forced to submit to them. And now the handkerchief dropped by the Moor's Wife, passing from hand to hand, becomes evidence. Jealousy, bewilderment, entreaty, fear, rage and despair - all these feelings are conveyed in leisurely bows, changes of partners, touching hands, turning heads, bending the body. Revealing the essence of Shakespeare's tragedy in dance, the choreographer insists on a more general understanding of the performance: a similar story is possible in the life of any person.

The Pharaoh's Daughter (Russian: Дочь фараона, French: La Fille du pharaon), is a ballet choreographed by Marius Petipa to music by Cesare Pugni. The libretto was a collaboration between Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Petipa from Théophile Gautier's Le Roman de la momie. It was first presented by the Imperial Ballet at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, in St. Petersburg, Russia, on 18 January (30 January) 1862, with the design by A. Roller, G. Wagner (scenery), Kelwer and Stolyakov (costumes). The Pharaoh's Daughter (La Fille du pharaon) was the first multi-act grand ballet Marius Petipa staged during his long career with the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres. The ballet was staged especially for the benefit performance of the Italian ballerina Carolina Rosati, who performed the principal role of the Princess Aspicia. She danced opposite Marius Petipa, who portrayed Aspicia's hero and lover, Lord Wilson/Ta-Hor. The premiere on 30 January [O.S. 18 January] 1862 was an enormous success, and soon the ballet became the most popular work in the repertoire of the Imperial Ballet. Until recently, The Pharaoh’s Daughter was also one of Petipa’s lost ballets; it hadn’t been performed since 1928. In 2000 the French choreographer Pierre Lacotte premiered a restored version at the Bolshoi Theatre, after much research into the original, resulting in a shorter although still sumptuous extravaganza. PLOT: An English lord and John Bull, his servant, and a guide shelter from a sandstorm in a pyramid during an African safari. They start to become noisy, but the guide asks them to quiet down in respect for the Pharaoh's daughter who is lying in a coffin somewhere in the pyramid. So, to pass the time, the guide gives out opium. As soon as the nobleman puffs the opium, weird things start to happen. The many other mummies in the pyramid start to come alive. Suddenly the Pharaoh's daughter, Aspicia, comes alive and lays her hand over the nobleman's heart, and the nobleman is transported into the past. He becomes Ta-Hor, an ancient Egyptian man who saves Aspicia from a lion. Ta-Hor and Aspicia fall in love, but she is betrothed to the Nubian king. They run away together and the king chases them. Ta-Hor and Aspicia stop in a fishermen's inn to hide out, and the local fishermen ask them if they want to come on a fishing trip. Aspicia decides to stay behind. Then the Nubian king stops at the inn to rest and finds Aspicia who jumps into the Nile River to escape his guards. At the bottom of the river, the Spirit of the Nile summons the great rivers of the world to dance for Aspicia, then he tells her that she must stay. When she hears this, she asks for one wish: to bring her back to land. When the fishermen and Ta-Hor arrive back on land, the Nubian king detains Ta-Hor and brings him back to the Pharaoh's palace to be punished for "kidnapping" the princess. When Aspicia comes back to land, the fishermen bring her back to the palace. She gets there in time to see Ta-Hor sentenced to death by a cobra bite. She explains that if he dies, she dies, and reaches out for the snake to bite her. The Pharaoh pulls her back and grants her permission to marry Ta-Hor, and the Nubian king leaves in a fit of rage, swearing revenge. Everyone starts to celebrate, but as the party reaches its peak, the opium dream ends and Ta-Hor is transformed back into the English lord. As they leave the pyramid, the nobleman looks back at Aspicia's coffin and remembers the love that they shared and still share. Choreographer: Pierre Lacotte after Marius Petipa Dancers: Svetlana Zakharova, Sergei Filin, Gennady Yanin, Maria Aleksandrova Soloists of the Bolshoi Ballet Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre / Alexander Sotnikov, conductor Filmed at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow, 31/10/2003

Three Russian ballets – Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, Stravinsky’s Firebird and Petrushka staged by Mikhail Fokine, which conquered Paris at the beginning of the 20th century – were restored by Andris Liepa in 1993. His idea was to restore three famous performances by Mikhail Fokin in the smallest details and shoot a feature film, titled "The Return of the Firebird". The original costumes and scenery by L. Bakst, A. Golovin, and A. Benois were recreated in detail. - Petrushka Composer - I. Stravinsky Designer - A. Benois Choreographer - M. Fokine - The Firebird Composer - I. Stravinsky Designer - A. Golovin, L. Bakst Choreographer - M. Fokine - Scheherazade Composer - N. Rimsky-Korsakov Designer - L. Bakst Choreographer - M. Fokine Cast: Andris Liepa (Ivan Tsarevich, Petrushka, Shahryar), Ilze Liepa (Zabeida), Nina Ananiashvili (Firebird), Gediminas Taranda (Blackamoor), Tatyana Beletskaya (Ballerina), Viktor Eremenko (Golden Slave), Sergei Petukhov (Kashchei, Magician). Bolshoi Theatre Symphony Orchestra, conductor Andrei Chistyakov.

The exceptional score by Tchaikovsky, brought to life by the Bolshoi Ballet dancers in The Nutcracker, delights the hearts and ears of all generations of music and ballet lovers. Experience this holiday classic with the whole family through the eyes of Marie and her Nutcracker Prince. On Christmas eve, Marie and her whole family are gathered around the tree in celebration of the holiday. She receives a magical gift from her godfather Drosselmeyer and soon enough this Christmas eve will take an unexpected turn for her. Marie's new doll comes alive and carries her into a whirlwind adventure. Music: Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Libretto: Yuri Grigorovich (after E.T.A. Hoffmann and Marius Petipa) Choreography: Yuri Grigorovich Set designer : Simon Virsaladze Conductor : Pavel Klinichev Cast & Characters: Marie: Margarita Shrayner The Nutcracker Prince: Semyon Chudin Court Advisor Drosselmeyer: Denis Savin The Mouse King: Alexander Vodopetov and the Bolshoi Corps de Ballet Recorded live in December 23, 2018. Act II: https://rumble.com/v62lxee-the-nutcracker-act-ii-shrayner-chudin-savin-yuri-grigorovich-bolshoi-ballet.html