This meticulously restored 4K film captures a landmark moment in ballet history: the rise of 20th-century dance icon Rudolf Nureyev.

In 1964, Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake," choreographed by the 26-year-old Nureyev, premiered at the Vienna State Opera. The young Russian also performed the lead role of the prince alongside prima ballerina Margot Fonteyn. The audience demanded a record-breaking 89 curtain calls.

Newly filmed conversations with Michael Birkmeyer and Gisela Cech, who danced alongside Nureyev that night, offer firsthand accounts. Additionally, principal dancer of the Berlin State Ballet, Polina Semionova, and choreographer Eric Gauthier provide a modern perspective on Nureyev's enduring influence.

Witness the birth of a legend in a painstakingly restored film that captures Rudolf Nureyev's electrifying 1964 performance of "Swan Lake."

Rudolf Nureyev's Swan Lake: Magic Moments of Music

Get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the creative journeys of dynamic dancers and choreographers in this short film series. Produced with Sadler's Wells, each episode offers an intimate look at an artist's journey, process, and inspirations as they overcome challenges and seek new artistic heights.  Feel enriched, enlightened, and deeply moved by the passion and dedication of today's most talented dance artists. 

Get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the creative journeys of dynamic dancers and choreographers in this fascinating short film series. 

Danceworks

This documentary takes you inside the creative world of Australia's visionary choreographer, Meryl Tankard as she crafts a new work - Aurora.  

As the Artistic Director of the Australian Dance Theatre, Meryl Tankard became known for her out-of-the-box, innovative, and humorous works. This biographical film reveals Tankard's boundless creativity and satirical flair through extracts from her seminal works like ''Two Feet,'' ''Furioso,'' ''Songs With Mara,'' and ''Chants de Marriage 2.''  From rehearsals to the stage, watch her creative process unfold as choreographs her new take on the classic ballet Sleeping Beauty, Aurora, and join Tankard as she reunites with her former mentor, the legendary Pina Bausch.  

This documentary takes you inside the creative world of Australia's visionary choreographer, Meryl Tankard as she crafts a new work - Aurora.  

The Black Swan: Meryl Tankard - Choreographer

This film reflects on over 60 years of John Neumeier’s life and career as a dancer and choreographer who has revolutionized the world of ballet.

Director Andreas Morell travels to Milwaukee to explore Neumeier's origins, drawing a portrait of a man deeply rooted in religion and art. Personal insights from friends, colleagues, and his husband, Hermann Reichenspurner, illustrate Neumeier’s genuine compassion and commitment to nurturing the next generation of dancers.

Fly-on-the-wall footage captures rehearsals for new pieces in Hamburg, Paris, and Chicago, intercut with excerpts from some of the 170 dance works that have shaped an extraordinary career.

Step into the world of John Neumeier, who revolutionized modern-day ballet by seamlessly blending the dramatic with the abstract.

John Neumeier - A Life for Dance

When does a dancer truly leave the stage? For some, the answer is never.

This award-winning documentary follows four celebrated dancers—Friedemann Vogel, Polina Semionova, Gesine Moog, and William Moore—as they navigate the bittersweet transition from the spotlight to a new chapter in their artistic lives. Through breathtaking performances and candid interviews, their fears, sacrifices, and triumphs come to life, revealing a deeply moving portrait of existence beyond center stage. With insights from Jiří Kylián and Marcia Haydée, the film explores how maturity can enrich movement with profound storytelling depth.

A testament to resilience and reinvention, "Dance On!" captures the enduring spirit of true artists—for whom the stage is not a final destination but a lifelong journey.

Can four seasoned dancers transcend age to "Dance On" and keep their performing careers thriving?

Dance On!

Can dance be the key to unlocking mental well-being? Dame Darcey Bussell investigates the science behind the remarkable impact of dance on mood and behavior.

Since retiring from professional ballet, Darcey has championed incorporating dance into every stage of life. Believing that Britain faces a mental health crisis, she argues that its potential to enhance well-being is vastly underestimated.

In this documentary directed by Pamela Gordon, Darcey meets young people struggling with mental health issues, dances with a gentleman living with Parkinson’s disease, and observes young girls blossom with newfound confidence through carefully curated choreography that reflects their personal experiences.


Former ballerina Darcey Bussell is on a mission to prove dance can boost everyone’s mental wellbeing in “Dancing to Happiness.”

Darcey Bussell: Dancing To Happiness

Essential viewing, this meticulously crafted biography captures the power, spirit, and heartbreak of ballet’s most captivating star.

From Rudolf Nureyev's dramatic Cold War defection to his meteoric rise as a global sensation, complete with adoring fans, to his iconic partnership with Margot Fonteyn, this documentary traces an extraordinary career. Nureyev’s magnetic stage presence—marked by panther-like grace and fierce intensity—comes alive through newly unearthed footage of his collaborations with legends Martha Graham, Paul Taylor, and Murray Louis. With an evocative original score by Alex Baranowski and mesmerizing dance tableaux by Russell Maliphant, Nureyev’s performances are vivid and spellbinding.

Offstage, intimate moments reveal the poignant reunion with his mother after years in exile and his complex relationship with fellow dancer Erik Bruhn. Nureyev lived as he danced—boldly, passionately, and without limits.

From his daring defection to his meteoric rise, this portrait of ballet’s first global superstar is as captivating as the man himself.

Nureyev: Lifting the Curtain

Get to know famed contemporary choreographer Hans Van Manen in this rare  documentary. 

Hans Van Manen is considered to be one of the great "grand masters" of contemporary ballet. Known for his provocative themes and unconventional, humorous, and often controversial movements, he choreographed over 150 works throughout the course of his career. 

 With reflections from friends and colleagues about his time with the Nederlands Dance Theatre and the Dutch National Opera and behind the scenes look of photographer Erwin Olaf’s exhibition, Dance in Close-up, which reveals details of van Manen´s choreography one does not grasp at first sight. 

Hans van Manen has striven all his life to create meaning by marrying movement to music.

Hans van Manen: Moving to Music

Filmed on location with Cirque Du Soleil performers, this documentary offers an intimate look at their lives on and off the stage. 

A behind the scenes look at people chasing their dreams and pushing their bodies to the limits.

An intimate documentary following the world-renowned performers of Cirque Du Soleil.

Grazing The Sky - The Art of Cirque Du Soleil

Mats Ek and star dancer Stéphane Bullion revisit their artistic relationship through the experience of the creation and interpretation of Another Place, but also of "Bernarda's House" and "Apartment", two Mats Ek ballets that Stéphane has danced throughout his career.

“I could only bid farewell with a creation by Mats Ek” explains star dancer Stéphane Bullion, a way for him to pay tribute to the great choreographer, one of the most influential in modern dance of the 20th century. ""This duet contains my entire career. With this duet, I conclude what I started more than twenty years ago.”

Echoing the mythical duet of Ana Laguna and Mikhail Baryshnikov in Place performed at the Stockholm Drama Theatre in 2009, Mats Ek composed Another Place at the Paris Opera ten years later. A couple gravitates around a simple table and a carpet. Love, its impulses, its exhaustion, time, wear and tear, the attempt at a new approach between a man and a woman, their anguish, vulnerability and madness... everything is played out carnally, straightforwardly, with humour and harshness in the immensity of a bare and completely open stage, on the uninterrupted thread of Franz Liszt's Sonata in B minor written in one piece. A couple's dialogue as only the Swedish choreographer knows how to portray them.

Mats Ek and Stéphane Bullion revisit their artistic relationship through the experience of the creation and interpretation of Another Place.

Another Place by Mats Ek: Documentary

This documentary is a fascinating window into the incredible creative process behind Cloud Gate Dance Theatre's moving piece, ''Secrets of the Bamboo Grove.''

Choreographer Lin Hwai-min is a visionary of the dance world.  Follow along as he creates a new piece for Taiwan's Cloud Gate Dance Theatre. Follow along behind the scenes of the rehearsal process and see how the dancers implement strict regimens of tai chi and martial arts to help shape their bodies and movements. 

A fascinating documentary that reveals the incredible creative process behind Cloud Gate Dance Theatre's ''Secrets of the Bamboo Grove.'' 

Secrets of the Bamboo Grove

Recommendations

Ballet superstar Tiler Peck faces a tight deadline to execute her innovative program for The Music Center's BalletNow performance. 

As the first woman to curate this prestigious event, Peck takes on the roles of producer, director, and dancer, adding to the pressure. With a bold vision to blend diverse artistic and dance styles, she collaborates with some of the best in the business, like clown artist Bill Irwin and tap dance icon Michelle Dorrance. Join Peck on her journey as she navigates the challenges leading up to opening night at The Los Angeles Music Center, where her ambitious vision will take center stage. 

Ballet superstar Tiler Peck faces a tight deadline to execute her innovative program for The Music Center's BalletNow performance. 

Ballet Now

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