Hi, I am new to the ballet scene and I have a lot of questions but I'll start with this... I have a video tape of Swan Lake and the Sleeping Beauty performed by the Kirov Ballet company and I LOVE them both. Can you make any recommendations of particular video tapes that you think are outstanding? My preference is traditional ballet that is uplifting. There is the nutcracker of course but there must be more out there that has that kind of joyful music and great storyline... any ideas for me? Thanks.

PS I also have a tape of the Bolshoi Prokofiev Gala, but for some reason it was not so appealing to me. Seems to be quite a difference between Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev... so I guess I need some help to find things that I will enjoy.

Hi, Ronny, and welcome to Ballet Alert! There are a lot of interesting videos to choose from, including several "Swan Lakes," "Sleeping Beauties" and "Nutcrackers," if that's your preference. One book that has an excellent videography (as well as a lot of good information about ballet in general) is Robert Greskovic's "Ballet 101." I think that's a good starting place.

We have a whole forum here devoted to Ballet Videos and I'm going to move your post there. There are already several threads called "Favorite Ballet Videos" so you might find some tips.

You might want to check our Ballets section. It's not very complete yet, but Mel Johnson has material on the three Tchaikovsky ballets that might interest you. Click on the Petipa link for Swan Lake and Beauty, and the Nutcracker link for Nuts.

http://www.balletalert.com/ballets/19th%20century/19th.htm

Please feel free to join in our discussions, post about what you're seeing (on stage or on tape) and don't be afraid to ask questions. [img]smile.gif[/img]