Patrice Bart

Despite his HIV-positive diagnosis in the early 1980s, Russian-born ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev continued to dance and work as the director of the Paris Opera, as chronicled in this documentary that focuses on Nureyev's final years. Through interviews with colleagues and friends and archival footage of his performances, the film touches on the dancer's early years, his success and his later years as he struggled to continue dancing.

The Paris Opera Ballet's 1988 revised version of Rudolf Nureyev's 1963 production of The Nutcracker.

It's easy to see why The Nutcracker, Tchaikovsky's perennially popular ballet first performed in 1892, has such enduring appeal. As Patrice Bart's 1999 production shows, it is always beautiful to look at, lending itself to the Christmas season where it has a permanent place in the schedules of the major dance companies. And Hoffmann's tale of the troubled child who must go on a wonderful (and occasionally terrifying) journey of discovery has a universal and timeless appeal. Bart's production for the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin builds on Petipa's original choreography and develops the context of the child Marie's (Nadja Saidakova) anxiety into a strong narrative. The godfather Drosselmayer (Oliver Matz) is initially a sinister figure, forcing her to confront past events before leading her into the glittering land of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Here, all expectations are exceeded.

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