by Catherine L. Tully

If you love the Russians in ballet, this is something to see.

I was thrilled to have the chance to review Treasures of the Russian Ballet, which features Bolshoi and Kirov performances from the 50’s and 60’s. The complete works are not here, but some unbelievable pieces have been saved for us to see all these years later…

The ballets include: The Stone Flower, Swan Lake, Cinderella, Giselle, Gayaneh and Don Quixote–but that’s not all. You’ll get to experience ballerinas such as Galina Ulanova and Maya Plisetskaya on “film” and see why they commanded attention back then–and  why they are known to this day.

I was fascinated to watch the choreography–it was so different. It seems like watching older choreography almost has the same appeal as seeing brand new movement–it has been so long since these patterns have been used that it is fresh and exciting. And of course, the emotion exhibited by these dancers is legendary.

The DVD runs 81.58 minutes and I enjoyed every single moment of it. A great piece to add to your library of dance videos.

Here’s a sample for you: