Full ballet library
Know the whole story.
Watch complete productions or key surviving excerpts, follow each plot in context, meet the characters, and understand where a competition variation belongs before rehearsing it.
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18 ballets in the library
01Karen Khachaturian · Genrikh Maiorov
Cipollino
A brave Little Onion and his friend Radish unite their fairy-tale town against Prince Lemon’s absurd laws and discover the power of friendship.
- Meet
- Cipollino · Radish · Prince Lemon · Signor Tomato
- Study
- Radish Variation
02Léo Delibes · Arthur Saint-Léon
Coppélia
Swanhilda follows a mystery from the village square into Dr. Coppélius’s workshop and discovers that her silent rival is a mechanical doll.
- Meet
- Swanhilda · Franz · Dr. Coppélius · Coppélia
- Study
- Swanhilda · Act I and Franz · Act III
03Ludwig Minkus · Marius Petipa / Alexander Gorsky
Don Quixote
Kitri and Basilio outwit convention while an idealistic knight turns Barcelona into the setting for a chase, a dream, and a brilliant wedding.
- Meet
- Kitri · Basilio · Don Quixote · Sancho Panza
- Study
- Kitri, Cupid, Queen of the Dryads, and wedding variations
04Edvard Helsted / Holger Simon Paulli · August Bournonville
Flower Festival at Genzano
Young lovers Rosa and Paolo dance in the bright social world of Genzano's flower festival; today their famous pas de deux carries the ballet into the international repertory.
- Meet
- Rosa · Paolo · Festival ensemble
- Study
- Flower Festival · Female and Male Variations
05Adolphe Adam · Jean Coralli / Jules Perrot / Marius Petipa
Giselle
A trusting village girl discovers that her beloved is a disguised nobleman, then protects him from the vengeful Wilis after love and loss transform them both.
- Meet
- Giselle · Albrecht · Hilarion · Myrtha
- Study
- Giselle · Act I and the Peasant Pas variations
06Johann Strauss II · arranged by Antal Doráti · David Lichine
Graduation Ball
Students at a Viennese finishing school welcome military cadets to a graduation ball filled with shy courtship, virtuoso dancing, and affectionate comedy.
- Meet
- Headmistress · Old General · Naughty Girl (Pigtail Girl) · Good Girl (Romantic Girl)
- Study
- Good Girl (Senior Girl) · Naughty Girl (Junior Girl) · Male Variation
07Riccardo Drigo · Marius Petipa / Alexander Mishutin
Harlequinade
Harlequin and Columbine outwit a disapproving father and wealthy rival with help from Pierrette, the Good Fairy, and a wish-granting magic slapstick.
- Meet
- Harlequin · Columbine · Cassandre · Léandre
- Study
- Columbine · Female Variation and Harlequin · Male Variation
08Ludwig Minkus · Marius Petipa / Natalia Makarova
La Bayadère
Nikiya and Solor make a secret promise, but royal orders and jealousy separate them. They meet again in the dreamlike Kingdom of the Shades.
- Meet
- Nikiya · Solor · Gamzatti · The High Brahmin
- Study
- Nikiya Entrance · Nikiya Death · Solor · Gamzatti · Gamzatti Entrance · First, Second, and Third Shade Variations · Bronze Idol
09Ferdinand Hérold / John Lanchbery; Peter Ludwig Hertel in other versions · Jean Dauberval · Frederick Ashton and later versions
La Fille mal gardée
Lise and Colas outwit a marriage arrangement in a countryside comedy of young love, farm work, and family misunderstandings.
- Meet
- Lise · Colas · Widow Simone · Alain
- Study
- Lise · Female Pas de Deux Variation · Moderato Female Variation · Act I Harvest Scene Variation
10Herman Severin Løvenskiold · August Bournonville
La Sylphide
On his wedding morning, James abandons the human world for an elusive Sylph, only to discover that trying to possess the dream destroys it.
- Meet
- James · The Sylph · Effie · Gurn
- Study
- The Sylph · Variation 1 · The Sylph · Variation 2 · James · Variation 1 · James · Variation 2
11Riccardo Drigo · Marius Petipa / Aleksander Mishutin
Le Talisman
A celestial maiden descends to earth with a talisman that can return her to heaven, then must choose between immortality and mortal love.
- Meet
- Niriti · Noureddin · Vayou · Queen Amravati
- Study
- Talisman Pas de Deux · Female and Male Variations
12Frédéric Chopin · orchestrated by multiple arrangers · Michel Fokine
Les Sylphides (Chopiniana)
A Poet enters a moonlit world of sylphs in Fokine's plotless choreographic reverie to the music of Chopin.
- Meet
- The Poet · Principal Sylphs · Corps of Sylphs
- Study
- Chopiniana · Variations 1, 2, and 3
13Édouard Deldevez / Ludwig Minkus · Joseph Mazilier / Marius Petipa
Paquita
Raised among traveling performers, Paquita saves a French officer from an assassination plot and discovers the noble family she was separated from as a child.
- Meet
- Paquita · Lucien d'Hervilly · Iñigo · Don Lopez de Mendoza
- Study
- Paquita Étoile · Paquita Fourth Variation · Grand Pas Classique
14Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky · Marius Petipa / Lev Ivanov · productions vary
Swan Lake
Prince Siegfried meets the enchanted Odette beside a lake, is deceived by Odile at the palace ball, and faces the cost of a broken vow.
- Meet
- Prince Siegfried · Odette · Odile · Rothbart
- Study
- Pas de Trois · Male, First Female, Second Female · Odette · Odile Black Swan · Siegfried Act I and Act III
15Riccardo Drigo · Marius Petipa / Sergei Vikharev
The Awakening of Flora
Moon, wind, dawn, and sunlight awaken a sleeping garden as the nymph Chloris becomes Flora, immortal goddess of flowers and spring.
- Meet
- Flora · Zephyr · Diana · Aquilon
- Study
- Flora, Aurora, Diana, and Hebe Variations · Rose Pas de Quatre
16Josef Bayer / Riccardo Drigo · Joseph Hassreiter / Sergei and Nikolai Legat
The Fairy Doll
A treasured doll enchants a toy shop by day, then awakens its entire collection for a secret midnight celebration.
- Meet
- The Fairy Doll · Drummer Bunny · The Toymaker · The Pierrots
- Study
- Fairy Doll Variation · Drummer Bunny · Legat pas de trois
17Boris Asafyev · Vasily Vainonen / Alexei Ratmansky
The Flames of Paris
Jeanne, Philippe, Jérôme, and Adeline are swept from the countryside into the French Revolution as private courage becomes a mass uprising.
- Meet
- Jeanne · Philippe · Jérôme · Adeline
- Study
- Jeanne · Female Variation and the celebrated pas de deux
18Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky · Marius Petipa
The Sleeping Beauty
Princess Aurora's christening, enchanted sleep, awakening, and wedding unfold through one of classical ballet's richest collections of variations.
- Meet
- Princess Aurora · Prince Désiré · Lilac Fairy · Carabosse
- Study
- Aurora, Prince Désiré, Prologue fairies, jewel fairies, Bluebird, and Princess Florine