First performed at the Paris Opéra on 28 June 1841 as a two-act "ballet-pantomime" and hailed by ballet historians as the oldest surviving exampl of a ballet that owes its origins to the work of a global collective.
As the archetypal Romantic ballet, Giselle revolves aroun the traditional motif of the love that triumphs over death, a motif that can be traced back to the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice and that was to culminate in the later 19th century in the music dramas of Wagner.
The plot, in outline, is as follows. Giselle is an innocent and naïve young girl from the country.

Source: livret ARTHAUS Musik

DVD AVAILABLE AT ARTHAUS MUSIK: arthaus-musik.com/

Jean Coralli, original name in full Giovanni Coralli Peracini (born January 15, 1779, Paris, France—died May 1, 1854, Paris), French dancer and choreographer who was ballet master of the Paris Opéra and who, with Jules Perrot, created the Romantic ballet "Giselle".

Coralli received his early training in Paris from Pierre Gardel or Jean-François Coulon and made his debut at the Paris Opéra in 1802. In 1806–07 he produced five ballets at the Court Opera in Vienna, and in 1808 he was appointed principal dancer at La Scala in Milan.

Coralli spent the rest of his career in Paris. In 1825 he became ballet master at the Porte-Saint-Martin Theatre, a commercially run house with a reputation as an alternative arena for dance.

In 1831, following the privatization of the Opéra after the Revolution of 1830, Coralli succeeded Jean-Louis Aumer as ballet master, a post he was to hold until 1850. His appointment coincided with the most brilliant phase of the Romantic ballet, and, while he never composed for the renowned Marie Taglioni (who danced exclusively in her father’s ballets), four of the nine ballets he produced during his engagement were created for her great rival, Fanny Elssler, and another two were created for Carlotta Grisi.

Source: Encyclopeadia Universalis

Born in 1977, Fabien Plasson is a video director specialized in the field of performing arts (dance , music, etc).

During his studies at the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts de Lyon (joined in 1995) Fabien discovered video art. He was trained by various video artists (Joel Bartoloméo Pascal Nottoli , Eric Duyckaerts , etc).
He first experimented with the creation of installations and cinematic objects.

From 2001 to 2011, he was in charge of Ginger & Fred video Bar’s programming at La Maison de la Danse in Lyon. He discovered the choreographic field and the importance of this medium in the dissemination, mediation and pedagogical approach to dance alongside Charles Picq, who was a brilliant video director and the director of the video department at that time.

Today, Fabien Plasson is the video director at La Maison de la Danse and in charge of the video section of Numeridanse.tv, an online international  video library, and continues his creative activities, making videos of concerts, performances and also creating video sets for live performances.

Sources: Maison de la Danse ; Fabien Plasson website

More information: fabione.fr

Artistic direction: Andrian Fadeev

Creation: 1969

Yacobson Ballet was founded in 1969 by Ballet Master and famous choreographer Leonid Yacobson. It was the first Russian independent company - not associated with an Opera - it quickly created a buzz within the Russian ballet landscape and received the title of "Miniature Company", referring to the short lengths of the pieces created by its founder. During seven years as a director, Leonid Yacobson worked on the development of dance in Russia and collaborated with renowned dancers such as Natalia Makarova, Alla Osipenko, Maya Plisetskaya and Mikhail Baryshniko.
 

After Yacobson's death in 1976, his closest collaborator took the direction of the company and opened the repertoire to Russian and foreign choreographers, developing a repertoire of creations based on the founding technique of ballet. The company also began to export its excellent reputation outside of Russia.
 

Since 2011, the Yacobson Ballet has been directed by Andrian Fadeev, ex principal dancer of the Mariinsky Ballet. With his strength of conviction,
Fadeev wanted to bring the company - composed of 75 dancers with astonishing technique and soloists with strong personalities - to an international level. He rejuvenated ballets from the classical repertoire. And following tradition, he is commissioning and updating new stage productions and costume designs. Cutting the lengthy parts in order to keep what is essential; he gives spirit and rhythm to those historical pieces and modernizes them. The company is a beautiful way to rediscover traditional ballet repertoire, performed elegantly and with brio by excellent dancers.

Source:Trait d'union

More information : yacobsonballet.ru/en