A special collection of classic performances from The Royal Ballet.

In feature-length documentary Essential Royal Ballet, Katie Derham introduces carefully curated excerpts from productions spanning the history of ballet, going behind the scenes as the dancers prepare to take to the stage. With stunning solos, passionate pas de deux and jaw-dropping numbers for the corps de ballet, it is a chance to see the Company’s much-loved dancers past and present up close, including Carlos Acosta, Marianela Nuñez, Natalia Osipova, Steven McRae, Francesca Hayward and Matthew Ball, who share stories of their life on the stage and thoughts on what these ballets mean to them.

In Pas de Deux: the ‘steps for two’ so central to the form of ballet are celebrated further in 16 exceptional examples from The Royal Ballet’s repertory. A collection from across the Company’s heritage and contemporary classics, Pas de Deux demonstrates the choreographic diversity, technical brilliance, show-stopping spectacle and artistry for which The Royal Ballet is acclaimed around the world.

Includes:

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
- Act III Pas de deux (Lauren Cuthbertson & Sergei Polunin) Wheeldon
- Mad Hatter’s Tea Party (Lauren Cuthbertson, Steven McRae & others) Wheeldon

Concerto
- 2nd Movement (Marianela Nuñez & Rupert Pennefather) MacMillan

Don Quixote
- Act III Pas de deux (Marianela Nuñez & Carlos Acosta) Acosta after Petipa
- Espada solo (Ryoichi Hirano) Acosta

Elite Syncopations
- Bethena (Sarah Lamb & Valeri Hristov) MacMillan

Giselle
- Act II Pas de deux and Conclusion (Alina Cojocaru, Johan Kobborg & Marianela Nuñez) Petipa after Coralli & Perrot
- Act II Pas de deux (Natalia Osipova & Carlos Acosta) Petipa

Infra
- Excerpt (Marianela Nuñez & Edward Watson) McGregor

La Bayadère
- Kingdom of the Shades (Corps de ballet) Makarova after Petipa

La Fille mal gardée
- Act II Pas de deux (Roberta Marquez & Steven McRae) Ashton
- Clog Dance (William Tuckett) Ashton

Limen
- Pas de deux (Sarah Lamb & Eric Underwood) Wheeldon

Manon
- Act I Scene 2 Pas de deux (Tamara Rojo & Carlos Acosta) MacMillan

Mayerling
- Act II Scene 5 Pas de deux (Edward Watson & Mara Galeazzi) MacMillan
- Bedroom Pas de deux (Edward Watson, Natalia Osipova) MacMillan

Romeo and Juliet
- Act I Scene 6 Pas de deux (Lauren Cuthbertson & Federico Bonelli) MacMillan
- Balcony Pas de deux (Matthew Ball & Yasmine Naghdi) MacMillan
- Dance of the Knights (Corps de ballet) MacMillan

Swan Lake
- Act II Pas de deux (Marianela Nuñez & Thiago Soares)
- Act III Pas de deux (Natalia Osipova & Matthew Golding)
- Act III Pas de deux (Marianela Nuñez & Vadim Muntagirov) all Petipa and Ivanov

Symphonic Variations
- Extract (Marianela Nuñez & Vadim Muntagirov) Ashton

The Dream
- Titania and Oberon Pas de deux (Akane Takada & Steven McRae) Ashton

The Nutcracker
- Act II Pas de deux (Steven McRae & Miyako Yoshida) Wright after Ivanov
- Waltz of the Flowers (Corps de ballet, Yuhui Choe, Francesca Hayward) Wright
- Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy (Lauren Cuthbertson) Wright

The Sleeping Beauty
- The Rose Adage (Sarah Lamb & others) Petipa
- Finale of Act III (Marianela Nuñez, Vadim Muntagirov & others) Petipa

The Winter's Tale
- Act II Pas de deux (Sarah Lamb & Steven McRae) Wheeldon

Voices of Spring
- Pas de deux (Yuhui Choe & Alexander Campbell) Ashton

…as well as interviews and introductions to selected sequences by the stars of The Royal Ballet.

Duration: approx. 221 minutes (Ballet performances); approx. 19 minutes (Extras)
Subtitles: EN, FR, DE, KO, JP (Essential Royal Ballet only)
Audio: LPCM 2.0 & DTS Digital Surround 5.1