MacMillan: Elite Syncopations / The Judas Tree / Concerto DVD (The Royal Ballet)Kenneth MacMillans vision has been vital in shaping The Royal Ballets style and repertory, and what better way to appreciate his art than with this chance to experience three contrasting works in a single performance. Abstract, dramatic, humorous this programme gives a wonderfully varied introduction not just to MacMillans work but to the beauty and dramatic power of ballet itself. Concerto, to Shostakovichs Second Piano Concerto, contrasts moments of

Given its premiere by The Royal Ballet in 1965 with Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn dancing the title roles

Designs: John Macfarlane

with a strong company performance around her

Extra features: Introduction with Natalia Osipova and Matthew Golding

Choreographer: Dame Ninette de Valois after Lev Ivanov and Enrico Cecchetti

but he's also noticeably attentive to his singers

Hedwige: Enkelejda Shkosa

Servant to Macbeth: Nigel Cliffe

The Nutcracker

and the combination of vulnerability and torrential emotion just tears you in two

Chub: Vladimir Matorin

Countess Almaviva: Dorothea Röschmann