Get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the creative journeys of dynamic dancers and choreographers in this short film series. Produced with Sadler's Wells, each episode offers an intimate look at an artist's journey, process, and inspirations as they overcome challenges and seek new artistic heights.  Feel enriched, enlightened, and deeply moved by the passion and dedication of today's most talented dance artists. 

Get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the creative journeys of dynamic dancers and choreographers in this fascinating short film series. 

Danceworks

Mats Ek and star dancer Stéphane Bullion revisit their artistic relationship through the experience of the creation and interpretation of Another Place, but also of "Bernarda's House" and "Apartment", two Mats Ek ballets that Stéphane has danced throughout his career.

“I could only bid farewell with a creation by Mats Ek” explains star dancer Stéphane Bullion, a way for him to pay tribute to the great choreographer, one of the most influential in modern dance of the 20th century. ""This duet contains my entire career. With this duet, I conclude what I started more than twenty years ago.”

Echoing the mythical duet of Ana Laguna and Mikhail Baryshnikov in Place performed at the Stockholm Drama Theatre in 2009, Mats Ek composed Another Place at the Paris Opera ten years later. A couple gravitates around a simple table and a carpet. Love, its impulses, its exhaustion, time, wear and tear, the attempt at a new approach between a man and a woman, their anguish, vulnerability and madness... everything is played out carnally, straightforwardly, with humour and harshness in the immensity of a bare and completely open stage, on the uninterrupted thread of Franz Liszt's Sonata in B minor written in one piece. A couple's dialogue as only the Swedish choreographer knows how to portray them.

Mats Ek and Stéphane Bullion revisit their artistic relationship through the experience of the creation and interpretation of Another Place.

Another Place by Mats Ek: Documentary

Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back is a portrait of the charismatic song-and-dance man from his tap-dancing childhood fame to today in Broadway and Hollywood.
Maurice and friends—Chita Rivera, Mercedes Ellington and Debbie Allen—tell tales from his seven-decade career, including Broadway shows, a co-starring role in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Cotton Club and about his loving yet complex relationship with his superstar brother, the late Gregory Hines. Ever battling the challenges of being a gay, black man in show biz, Maurice shares his story with humor and grace.

Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back is a portrait of the charismatic song-and-dance man from his tap-dancing childhood fame to todayn in Broadway and Hollywood.

Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back

Witness the transformative power of dance as a group of inmates participate in choreographer Angelin Preljocaj's dance workshops behind bars. 

Sylvie, Lili, Sophia, Annie, and Malika are serving long sentences in Marseille's Beaumettes prison. For four months, they are visited by renowned choreographer Angelin Preljocaj whose dance classes are a welcome reprieve from life behind bars. Together they choreograph a new work to be performed "outside the walls" at prestigious venues like the Pavillon Noir in Aix-en-Provence and Montpellier's International Dance Festival.  

This moving documentary chronicles their profound journey as they discover the unyielding spirit that emerges when art meets confinement, revealing a gripping tale of human expression and liberation through dance.

Witness the transformative power of dance as a group of inmates take part in choreographer Angelin Preljocaj's dance workshops behind bars.

Dancing Free

This documentary takes you inside the creative world of Australia's visionary choreographer, Meryl Tankard as she crafts a new work - Aurora.  

As the Artistic Director of the Australian Dance Theatre, Meryl Tankard became known for her out-of-the-box, innovative, and humorous works. This biographical film reveals Tankard's boundless creativity and satirical flair through extracts from her seminal works like ''Two Feet,'' ''Furioso,'' ''Songs With Mara,'' and ''Chants de Marriage 2.''  From rehearsals to the stage, watch her creative process unfold as choreographs her new take on the classic ballet Sleeping Beauty, Aurora, and join Tankard as she reunites with her former mentor, the legendary Pina Bausch.  

This documentary takes you inside the creative world of Australia's visionary choreographer, Meryl Tankard as she crafts a new work - Aurora.  

The Black Swan: Meryl Tankard - Choreographer

This documentary is a fascinating window into the incredible creative process behind Cloud Gate Dance Theatre's moving piece, ''Secrets of the Bamboo Grove.''

Choreographer Lin Hwai-min is a visionary of the dance world.  Follow along as he creates a new piece for Taiwan's Cloud Gate Dance Theatre. Follow along behind the scenes of the rehearsal process and see how the dancers implement strict regimens of tai chi and martial arts to help shape their bodies and movements. 

A fascinating documentary that reveals the incredible creative process behind Cloud Gate Dance Theatre's ''Secrets of the Bamboo Grove.'' 

Secrets of the Bamboo Grove

This film reflects on over 60 years of John Neumeier’s life and career as a dancer and choreographer who has revolutionized the world of ballet.

Director Andreas Morell travels to Milwaukee to explore Neumeier's origins, drawing a portrait of a man deeply rooted in religion and art. Personal insights from friends, colleagues, and his husband, Hermann Reichenspurner, illustrate Neumeier’s genuine compassion and commitment to nurturing the next generation of dancers.

Fly-on-the-wall footage captures rehearsals for new pieces in Hamburg, Paris, and Chicago, intercut with excerpts from some of the 170 dance works that have shaped an extraordinary career.

Step into the world of John Neumeier, who revolutionized modern-day ballet by seamlessly blending the dramatic with the abstract.

John Neumeier - A Life for Dance

Follow along with Paris Opera's fascinating creative program where young apprentices from various professions come together to learn about the world within the opera house.

What can an ordinary person gain from the world of opera and dance? The answer might surprise you. In this fascinating artistic experiment young apprentices, including pastry chefs, mechanics, sales professionals, and jewelers, come together at the illustrious Paris Opera to learn about the many jobs and skills found within the opera house. 

Through a series of exercises including musical training, dance classes, and set design courses, these young professionals unveil the unique synergy between artistry and craftsmanship that transforms their outlook and skill set. Along the way, director Cyril Leuthy highlights the individual experience of each student revealing the importance of this unique cultural education program. 

Follow along with Paris Opera's fascinating creative program where young apprentices from various professions come together to learn about the world within the opera house.

OpérApprentis

Can dance be the key to unlocking mental well-being? Dame Darcey Bussell investigates the science behind the remarkable impact of dance on mood and behavior.

Since retiring from professional ballet, Darcey has championed incorporating dance into every stage of life. Believing that Britain faces a mental health crisis, she argues that its potential to enhance well-being is vastly underestimated.

In this documentary directed by Pamela Gordon, Darcey meets young people struggling with mental health issues, dances with a gentleman living with Parkinson’s disease, and observes young girls blossom with newfound confidence through carefully curated choreography that reflects their personal experiences.


Former ballerina Darcey Bussell is on a mission to prove dance can boost everyone’s mental wellbeing in “Dancing to Happiness.”

Darcey Bussell: Dancing To Happiness

What is creativity? Join Award-winning choreographer Alexander Ekman as he explores the mysteries of the creative process in this fascinating documentary.  

Choreographer Alexander Ekman is known for his out-of-this-world creative works like Hammer, Eskapist, and A Swan Lake.  In this new documentary, Ekman explores the elusive nature of creativity by speaking to people like film director Lone Scherfig, professor Shelley Carson, choreographer Mats Ek, performance artist Marina Abramovic, Joffrey Ballet’s artistic leader Ashley Wheather, film director Tran Anh Hung, professor Linda Hill, film director Tiffany Hsiung, the CEO of the David Lynch Foundation, Bob Roth, and several others. 

See creativity and the creative process from every possible angle as Ekman demonstrates his talent for creativity as he choreographs a career-defining dance piece for the Paris Opera Ballet.  

What is creativity? Join Award-winning choreographer Alexander Ekman as he explores the mysteries of the creative process in this fascinating documentary.

Kreativ: A Study in Creativity by Alexander Ekman

This meticulously restored 4K film captures a landmark moment in ballet history: the rise of 20th-century dance icon Rudolf Nureyev.

In 1964, Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake," choreographed by the 26-year-old Nureyev, premiered at the Vienna State Opera. The young Russian also performed the lead role of the prince alongside prima ballerina Margot Fonteyn. The audience demanded a record-breaking 89 curtain calls.

Newly filmed conversations with Michael Birkmeyer and Gisela Cech, who danced alongside Nureyev that night, offer firsthand accounts. Additionally, principal dancer of the Berlin State Ballet, Polina Semionova, and choreographer Eric Gauthier provide a modern perspective on Nureyev's enduring influence.

Witness the birth of a legend in a painstakingly restored film that captures Rudolf Nureyev's electrifying 1964 performance of "Swan Lake."

Rudolf Nureyev's Swan Lake: Magic Moments of Music

Get to know famed contemporary choreographer Hans Van Manen in this rare  documentary. 

Hans Van Manen is considered to be one of the great "grand masters" of contemporary ballet. Known for his provocative themes and unconventional, humorous, and often controversial movements, he choreographed over 150 works throughout the course of his career. 

 With reflections from friends and colleagues about his time with the Nederlands Dance Theatre and the Dutch National Opera and behind the scenes look of photographer Erwin Olaf’s exhibition, Dance in Close-up, which reveals details of van Manen´s choreography one does not grasp at first sight. 

Hans van Manen has striven all his life to create meaning by marrying movement to music.

Ballet Black: Dancing and Diversity

Subscribe now to watch

Cast & Crew

You may also like