Coppelia (2001)

This 1994 French TV presentation of Delibes Coppelia reflects choreographer Maguy Marins commitment to total theatre seeking to find a fresh and exciting way of making ballet a rewarding experience on the home screen One of the problems of filmed live ballet is the video presentation often fails to capture the experience of being in the theatre something this dynamic production shot on location and in the studio circumvents in a highly visual way Relocating Hoffmans tale of Doctor Coppelias automaton and troubled young love to contemporary rundown urban France the opening folkdances are set around a hardcourt game of football which unequivocally evokes the opening of West Side Story 1961