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The iTunes on-line store has some dance films for sale for download that might be of interest:

Dancers, with Baryshnikov (1987), released in this format 2/1/2010: $9.99

This is the modern dramatization of Giselle, with Julie Kent and Alessandra Ferri. It includes extensive footage of the actual Giselle in performance and was reportedly Baryshnikov's last performances of Giselle.

Although this was released on VHS, it was never sold on DVD and is no longer for sale (new) in any other format. This iTunes option is a great alternative. Let's hope more out-of-print recordings are made available this way.

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I remember that the reviews of this movie, as a movie, were horrible. Did you think it is worth seeing this movie for the dance sequences themselves?

I already have it on VHS and think it's worth owning. It has extensive dance sequences of Giselle, both in rehearsal and in performance. It's the only footage available of Ferri with Baryshnikov. And he has a fascinating sequence alone in the studio warming up.

The plot is goofy -- an attempt to do a modern Giselle -- and the acting often tortured, but the dancing is definitely worth owning.

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California is right, the movie should be seen by ballet fans. It's not "Giselle" for the ages IMO, but it's worth having on the record because it's Baryshnikov (at the time I was not impressed by Ferri here). Julie Kent is very young and does little in the way of dancing as I remember. She looks lovely until she opens her mouth, producing sounds that make Lina Lamont sound like Vanessa Redgrave. Her speaking voice in "Center Stage" is vastly improved.

Although this was released on VHS, it was never sold on DVD and is no longer for sale (new) in any other format. This iTunes option is a great alternative. Let's hope more out-of-print recordings are made available this way.

Yes, this is great news.

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California is right, the movie should be seen by ballet fans.
Although this was released on VHS, it was never sold on DVD and is no longer for sale (new) in any other format. This iTunes option is a great alternative. Let's hope more out-of-print recordings are made available this way.

Yes, this is great news.

I agree, mostly because my vcr has been broken for a year now so I cannot watch my VHS copy any more. (Also sad because I can't watch the Makarova/Nagy "Swan Lake", or Makarova/Baryshnikov "Giselle" either.) I always hoped someone would release "Dancers" in a digital format so I could skip to the dance sequences and avoid the melodramatic acting etc. But as my computer is dying, streaming isn't really an option now, but in future?

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