Rating: 
Summary: Blah
Review: This dvd got mixed reviews, but I thought we would give it a chance. We were not so much disappointed as bored. The dancing was technically very good and the sets were attractive. The camera work wasn't bad, although filming dance is always difficult - consistently long shots, as though filmed from a theatre seat, don't work and close ups of the performers reveal the garish makeup and large gestures required for communicating to a theatre audience. What my DH and I found boring was the choreography. It seemed designed to show off the technical expertise of the dancers, but had no poetry in it. For a bunch of pirates, they sure were sticks-in-the-mud. My husband fell asleep halfway through. If you're a balletomane, with an interest in technique and like to compare choreographers, dancers, companies, venues, composers, etc., then this DVD might be worth adding to your collection. But if your only desire is to enjoy the music and feel an emotional connection to the story as it is described by the movements of the dancers, then don't buy this. I donated my copy to the library the next day.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing display of technique
Review: THis is an absolute must have if you love ballet. The technique of each of the dancers is amazing. The quality of each Pas s mind blowing, and the dancers are so strong on their own that you never want it to stop. This is the best video of ballet I've ever seen.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful, energetic
Review: This is one of the best ballet performances I've seen, either live or in a movie. To watch it on DVD is a treat, since it's like being there at the theatre -- the image is sharp & clear.The dancers are very energetic, at times explosively so, the costume is colorful, the music very lively & cheerful, and the acting sometimes amusing. I highly recommend this!
Rating:
Summary: Le Corsaire: ABC Coup
Review: We watched the American Ballet Company production of this magnificent ballet on PBS tonight, 20 December 1999. It is an absolutely superb production with some of the most athletic dancing we have ever seen. It's an exotic plot, set in an Orientalia kingdom--a pasha is the opera buffo--and involving lovely slave maidens, handsome male adventurers, and intrigue. Its history is interesting too: over the years, many Russian composers have contributed bits and parts so that today, about six composers in all (Tchaikowsky, Glinka, Berlioz et al are part of the composers' ensemble). This great ballet survives only because Russia preserved its many transformations. See it. It is marvelous, and a whole new introduction to classical ballet.
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