In 1999 I felt that the young Principal dancers of Birmingham Royal Ballet needed to meet the challenge of Giselle. The production that we had at the time was one by Sir Peter Wright, with sets and costumes by Peter Farmer which had seen better days and so, with the help of our principal sponsor, Powergen, we embarked on a new production with designs by Hayden Griffin and choreography, based on Petipa, by myself and Galina Samsova. 

I wanted to take a traditional approach and provide the dancers with an ‘authentic’ challenge choreographically whilst providing a narrative that was, at one and the same time, more ‘gothic’ in its Romanticism, and more realistic in its social setting. Giselle’s house was an inn in a wine growing village in the Rhineland, populated by  young and old, a thriving working community, whilst her burial place was in the moonlit ruins of a deconsecrated abbey straight out of a Caspar David Friedrich painting.

 Giselle is usually seen in a quasi-renaissance setting, the court dressed in opulent gowns and cloaks and the peasants rustically booted and suited. We decided to go for a medieval look that meant that the court would be typified by the extravagant cut and colour of their finery, whilst the peasants would look acceptable in flat shoes and rough tunics. 

This aesthetic was missed by some negative early commentators but the production went on to be an extremely popular addition to Birmingham Royal Ballet’s roster of classics.

'A harmonious and subtle staging'
THE TIMES

'A Giselle worth savouring'
THE IRISH TIMES, DUBLIN

'Poetry in motion... gloriously Romantic, from the tumbling waterfall in Giselle's village to the ruined Gothic arches soaring around her grace'
THE STAGE

'A remarkable set... and exquisite costumes'
THE IRISH NEWS, BELFAST

★★★★★
BIRMINGHAM MAIL

★★★★
THE DAILY EXPRESS