Erik Bruhn - Filmography

Filmography

A few of Erik Bruhn's performances have been preserved, several of which are available on DVD and on-line:

  • Symphonie Fantastique, filmed in 1948 with the Royal Danish Ballet, choreography by Léonide Massine. A work film, shot without sound and showing the dancers in practice dress. Available on DVD through the Dance Film Archive of Ohio State University.
  • Pas de deux, choreographed by Roland Petit, with the French ballerina Zizi Jeanmaire in the 1952 Goldwyn film Hans Christian Andersen. Available on DVD.
  • Four short pieces were filmed in 1955 at Jacob's Pillow: Giselle Act II pas de deux with Alicia Alonso; and the Don Quixote pas de deux, Giselle Act II pas de deux, and The Nutcracker Act II pas de deux, all with Mary Ellen Moylan.
  • "The Ed Sullivan Show" (25 August 1957) with Nora Kaye in the Black Swan pas de deux from Swan Lake.
  • "The Bell Telephone Hour" broadcasts: Don Quixote pas de deux with Maria Tallchief (from 1961); Act II of La Sylphide (1962) and a pas de deux from Romeo and Juliet choreographed by Bruhn (1967), both with Carla Fracci; the Black Swan pas de deux with Sonia Arova (1963), and the Act III pas de deux from Coppélia, also with Arova (1963). Available on the DVD "Rudolf Nureyev & Erik Bruhn - Their Complete Bell Telephone Hour Performances (1961-1967)," which also includes Tallchief and Nureyev dancing a pas de deux from Flower Festival in Genzano choreographed by Bruhn after Bournonville (from 1962).
  • "The Art of the Pas de Deux": pas de deux from Don Quixote with Maria Tallchief; includes Tallchief and Nureyev in the Flower Festival in Genzano pas de deux choreographed by Bruhn. Available on DVD. Both performances are from "The Bell Telephone Hour" broadcasts and both also can be seen on the DVD "The Art of Maria Tallchief."
  • Full-length Giselle with Carla Fracci and American Ballet Theatre (1969), which has been criticized for its eccentric camera work. Available on DVD.
  • Erik Bruhn: I'm the Same, Only More - A Personal Portrait of the Legendary Dancer (2002), a posthumous 42-minute film biography by his friend, the Danish filmmaker Lennart Pasborg, includes performance footage and a recorded monologue by Bruhn used as a voice-over for clips and stills. Won an award at Cannes for use of archival material.

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