In a Scottish village, James a young farmer and Effie a local girl are preparing for their marriage. The day before the marriage La Sylphide (a forest sprite) appears to James in his house and he falls in love. He is torn between Effie and the sprite.
Madge (a witch) tells Effie she will not marry James, and in anger he orders Madge to leave the house. The sprite lures James into the forest where they dance. In revenge Madge makes a poison shawl, which she gives to James, the sprite puts it on and she dies. When James returns to the village he finds Effie has married another man, Gurn, and he collapses with grief and despair.
Giselle created during the Romantic movement, contains element of the supernatural. It was for Giselle that the Romantic style tutu was created for.
It is set in a village on the edge of a forest. A peasant boy (Loy) arrives in the village, with whom Giselle falls in love with. Hilarion, a woodman, wishes to marry Giselle is suspicious of Loy and breaks into his cottage to discover a nobleman's sword. Loy is not a peasant as he says he is, he is a duke, Duke Albrecht.
A hunting party stops in the village, including Prince Bathilde, Duke Albrecht's fiance. Hilarion reveals Loy's disguise and identity. Giselle becomes distraught and dies.
Giselle is buried in the forest which is haunted by 'Wilis' (spirits of young girls betrayed in love. If seen by a man he is made to dance until they die of exhaustion). Hilarion is surrounded by the spirits when he visits Giselle's grave, he is forced to dance and he dies. Duke Albrecht also visits Giselle's grave, the queen of the 'Wilis', Myrtha, orders Giselle to kill him, but her love for him is so strong that she is unable to. Instead she makes him dance until dawn, he is exhausted but still alive.
The Nutcracker is a magical ballet, and like typical ballets of the Classical movement contains elements of heroes and heroines. The story begins at a Christmas party at Clara's and Fritz's home. All the children receive gifts, Clara receives a Soldier shaped nutcracker. The party draws to an end, the guests leave and Clara and Fritz go to sleep. Clara wakes up during the night and plays with the nutcracker, which grows and becomes alive. The same happens to another of the Christmas gifts, a regiment of toy soldiers. The evil Mouse King and his regiment of mice appears, and a battle between the mice and the soldiers commences. The nutcracker appears to be losing, to Clara's horror, and in an attempt to save the nutcracker she throughs her slipper at the Mouse King. The Mouse King is distracted enabling the nutcracker to kill and defeat him. The nutcracker is transformed into a handsome Prince, and takes Clara on a magical to the Kingdom of Sweets through the Land of Snow. Clara is warmly welcomed to the Kingdom of Sweets by the Sugar Plum Fairy. In Clara's honour there is a festival of dance with entertainment from all over the world. Clara becomes tired though and wakes up alone with the nutcracker doll.
Its Prince Siegfried's 21st birthday and the next day he has to chose a bride at the Grand Ball. Feeling depressed he goes hunting, when he reaches a lake he watches some swans landing on the water. The leading swan turns into a woman. She is Odette, the queen of a group of maidens who von Rothbart, a magician, had placed a spell over, so they are swans during the day and women during the night. The Prince falls in love with Odette, and discovers that the only way the spell can be broken is if he promises to love her only. They dance until she becomes a swan again at dawn.
The next day at the Grand Ball the Prince does not notice any of the girls at the ball. Von Rothbart disguised as a nobleman and his daughter Odile, who appears to be Odette due to magic, arrive at the ball unexpectedly. The Prince believing Odile to be Odette tells her he loves her and asks her to marry him. Odile and von Rothbart reveal their identities and disappear. The Prince in despair goes to the lake and begs for Odette's forgiveness, which she gives him. Von Rothbart appears ordering the Prince to keep his promise and marry Odile, Odette and the Prince jump into the lake. This breaks the spells which releases the swan maidens from the spell, and von Rothbart dies. Prince Siegfried and Odette live forever beneath the lake waters in a 'paradise'.
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