The two-act Giselle was written by Frenchdramatist and novelist Theophile Gautier and playwright Jules-Henri Vernoy deSaint-Georges, to music by composer Adolphe Adam.
The ballet tells the story of a youngpeasant girl, Giselle, who dies of a broken heart after discovering her lover,Albrecht, has promised to marry someone else.
The Willis, a group of ghostly spirits ofdead girls who died from broken hearts, have the ability to control men and letthem dance until they die. They target Albrecht, but Giselle defends him withthe power of her great love.
Giselle, which was choreographed by JeanCoralli and Jules Perrot, was first performed by the Paris Opera Ballet in1841.
The performance of Giselle in HCM City willbe directed by French dancer and choreographer Chloe Glemot and Japanese dancerYuki Hiroshige, who will also play the roles of the leaders of the Willis.
Dancers Do Hoang Khang Ninh and Ho Phi Diepwill play the leading roles of Giselle and Albrecht.
Glemot was trained at the Paris OperaBallet School between 1996 and 2003. She worked as a professional dancer forthe American Ballet Theater in New York, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens inMontreal, and English National Ballet in London.
In 2006, she completed her teacher trainingat the Centre National de la Danse in Paris. She has taught ballet for childrenand adults at conservatories and schools in Paris.
Hiroshige began practicing ballet at theage of 11. She studied at Australian Ballet School beginning in 1993. Sheworked as a solo dancer at the New National Theatre in 1996, and laterperformed at the Noriko Kobayashi Ballet Theatre in 2005.
Glemot and Hiroshige played the roles ofthe Snow Queen and Dewdrop in The Nutcracker at the Opera House last December.-VNS/VNA