Giselle Review

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2011/jan/13/giselle-royal-ballet-review?INTCMP=SRCH
this is a link to a review of Giselle by the Guardian.

Principal dancers of Ashtons Giselle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucWxfvoIi7E this is a link to Ashtons version of Giselle starring Margot Fonteyn and Rudolph Nureyev

Fonteyn:
Margot Fonteyn was born in Reigate, Surrey, England 1919, as Margaret Hookham. Joined Vic-Wells Ballet in 1934. She had quick progress and in 1939 she had already danced Giselle, Odette-Odile and Aurora. She became the world's greatest ballerina and could have retired as such when she was 40. But her meeting with Rudolf Nureyev in 1962 gave the world the magic of their great partnership and her career continued until she was 58.
http://www.ballerinagallery.com/fonteyn.htm


Nureyev:

No male dancer ever had more influence on the history, style and public perception of ballet than Rudolf Nureyev. He changed people's expectations. Starting out from inauspicious beginnings in a remote town in the Urals, he ended up changing the whole face of the art.

By indefatigably performing a uniquely wide repertoire night after night, month after month, year after year, all over the world, he reached a wider audience than any rival, to which must be added millions more who saw him only in films and on television (he was filmed more than any other dancer before or probably since). But more important than the size of his audience was the effect on them of his charismatic personality and the utter dedication with which he performed. His own idiosyncratic way of putting it was that "every step must be sprayed with your blood".
http://www.nureyev.org/biographie_introduction.php 

Giselle Plot Summary

Act 1:
Giselle is a peasant in love with her neighbour Loys, who is in fact the rich Count Albrecht in disguise.
Hillarion is also a peasant who is in love with Giselle bus it is not mutual
At the village party Hilarion is finds out Loys is really the Count Albrecht
During the village party royals arrive arrive who should recognise Loys as Bathilde is there, who is supposed to be marrying
Hilarion reveals Loys' true identity
Giselle goes mad and kills herself (she may die of shock because in those catholic times suicide was a disgusting thing to commit.)

Act 2:
in a forest at night
at midnight Hilarion is at Giselles grave and meets the Willies (willies- women that have died before they got married, they seek revenge on men and dance men to death)
Giselle becomes a Willie under the rule of Queen Myrtha
Albrecht comes to mourn Giselle, she shows herself to him
willies kill hilarion
They try to kill Albrecht but Giselle stands up to Myrtha and tells her and the willies to leave him as she still loves him
Dawn arrive and the willies leave Albrecht alive.