Michael Somes Movies
Between 1951 and 1968, Michael Somes was the leading male dancer of the British Royal Ballet. He became a professional dancer at age 17, but did not win his first major part until he was 21. While with the Royal Ballet, Somes frequently performed with Dame Margot Fonteyn. His few film credits all involve dancing and include The Little Ballerina (1951) and Romeo and Juliet (1966). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1966
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Writer/director Paul Czinner, who in 1936 adapted Shakespeare's As You Like It to the screen, was the guiding force behind the 1966 feature Romeo and Juliet. Unlike Czinner's earlier Shakespeare film, however, not a word of the Bard's text is spoken in the 1966 production. Rather, this is a filmed record of a performance of Prokofiev's ballet version of Romeo and Juliet, as originally presented at the Royal Opera House. The stars are the matchless Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn, who brilliantly overcome the disappointingly bland choreography of Kenneth McMillan. For the benefit of non-ballet aficionados, each of the production's three acts is introduced by a spoken synopsis. Others in the corps de ballet include David Blair as Mercutio, Desmond Doyle as Tybalt, Gerd Larsen as Nurse and Ronald Hynd as Friar Lawrence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rudolf Nureyev, Margot Fonteyn, (more)
- 1959
An excellently filmed performance of three separate ballet segments, The Royal Ballet begins each segment with a synopsis of the story about to be unveiled, and then the curtains open on the stage of the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden. Stars of each performance are Dame Margot Fonteyn and Michael Somes. The first curtain goes up on Act Two of Swan Lake featuring Fonteyn as Odette and Somes as Prince Siegfried. The following two segments are from the rousing Firebird by Igor Stravinsky and Ondine by Hans Werner Henz. This film was released just before Margot Fonteyn was convinced to give up retirement and partner with Rudolph Nureyev in what would become one of the more famous dancing duos in ballet history. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margot Fonteyn, Michael Somes, (more)
- 1957
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Choreographer Sir Frederick Ashton's take on Perrault's the timeless fairy tale is captured live at the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet in this performance starring Dame Margot Fonteyn in the title role. Originally telecast on April 19, 1957 on NBC, this particular incarnation of the Cinderella fable soon became a staple of the Royal Ballet's repertoire, and features Ashton himself in the role of one of the cruel and ugly step-sisters. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margot Fonteyn, Michael Somes, (more)
- 1955
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In this performance of Tchaikovski's symphonic three-act ballet adapted for television and choreographed by Sir Frederick Ashton, Dame Margot Fonteyn, Michael Somes, and Dame Beryl Grey headline as conductor Robert Irving leads the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margot Fonteyn, Michael Somes, (more)
- 1947
Prolific British second-feature director Lewis Gilbert made his cinematic debut with The Little Ballerina. Yvonne Marsh stars as a girl of modest means who hopes to get into the Sadlers-Wells ballet troupe. Her only hope is to win a scholarship, and to this end she pleads directly to the troupe's star performer Margot Fonteyn. The spectre of the successful 1948 ballet movie The Red Shoes looms large over the thriftily assembled Little Ballerina. The film's highlight is a vignette from Les Sylphides, performed by Margot Fonteyn and a talented group of dancing students. Although production wrapped on this film -- and it was classified in the UK -- circa late April 1947, The Little Ballerina didn't receive its stateside release for several years, premiering on the near side of the Atlantic in March 1951 - hence the presence of British actor George Carney, who died in 1948. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yvonne Marsh, Doreen Richards, (more)
