Giselle (Akram Khan)

Khan keeps the core betrayal and death of Giselle, but moves the story into a world of migrant workers, class division, and industrial labor. The familiar village setting is replaced by a wall and a harsher social conflict.

Akram Khan created Giselle for English National Ballet, and it premiered in 2016. The production became one of the company's major modern repertory works under artistic director Tamara Rojo.

It uses Vincenzo Lamagna's score, which is adapted from and responds to Adolphe Adam's 19th-century music. The sound world is heavier and more percussive than the traditional Romantic ballet score.

The Wilis remain ghostly women, but Khan makes them feel more militant and ritualistic than in many classical productions. Their long sticks and group formations give Act II a severe, almost judicial force.