A brief history of ballet is followed by synopses of twenty ballets: The Wood Nymphs; Ondine; Billy, the Kid; Graduation Ball; The Firebird; The Sleeping Princess; Petrouchka; Children's Games; Bluebeard; Swan Lake; Prince Igor; Coppelia; Giselle; Rodeo; The Golden Cockerel; The Rite of Spring; The Phantom of the Rose; The Nutcracker; Scheherazade; Fancy Free.