The most extra documentary ever: BBC historian learns to make horses do baroque ballet. Yes, really.
Lucy Worsley learns the 17th-century art of horse ballet, leading up to a public performance. She explores its origins, witnesses displays abroad and discovers its legacies.
Acting
Worsley's nervous energy is genuinely endearing
Production
Gorgeous European palace locations and costumes
Director
Nick Gillam-Smith
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Horse ballet (dressage's flamboyant ancestor) was peak aristocratic flexing—kings like Louis XIV used it to project absolute power through absolute control of chaos.
Worsley's genuine terror before her Vienna performance wasn't manufactured drama; the Spanish Riding School rarely allows outsiders to perform, making her public debut historically unprecedented for a non-professional.
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