Act One

London

After a performance of The Ballet Lermontov, Lady Neston arranges a soirée to show off her niece Victoria (Vicky) to the company’s impresario. Lermontov dismisses Vicky, but offers a job to the pianist, Julian Craster. Vicky later auditions with the ballet master Grischa Ljubov and joins the company as a member of the corps-de-ballet.

Thinking he’s alone in the theater, Julian dreams of conducting his own work. Lermontov oversees this and takes note of the young man’s passion. During rehearsal a month later in Paris, Vicky dreams of dancing the principal role and catches Lermontov’s attention. The company’s prima ballerina Irina Boronskaja injures herself, unable to continue rehearsing.

Monte Carlo

Lermontov and his creative team brainstorm ideas for the next production. Vicky is called to his mansion where she is handed a pair of red pointe shoes and learns she will dance the lead in his new creation, The Red Shoes. She and Lermontov dance a duet where he molds her into his muse and the star she wishes to become.

The Red Shoes Ballet (within the production)

The Girl (Vicky) and The Boy (Ivan) travel from the suburbs to the city. A sinister Pimp (Grischa) appears and lures The Girl away with the promise of fame and fortune, enticing her with a pair of red shoes. The Pimp seemingly hypnotizes the girl until the power of the red shoes overwhelms her. The shoes take over, dragging her around independently, forcing her to dance.

As time passes, The Girl slips into a dreamlike state and drifts through the stars. She arrives at her own funeral and sees The Boy who has now become a priest. He “senses” her presence around him as she desperately tries to reconnect. Eventually, The Boy releases her from the shoes and she collapses and dies.

Act Two

(Three Months Later)

Julian and Vicky begin a passionate love affair. Riddled with jealousy, Lermontov pushes Julian to his breaking point, forcing he and Vicky to resign from the company.

London’s East End

(Six Months Later)

Having found work in a music hall, Vicky and Julian argue, pulled between their love for each other and their passion for their art. Later, Vicky decides to return to the Ballet Lermontov, sneaking out while Julian sleeps.

Back in The Red Shoes Ballet, Vicky finds it hard to distinguish between reality and fiction and eventually finds herself alone on an empty stage. We hear the audience chanting from behind the curtain. The sound soon resembles that of an approaching train. As the noise gets louder, Vicky moves closer to it. The curtain parts and the blinding lights of a steam train charge toward her.

Julian arrives from London just in time to see Vicky take her final breath. He removes her red shoes and she dies in his arms, mirroring the final scene of The Red Shoes Ballet.