Yesterday (July 10th, 2011), Roland Petit, the world-renowned choreographer sadly passed away, aged 87. Well known for the wide ranging and creative nature of his projects, Pink Floyd fans will be familiar with his work due to the series of Floyd Ballets that they worked on together.

"It all began in the late '60s," explained Petit, the ballet's creator. "One day, my daughter, who must have been about 10 years old at the time, gave me an album by Pink Floyd and said, 'Dad, you have to make a ballet with this music. It's the best!' At first I was hesitant, but when I heard the music, I agreed with my daughter. So I went to England and met with Pink Floyd in person. I told them about my idea of making a ballet with their music and asked if they would agree. They were so enthusiastic about the idea that they even offered to play live at the world premiere!"

The premier performance took place in November 1972 with Pink Floyd themselves playing live before 32,000 spectators at the Palais des Sports in Marseilles. Since then, it has been presented around the globe, with great success - most recently in 2010. The following video gives a flavour of the original performances: