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Part 2: General Questions

This release Mar. 25, 2002.
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Part 2 of seven parts

To Part 3: Ballet, Modern Dance, and You
To Part 4: History.
To Part 5: Miscellaneous questions.
To Part 6: Reading List.
To Part 7: Organizations.

Copyright © 1995-2002 by Thomas Parsons; all rights reserved. This FAQ may be posted to any USENET newsgroup, on-line service, BBS, or Web page, provided it is posted in its entirety, including this copyright statement, EXCEPT that this FAQ may not be posted to any Web page where such posting may result in assignment of copyright. This FAQ may not be distributed in part or in full for financial gain. No portion of this FAQ may be included in commercial collections or compilations without express permission from the author.

General Questions about Ballet and Modern Dance
The entries in this section and the next are largely for beginners and non-dancers. They may not all be "frequently asked" on the Net, but they are certainly frequently asked, or wondered about, by beginners in class or by people who go to ballet or modern dance performances.
1. What is ballet?
  There are many definitions; here's one of the earliest: Ballet is "the geometrical groupings of people dancing together, accompanied by the varied harmony of several instruments" (Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx, writing in 1582). This definition omits one feature commonly associated with ballets: they tend to tell stories. (Beaujoyeulx's own ballet told a story.) On the other hand, many modern ballets--for example, many of Balanchine's--have no explicit plot. So we might also say, ballet is dancing done as a theatrical performance--as an art, in fact--frequently telling a story, and drawing on a tradition of expressive movements dating back to Beaujoyeulx and probably earlier.
  
  Ballet normally consists only of dancing and music. But a few ballets have been choreographed for performance without music, and some ballets have included singing or recitation. Beaujoyeulx's ballet called for speeches from some of the characters, and the ballets of Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764), called "ballets" on the title-pages of their scores, are actually opera-ballets. But normally it is expected that any story incorporated in a ballet will be conveyed by dance and mime alone.
  
  An answer along different lines might be that ballet is the foundation of all of Western theatrical dance. People aspiring to be modern dancers or to be dancers in show business are frequently advised to start with ballet before specializing in these other forms. Many people in the rec.arts.dance group also report that a grounding in ballet makes you a better ballroom dancer.
2. What is modern dance?
  Modern dance (sometimes just "modern" for short and also called "contemporary" in Britain and on the Continent) is the name given to a dance tradition that arose as a reaction to ballet. It may have started as a rebellion against the formalism and conventions of ballet, but it was probably also a reaction to the sorry state of Western European ballet in the late 19th century (see Question D.8). It also arose out of a desire to express things and feelings that were thought appropriate to the new century, things that, it was felt, the traditional ballet vocabulary couldn't express. It rejected many of the conventions of ballet--turnout, pointed feet, the stated positions, the attempt to defy gravity with leaps and other steps of elevation, dancing on pointe, the use of ballet shoes, and so on.
  
  The two styles have borrowed from each other to the point that the lines between them are becoming blurred. For a discussion of whether there is or still ought to be a distinction between ballet and modern dance at this late date, see the file modern-vs-ballet.txt or scan the archived material in the ballet-modern directory, both in the Dancers' Archive. Tom Parke itcp@praxis.co.uk, posting in rec.arts.dance, offered the following definitions:
  If the dancers are attempting to prove that gravity does not exist, then it's ballet.
  If the dancers are attempting to demonstrate that gravity does exist and it's a bitch, then it's modern.
  If the dancers are attempting to demonstrate that gravity does exist but they'd rather die fighting it than give in to it, then it's jazz.
3. What is a ballet class like?
  A ballet class is a carefully graded sequence of exercises lasting, typically, an hour and a half. The work falls into three parts. The first part consists of stretching and warming-up exercises done with the support of the barre (see Question B.4). You may spend anywhere from forty minutes to an hour at the barre. Then you move to the center of the studio to work without support. The second part of class, called adage, consists of slow work in which the emphasis is on sustaining positions and on balance. The final part of class, allegro, consists of fast work, mostly combinations (sequences of steps) with the big jumps and turns that make ballet such an impressive and dazzling sight.
4. What is a barre?
  The barre is a handrail, approximately waist-high, that dancers use to steady themselves during the first part of a ballet class. The barre provides a reference point; it can be used to provide resistance, as when you press down on it to lengthen the spine; and it is your first partner. "Barre" is also a shorthand term for exercises done at the barre; dancers frequently refer to "doing a barre," for example to warm up just before performing.
5. Why do dancers take so many classes?
  Because dancers must practise under supervision. In ballet so much depends on the movements and positions of the dancer. A pianist, who may also practise for several hours each day, can monitor his or her playing by listening; but when dancing you cannot always watch yourself, mirror or no mirror, and in any case you need constant guidance and correction from an informed and impartial observer. So where the pianist can practise alone each day, the professional dancer must take daily classes.
  
  For the serious dancer, the first ten years are a time when intense class is vital. This is the time when repeated practice gets the steps "into your muscles"--gets them into your unconscious, so you can do them without thinking and can link them into combinations at a moment's notice.
6. Why do dancers wear such funny shoes?
  Do you mean ordinary ballet shoes or women's pointe shoes? Ordinary ballet shoes are peculiar in two respects: they have no heels and paper-thin soles, and the shoes are identical for right and left feet. They have had no heels since the time of Camargo (about 1720), who had her shoes made without heels so she could pass her legs from front to back more easily and so her heels would be right on the floor and provide a more solid impetus for jumps. The custom of making separate shoes for left and right feet in general is only a little more than a century old; this innovation was somehow never picked up by the makers of ballet shoes. The shoes acquire left- or right-footedness through use.
  
  For pointe shoes, see the next question.
7. Do women really dance on their toes? Why?
  Yes, in ballet they do dance literally on their toes, wearing special reenforced shoes to help the toes bear the weight of the body. (The technical term is the French "en pointe," usually Englished as "on pointe.") Dancing on pointe lends an etherial, weightless appearance to the performer. This was part of the romantic image of Woman, and it has persisted, in one form or another, to this day. But pointe work also lengthens the line of the leg, and ballet is a form that favors long lines.
  
  Pointe shoes have reenforced toes to provide extra support for dancers going on pointe. As you can imagine, the force on the toes is considerable; the reenforcement distributes this force over the entire tip of the foot. Dancers usually add padding of some sort inside the shoe to cushion their feet further.
8. Why don't men dance on pointe?
  Men do dance on pointe, on rare occasions. They may be deliberately dancing women's roles, as in the Ballet Trockadero. Some choreographers have had men wear pointe shoes for special effects; posters in this group have instanced Sir Frederick Ashton's The Dream (based on A Midsummer Night's Dream), in which a man wears pointe shoes to represent Bottom's hooves (when he has been turned into a donkey), Mark Morris's Hard Nut, (based on the Nutcracker), and some versions of Cinderella and of La Fille Mal Gardée. In addition, some men also find pointe work good for strengthening the arch of the foot.
  
  Why do dancers stand with their feet turned out?
9. For greater freedom of movement. Many of the steps in ballet are done with the leg extended; the kicks we associate with a chorus line are like this. For various reasons having to do with the structure of the hip joint, a dancer can obtain the greatest extension if the leg is rotated outward, away from its usual position. This rotation means that you can move to the side as readily as to the front or back.
  
  You also frequently need to change the position of the feet, from right foot in front to left foot in front or vice versa. One of the most elementary jumps, called a changement de pieds ("change of the feet"; changement for short), consists of nothing else: jump up and land with the other foot in front. These changes must be made very quickly, and again they can be done most easily if the feet are pointed in opposite directions.
  
  This position of the legs is known as turnout, and it is probably the most conspicuous aspect of balletic posture. As this description implies, it is mostly a practical measure, although it may be done for appearance as well. In the first ballets, the dancers performed in the middle of the hall, surrounded on all sides by the audience. When ballet moved to the proscenium stage, in the middle of the seventeenth century, men began to dance turned out. This has led historians to suggest that turnout originated because it looked better on stage. But it may have been because extension showed to better advantage on the stage and that dancers turned out for the sake of greater extension.
  
  Turnout does not begin from the ankles. You do not force your feet into that position and let everything from there on up follow. Turnout begins at the hip joint, and it is better to be turned out imperfectly from the hip than to strain the joints at the ankles and knees. Indeed, few people can turn out perfectly, with the feet pointing in exactly opposite directions, unless they have started as children (and sometimes not even then), and boys are not expected to be as turned out as girls are.
  
  If you were going to select one thing that sets ballet off from every other kind of dancing (not a good idea, but suppose you had to) it would probably be turnout. Dancers sometimes say that you turn out your entire body. Physically, this is impossible--the ribs are firmly attached to the breastbone, after all--but that describes the way it feels. It is most visible in the feet, but it originates from the hips, and sometimes seems to originate from even higher than that. There's an openness to the dancer's whole body in ballet.
  
  For additional information, see the file, why-turnout-in-ballet.txt in the Dancers' Archive.
10. What is a tutu...and why do they call it that?
  A tutu is a light ballet skirt. There are two general kinds, the "romantic" tutu, a long, bell-like skirt extending to mid-calf or below, and the "classical" tutu, a very short, fluffy skirt that stands out almost horizontally from the dancer's body. Both kinds are made of many layers of light material, typically nylon or tarlatan. (Tarlatan is a very light, starched, thin muslin.)
  
  Tutu is a French word, apparently a euphemistic variant of cucu, which in turn is a baby-talk form of cul, "behind." The term is thus a reference, not so much to a garment, as to that which the garment covers. This may be more understandable if Kersley and Sinclair are correct in saying that the tutu was originally the under-skirt. (According to Arnold Haskell, however, the modern French term isn't tutu but juponage.)
  
  The romantic tutu was introduced by Marie Taglioni in the ballet, La Sylphide (1832). The classical tutu dates, probably, from the 1880s.
11. What are all these "positions"?
  There are positions for the arms and for the feet. Different schools number the arm positions differently, but the positions of the feet have been fixed since the time of Beauchamps (Question D.5).
  
  The positions of the feet are as follows: In first position, the heels are together. In second position, the feet are separated so there is a distance between the heels roughly equal to the length of one's foot. In third position, one foot is right in front of the other, with the two feet partly overlapping. In fourth position, one foot is in front of the other, but there is a space between the feet. Fifth position is like third, except that the overlap is complete.
  
  If we represent the foot by o---- (where o is the heel), and if the feet are fully turned out, then we can sketch the positions as follows:
```
        First:  ----oo----              Second: ----o    o----


        Third:      o----               Fifth:      o----
                  ----o                             ----o

                                o----
                    Fourth:

                                ----o
```
  These are the basics, but there are some fine points. I have shown a Russian fifth here; the Cecchetti fifth is a little less strongly crossed than this (and beginning dancers should not force their fifth positions) and dancers make a distinction between a closed fourth (shown) and an open fourth.
  For details on the various ways of designating positions of the arms, see my short dictionary of ballet terms, s.v. "arms, positions of."
12. What is "placement?"
  Placement is, roughly, alignment of the body. Becoming properly placed means learning to stand up straight, with hips level and even, shoulders open but relaxed and centered over the hips, pelvis straight (neither protruding nor tucked under), back straight, head up, weight centered evenly between the feet. This posture is frequently described as "pulled up," but it is also a relaxed posture; you aren't tensed up like a soldier standing at attention. (A teacher once said you should imagine that you are suspended by a thread attached to the top of your head. This suggests both the "pulled-up" and relaxed aspects of good ballet posture.) And as you dance, you seek to maintain this posture except when the step requires something different, like the slight forward arch of the spine that accompanies an arabesque.
13. Why all that French?
  The first ballet school was in France, and the terminology was crystallized there. Nearly everything in ballet is described by a French word or phrase. (You even wish dancers good luck in French. Actors wish one another good luck before a performance by saying, "Break a leg!" Dancers say, "Merde!") The drawback of this is that you must learn the French names for the steps and movements; but you would have to learn some names in any case, and the advantage is that you can take a ballet class anywhere in the world and, no matter how unintelligible the rest of the talk is, the terminology will still be in French and you will understand it.
  
  Dancers normally learn the terminology from their teachers, It helps to have alternative sources of information, however. For books, see the Reading List in Part 6 of this FAQ. For information on the Web, see my short dictionary of ballet terms, which also contains links to other on-line dictionaries. For information about the Ballet CD-ROM, see Question B.19.
14. If a female dancer is called a ballerina, what is a male dancer called?
  There's no satisfactory answer to this one. Theoretically, even though the Italian "ballerina" means simply "female dancer," only a principal female dancer is supposed to be called a ballerina. If that restriction were universally observed, then the nearest male equivalent would be the French premièr danseur ("first dancer"). But in practice, people use ballerina to refer to any female ballet dancer, and in that case all you can say is "dancer" for the male.
  
  I suppose you could be pedantic and use the Italian masculine form ballerino, but people probably wouldn't understand you and, worse, are likely to mis-hear the word as "ballerina," which could lead to endless confusion.
15. What is a "Prima Ballerina Assoluta"?
  "Assoluta" is Italian for "absolute"; so if a prima ballerina is the first (i.e., top-ranking) ballerina then a prima ballerina assoluta is absolutely the first. In answer to a query about how many PBA's the world has seen, Robert Greskovic has the following historical points to add:
  The title was first conferred by the Tsar during the late 19th c. for exemplary ballerinas of the Imperial Theater's ballet troupe. The last of that line was the second, Mathilde Kchessinska; the first was Pierina Legnani, Italian virtuosa extraordinaire of the Russian company.
  Since then the Soviet Union that took over after the fall of the imperial system semi-officially used to the title for one ballerina, Galina Sergeyevna Ulanova. So, since it was really an imperial ballet designation, the one connected with the Soviet era might not actually count.
  
  Britain took up the tradition in 1979, as part of the 70th birthday honors for Margot Fonteyn, who had by then already retired from her long career as leading ballerina of London's Royal Ballet. Fonteyn has thus become, to date, England's only designated "Prima Ballerina Assoluta."
  
  So, technically there have been only two such honored ballerinas in ballet history; three if you include the Soviet continuation of the tradition; and four if you consider the Royal Ballet's borrowing of the title for its own.
16. What are: a choreographer, a regisseur, a repetiteur, a ballet master, and an artistic director?
  A choreographer is a composer of dances. In practice, the other terms may be used in different ways by different companies, and their meanings overlap. Grant's dictionary (see the Reading List, Section F.1.e) defines a regisseur as a stage manager and then expands this by saying that the regisseur is responsible for rehearsing and staging the company's ballets. A repetiteur is one who rehearses ballets. A ballet master teaches company class (the class taken regularly by the dancers in the company) and, according to Grant, rehearses the company's ballets. An artistic director makes artistic policy decisions for the company--e.g., deciding what new ballets are to be accepted, or assembling programs for a season. The artistic director may also be the principal choreographer for the company.
17. What are the most popular ballets?
  Estelle Souche ran an informal poll on alt.arts.ballet in March, 1995, asking people to list their six favorite ballets. The results of this poll may or may not be representative of the population as a whole, but here are the ballets that got two or more votes. Note that some ballets, like Romeo and Juliet, exist in more than one version; the different versions had to be consolidated in tabulating the result.
  Swan Lake (Petipa): 22 votes
  Romeo and Juliet (MacMillan, Cranko, Van Dantzig, Smuin or others): 17 votes
  Giselle (Perrot-Coralli): 14
  Serenade (Balanchine): 12
  Don Quixote (Petipa): 10
  Sleeping beauty (Petipa): 9
  The Four Temperaments (Balanchine): 9
  La Sylphide (after Taglioni or Bournonville): 5
  Coppelia (after Saint-Leon): 5
  La Bayadère (Petipa): 5
  The Nutcracker (Petipa): 5
  Green Table (Jooss): 5
  Jewels (Balanchine): 5
  Symphony in C (Balanchine): 5
  A Midsummer Night's Dream (Ashton): 5
  Les Sylphides (Fokine): 4
  Concerto Barocco (Balanchine): 4
  Apollo (Balanchine): 4
  Push Comes to Shove (Tharp): 4
  Le Corsaire (after Mazilier): 3
  Agon (Balanchine): 3
  Rodeo (Agnes De Mille): 3
  Diversion of Angels (Graham): 3
  Monotones (Ashton): 3
  Le Jeune Homme et la Mort (Roland Petit): 3
  Revelations (Ailey): 3
  La Fille mal Gardée (after Dauberval): 2
  L'apres-midi d'un faune (Nijinski): 2
  Rubies (Balanchine): 2
  Who Cares? (Balanchine): 2
  Stars and Stripes (Balanchine): 2
  Rubies (Balanchine): 2
  Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux (Balanchine): 2
  Lilac Garden (Antony Tudor): 2
  Acts of light (Graham): 2
  Clytemnestra (Graham): 2
  Dance interlude in Oklahoma (De Mille): 2
  The Concert (Jerome Robbins): 2
  Taming of the Shrew (Cranko): 2
  Aureole (Taylor): 2
  Hard Nut (Morris): 2
  Gloria (Morris): 2
  Da Mummy, Nyet Mummy (Christopher d'Amboise): 2
  Cinderella (various productions): 2
18. Where can I find books about dance?
  1. Bookstores
    Some of the larger bookstores may have special sections devoted to dance. For example, Barnes & Noble's main store in Manhattan (5th Ave. and 18th Street) has such a section. Bookstores located near performing-arts locales may offer dance books. Otherwise, you will have to resort to specialty stores. Here are a few; others will be added in time.
    - Amazon.com Books
      A general on-line bookstore, not specifically for dance.
    - Ashworth Art Books Search
    - Arts Books
      E-mail: cathm@arts-books.com
      Web: http://www.arts-books.com
      An on-line dance bookstore.
    - The Ballet Company
      1887 Broadway
      New York, New York 10023
      (212) 246-6893
      (800) 219-7335
      Fax (212) 246-6899
      (Collectibles, books, videos, apparel)
    - Dance Books, Ltd.
      http://www.antiquarian.com/dancebooks/
      An on-line dance bookstore.
    - The Dance Mart (books and memorabilia)
      Box 994
      Teaneck, N. J. 07666
      (Send them a large stamped envelope and they will send you a catalog.)
    - Golden Legend, Inc.
      (Member Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America)
      7615 Sunset Boulevard
      Los Angeles, Calif. 90046
      (323) 850-5520
      Fax (323) 850-1524
      E-mail: legenda@ix.netcom.com
    - JB Muns
      Fine Arts Books
      1162 Shattuck Ave
      Berkeley, Calif. 94707
      Dance/Music Catalogue #156
    - Original Music (books and videos, mostly non-Western and "ethnic")
      418 Lasher Road
      Tivoli, N. Y. 12583
      Phone 914-756-2767
      Fax: 914-756-2027
      E-mail: orimu@aol.com
    - Pages - Books of the Dance
      16 Dakin Avenue
      Mount Kisco, New York 10549
      914-666-8281
      E-mail: PagesTLG@aol.com
    - Princeton Books
      POB 57
      Pennington, New Jersey 08534
      (800) 326-7149
  2. Libraries
    Among libraries, the best known collection in the United States is the Dance Collection of the New York Public Library, located at Lincoln Center. They have an on-line catalog reachable via http://catnyp.nypl.org/.
    For people on AOL who want to reach the New York Public Library catalog, Amy Reusch gives this advice:
```
Go to Dance Links  (http://www.dancer.com/dance-links/)
Select Miscellaneous Resources
Somewhere on the Miscellaneous Resources page (I think
under "Research"), there's a link to the Dance Collection.
When the computer asks you for a log-in, enter
    nypl
```
    In Washington, D. C., the George Washington University has a Dance Archive. For an informational brochure, contact
    Cheryl A. Chouiniere
    Manuscripts Librarian
    The Gelman Library
    The George Washington University
    2130 H Street, NW
    Washington, D. C. 20052
    Phone: (202) 994-7549
    Fax: (202) 994-1340
    Bitnet: indmss@gwuvm
    Internet: indmss@gwuvm.gwu.edu
19. Where can I find dance-related gifts?
  I know of the following places:
  - The Ballet Company
    1887 Broadway
    New York, New York 10023
    (212) 246-6893
    Fax (212) 246-6899
    Collectibles, books, videos, apparel
  - Dance, Etc.
    P. O. Box 724
    Brainerd, Minn. 56401
    (800) 762-3347
    (218) 829-7618
    T-shirts, trinkets, charms, some dancewear
  - Dance Xtras Store
    http://www.dancextrastore.com
    An on-line store; gifts, books, videos, stationery, jewelry, posters, etc.
  - Dance Stuff
    135 Lansdowne Court
    Lansdowne, Penn. 19050
    (800) 377-7571
    Dancestuff@AOL.COM
    T-shirts, posters, figurines, etc. State whether you're school, store, or private individual.
  - Steve O'Connell Fine Arts
    248 Canterbury Way
    Stevenage, Herts SG1 4DW
    England
    Tel/Fax +44 (0) 1438 367208
  Two other sources for posters:
  - Triton Gallery, 323 W 45th Street, New York--Phone (212) 765-2472--has very large collection of show posters for sale. I'll bet they have the type of posters you are looking for, as well. --Joel Levine
  - Go to the NYCB website. They sell posters at their gift shop (hypertext), including autographed ones. --Jean Fitzpatrick
20. Where can I find dance videos?
  There are two lists put out by the Dance Films Association back in 1986:
  - Modern Dance & Ballet On Film & Video: A Catalog
    ISBN 0-317-41588-3
  - Dance Film and Video Guide
    ISBN 0-87127-171-0
  There are also the following sources. (Most of this list contributed by Sandi Kurtz. Annotations are hers except as noted.)
  - Corinth Video
    34 Gansevoort Street
    New York N. Y. 10014-1597
    (800) 221-4720
    They send out a quarterly newsletter and four-page price list with approximately 150 ballet tapes and several hundred other tapes of Opera, Film Classics, and Theater. (Bob D. Peterson)
  - Dance Films Association
    (212) 727-0764
    Fax (212) 675-9657
    Web: http://www.virtualscape.com/dance_films
  - Lisa Harris
    2319 N. 45th St. #207
    Seattle WA 98103
    Web: http://www.eskimo.com/~lisa/
    Ballet CDs: wholesale and retail.
  - Home Vision
    POB 800
    Concord, Mass. 01742
    (800) 262-8600
    Some PBS.
  - Kultur
    121 Highway 36
    West Long Branch, New Jersey 07764
    (800) 4KULTUR
    (201) 229-2343
    www.kulturvideo.com
    kultur@monmouth.com
    Relationship with the Bolshoi, large lists of Bolshoi rep, mostly ballet.
  - The Ballet Company
    1887 Broadway
    New York, New York 10023
    (212) 246-6893
    Fax (212) 246-6899
    Collectibles, books, videos, apparel
  - M.A.D. Degrees Productions
    P. O. Box 2945
    Beverly Hills, Calif. 90213
    (800) 326-4997
    http://www.dance90210.com/catalog.html
  - New York City Ballet Gift Shop
    New York State theater
    20 Lincoln Center
    New York, New York 10023
    (212) 870-4232
    Fax: (212) 870-5693
    E-mail: nycbtick@interport.net
    web: http://www.nycballet.com/
  - Princeton Books
    POB 57
    Pennington, New Jersey 08534
    (800) 326-7149
    One of the best modern dance lists as well as ballet.
  - TMS Home Page/Video Catalogue
    http://www.totalmarketing.com/
    Danczarina writes, "They have an extensive Dance section, and provide quite a bit of detail about each selection. (They strike me as being to video what Amazon.com is to books.)"
  - Unlimited Dance Files (Florida)
    PO Box 160335
    Miami, Fla 33116-0335
    (800) 430-4297
  - Video Artists International
    POB 153, Ansonia Station
    New York, N. Y. 10023
    (800) 338-2566
  - View Video
    34 E 23rd Street
    New York, N. Y. 10010
    (212) 674-5550
  There is also a ballet CD-ROM available; this shows the execution of hundreds of ballet steps, with information on correct execution and even a guide to pronunciation. It also contains a brief history of ballet and interviews with a number of professional ballet dancers. The CD-ROM, which is available in both Macintosh and Windows versions, is obtainable from
  Performing Arts Video, Inc.
  Ballet CD-ROM
  P. O. Box 193121
  San Francisco, Calif. 94119-3121
  http://www.pav.org/Ballet.html
  At this writing (June, 1996), the price is $59.95 plus $5 for shipping.
21. Where can I find dance-related clipart?
  Koo@monmouth.com writes, "You can download ballet clipart at no charge from a website at: www.danceart.com. They will also take your photo and computerize it into clipart, also at no charge, which you can then use for newsletters, personal stationery, etc. It's pretty cool."
  
  Rocio C. Barraza Rivacoba offers free ballet and dance clipart at Danza Dance Gallery, http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/1854/dndngall.html
22. Where can I find recorded music for ballet?
  If you're looking for pieces for performances (i.e., things like "Swan Lake" or "Petrouchka," any well-stocked store that carried fine music should have these. The only problem is when the music has been adapted from some other source--for example, Tudor's "Lilac Garden." You will have to look in a reference book to find that this was choreographed to Chausson's Poeme for Cello & Orchestra.
  
  If you're looking for recordings for class, the search is usually harder, because these recordings are not generally stocked. One possibility:
  
  The Ballet Company
  1887 Broadway
  New York, New York 10023
  (212) 246-6893
  Fax (212) 246-6899
  
  There is also a listing of music for dance class websites in Dance Links' Miscellaneous Resources section: http://www.dancer.com/dance-links/misc.html

Continued in Part 3.

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Back to Dance Page.

Part 2 of seven parts

Contents:

PART 2: GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT BALLET AND MODERN DANCE

Continued in Part 3.