December 16, 2008.

Wonderful Video!.

Rating: 5
I think this is a video for every ballet enthusiast. It is well spoken and pronounces the French words easily. The steps are clear and put in slow motion and fast motion. I recommend that ANYONE, ages 1 to 100, should see this video.

December 13, 2008.

Very good resource.

Rating: 4
This video series has so much information, so many different ballet moves, it really is a good resource. I didn't give it 5 stars because some of the dance moves aren't given a title by the narator. But this would probably help any beginner with learning ballet. Very thorough.

December 03, 2007.

Learning the language.

Rating: 5
This 2 CD set is the perfect aid for those who want to learn the basic vocabulary of classical ballet. There is no better way to learn than to see the positions, barre, center work, combinations, etc. expertly demonstrated then deconstructed and explained. Each section is numbered for reference and is indexed to the insert that is included with the CD set. I myself am not a dancer but, because of a book I'm writing in which one of the main characters is a dancer, I need to learn the basic language of dance. There are many published glossaries of dance terms, but nothing written could ever come close to depicting what classical ballet is composed of: for that purpose the medium has to be visual.

Others who better know ballet can decide if this is the definitive work on the subject. To me it seems so.

A note about the technical quality: some reviewers complained about sound quality. In my opinion, that's being really nitpicky. The visuals are spectacular. Let's leave it at that.

December 19, 2007.

For the advanced student of professional only.

Rating: 5
I am under the impression that many people buy this DVD to learn ballet. That is not the point. You can look up moves, positions, etc., but this is not a step-by-step to teach you something you haven't learned in class. It's basically a summary of how steps are done. If I'm trying to remember how move X is started, I'll pull out the DVD and already know what to look for. But it will not teach me step X. You will be disappointed if you buy expecting a class replacement, but will be happy if your intention is to use this DVD solely as a reference and as a supplement to proper classes.

It's not an overly-pretty DVD. There aren't fancy costumes, and the dancers are wearing classwear. Music in the background is to keep tempo, so don't expect to pop in the DVD and hear a beautiful orchestra and watch full dances. You will see the word, hear it pronounced in French, then see the move performed a couple times in a class setting (without onlookers). This is all. You can easily skip from scene to scene to find what you want. This is what you get.

December 07, 2007.

Intriguing!.

Rating: 4
I have always wanted to be a ballerina and always fascinated about the many different styles and techniques, BUT, I didn't realize how many different positions there were! I loved this DVD, it was so fascinating and amazing at what these dancers can do. All the hard work they put in by conditioning their bodies to give us a beautiful outcome of a performance. The DVD shows different dancers doing different postions of dance. I have a deeper respect and love of ballet.