ballet class cd review

CD Review: Music for Ballet Class Volume Two

December 14, 2016 by Rachel Hellwig

Charles Mathews

If you’re a ballet class regular, chances are you’ve plié-d and rond de jambe-d through this CD before. If you’re a teacher and haven’t added it to your collection yet, you should.

Music for Ballet Classes Volume Two takes dancers through a range of emotions–yearning, to pensive, to lighthearted–that help encourage expressiveness. For my own practice, I felt that the slower, more reflective pieces most enhanced my movement and that delightful feeling of being so guided by music that you become lost in it.

Arrangements include selections from opera, classic ballets, non-ballet classical music, and original compositions by Matthews.

Some of my favorites include Beethoven’s serene “2^nd Movement Sonata Op. 13” for warmup at barre, the grand and wistful “Intermezzo” from Cavalleria Rusticana for plié, and the tender ache of Puccini’s “O Mia Babbino Caro” for port de bras.

Yes, I’d have to say this album brought out more of my inner Swan than Swanhilda. And that’s lots of fun!

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CD Review: “More Sounds of Christmas”

November 24, 2014 by Rachel Hellwig

More Sounds of Christmas
Christopher Hobson

by Rachel Hellwig

‘Tis the season to frappé to Jingle Bells.

Christopher Hobson’s “More Sounds of Christmas” is full of familiar favorites like “Frosty the Snowman”, “Feliz Navidad”, “Sleigh Ride”, “White Christmas”, and “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of The Year”. It also includes some less-well-known pieces like Nat King Cole’s “Take Me Back to Toyland” and the Irish-themed “Christmas in Killarney”.

Hobson’s arrangements show taste and sensitivity to the musical needs of different ballet exercises. “O Christmas Tree” is perfectly adapted for pirouettes. “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” is lyrically channeled for pliés. “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” becomes a buoyant piece for grand battement en cloche. “The Chipmunk Song” is tamed into a peaceful melody for rond de jombe. And, throughout the collection, Hobson finds the balance between arranging a song and changing it into a different piece.

“More Sounds of Christmas” features 24 tracks and is sure to bring holiday cheer to any ballet class.

Disclosure: 4dancers accepts compensation for promoting More Sounds of Christmas

CD Review: Ballet Class with Piano, Vols 1&2

August 2, 2013 by 4dancers

by Emily Kate Long

Ahn Hyewon and Jeong Mijin’s Ballet Class with Piano CDs each contain over forty tracks of original and classical solo piano music. Volume 1 is comprised mostly of classical pieces, with fourteen of the 41 tracks original compositions by Ahn and Jeong. The first volume includes some fun adaptations of well-known classical music (Ivanocivi’s “Donauwellen Walzer” in a straightlaced 2/4) as well as a few Western popular and show tunes. Volume 2 is mostly original work by Ahn and Jeong, with a few classical melodies tossed in.

Both CDs feature repeated tracks for barre, six tracks for centre work, adage, and pirouettes, fourteen tracks for allegro, and music for pointe work. Meters and tempi are clear and consistent, if somewhat lacking in variety. All of the center tracks are quite short, making these discs best suited for a beginner or intermediate-level class.. The overall flavor of this CD is a pleasant balance of lightness and formality.

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