This CD, Modern Ballet Studio Melodies, Volume 1, came highly recommended by a fellow dance professional, and it’s easy to see why. The piano music is excellent–and different. You will hear renditions of favorites such as “Summertime”, “Hernando’s Hideaway”, “Some Day My Prince Will Come” and “Somewhere Out There” – but they avoid the “cheesy” factor that is so often a part of this type of translation for ballet class music.

Instead, the tracks are easy and fun–as well as expertly played. Christopher Hobson is at the helm here, and he began training at age 4. He has experience working with dance schools, which is obvious by the arrangements here, which are metered, without being dull. His background includes working for Northern Ballet Theatre, Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts.

The intent of the CD is to add variety to the ballet class repertoire, which it does quite successfully. I am located in the US, but have had many UK dance teachers ask me for recommendations in their area in terms of ballet class music. I would pass this CD along without hesitation as something that would be fun to use for a welcome change of pace. There is both barre and centre music, and the quality of the recording is very good–another rarity in this type of CD–although I will admit it has been improving overall as a genre.

If you are searching for something fun to add to your collection as a dance teacher or dance studio, this is a good pick. Here are the particulars:

If you are interested, you can purchase Christopher Hobson’s Modern Ballet Studio Melodies, Volume 1 here.