• My First Ballet Collection (DVD)
• Release Date: October 27, 2009
• Label: Opus
• Run Time: 92 minutes
• Region: Region Free, Worldwide

Featuring some of the world's most exciting and talented dancers, this collection introduces children to the world of ballet with scenes from favorite ballets, including Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, The Nutcracker, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Cinderella.

“Bottom Line: My First Ballet Collection is a great choice for those wishing to nurture enthusiasm for ballet among children of all ages. Younger children will enjoy being introduced to colorful characters and beautiful dancing. Older children will benefit from the opportunity to sample a mélange of ballet specimens”  – Dance Advantage

Ballet

In classic or contemporary ballet, dancing may tell a story, express a mood, or simply reflect the music in movement. Ballet as part of staged performances originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th and 16th centuries and from there spread to France. The creation of classical ballet as we know it today occurred during the reign of the art-loving French king Louis XIV in the mid-17th century. During the Romantic era, ballet technique evolved to express new ideas, most notably with women dancing en point, or on their toes, allowing them to appear weightless and otherworldly.
 
Among the choreographers who helped bring ballet into the modern age by exploring new visual and dramatic styles are George Balanchine, Antony Tudor and—bridging the worlds of classical dance and Broadway—Agnes de Mille and Jerome Robbins.