Welcome to the Idoloveballet blogsite. I decided to do a blogsite devoted to ballet because I enjoy watching it, more than any other art form, and it seems to me the world of ballet is now expanding rapidly, with new ballets being written and produced, and old ones being redone, sometimes with major changes. The purpose of this blogsite is to share what I learn, to help other ballet lovers find good ballets to watch, and for me to learn something from others more experienced in it.

I, often with my wife and sometimes others, watch one ballet a week, typically on a Saturday in the evening after dinner. We watch videos of the ballets, and it appears to us that a well-filmed ballet is more impressive and more informative that what you would get by sitting in a box or a seat at a major ballet company and seeing the ballet live. The filming must be done masterfully, by people who know what to do and take the time after the ballet concludes to make up a well-balanced video, which continues at the same rate as the ballet itself. The only skips in the videos we have watched are during intermission, or before or after the ballet, when there might be interviews or commentary. There are often many cameras in different locations with zoom capability. They can show the details of a solo dance, or the expressions on the face of a dancer, or an overhead view of a large troupe from the corps de ballet doing a coordinated dance, or just show what the ballet looks like from the orchestra seats or a box or a loge. And you can watch the video over and over. Videos are available all over the internet.

Nothing, however, will ever replace the experience one feels when seening a ballet live, and I will go whenever I can, but where I live there is almost no opportunity, so it has to happen on a trip.

On ballet nights, we eat dinner, and then I prepare the situation by finding, if available, a description of the ballet, and maybe a little history or some surprising facts. Some ballets are one or two hundred years old! I read the plot before each act if it is available. We watch it, discussing it as it shows.


I have always loved ballet, and have gone to many live ballets. For a while, Bolshoi Ballet was making films of some of their most popular ballets, to be shown in theaters, which is again a very different experience. We went to several. I think these films are now available on the internet.


I think the world of ballet has exploded in recent years. There are so many new ballets available on the internet, some on youtube, some on medici.tv, some on VKvideo, others elsewhere. They are done in the classical ballet theaters, like Bolshoi, the Royal in London, the Paris Opera, La Scala in Milan, but also many, many other locations now. There are some ‘neo-classical ballet’, using largely classical dance moves, elegant costumes and sets, and beautiful classical music. The other extreme are the ’emo’ ballets, which have dance moves designed to convey some emotions. I’m not very good at interpreting these, so I ignore these ballets and they are never shown in our house. There are ballets which use a lot of pantomine to tell a story, which is one of the ballet traditions from previous centuries. They might be a little less lavish on sets, but still excellent to watch. One thing I have begun to appreciate is the choreography. I can’t express why, but some ballets are just so beautiful to watch, and I’m guessing that comes from having a skilled and proficient choreographer, and of course an excellent ballet master to help turn his ideas into staged dance.

Please feel free to comment, although I doubt there will be anyone who finds this blog.