“The Future of Ballet Music: Creating Digital Recordings Truly Designed for Dance”

Understanding the technical intricacies of the ballet world requires a deep collaboration with the music world.

Ballet directors, ballet masters, conductors and musicians specializing in the ballet repertoire should work together to create something unparalleled that allows artists—both dancers and musicians—to express their talent.

One of the most integral elements of a ballet performance is the music. It can be played live or, as happens in most cases today, through digital audio recordings.

Yet the unfortunate truth is that almost all the ballet repertoire recordings currently available on streaming platforms or in digital catalogs are produced as concert versions.

The result is a major disconnect between the artistic needs of the ballet world and the recorded music available on the market.

Often it becomes almost impossible to dance to these recordings, because the tempos are not conceived for dancing. The existing digital audio has many limitations, restricting the artist’s creativity and expressive potential.

Imagine dancers working on variations, pas de deux or corps de ballet sections from great classics such as Swan Lake, Giselle, La Bayadère, Raymonda, Le Corsaire or The Sleeping Beauty, struggling to stay in time with recordings whose tempos are usually too fast.

Was Minkus imagining La Bayadère as a concert performance? And what about Tchaikovsky’s three masterpieces? If they were alive today, would they agree to have their works recorded as if they were symphonies? And how would Marius Petipa react to hearing these types of recordings? Would he be satisfied?

They would see people forced to use audio-editing software to recover a “normal” tempo—a practice that compromises the sound quality and, more importantly, the dancers’ performance.

To resolve this issue, it is time to launch new dedicated ballet recording projects, where conductors collaborate closely with ballet directors and ballet masters to define the right tempos, phrasing and interpretative approach for each musical piece.

This is essential for creating high-quality recordings that truly align with the artistic vision of the ballet world.

With new ballet-oriented digital releases, companies, academies and schools would finally have access to music conceived specifically for their daily work, rehearsals and performances.

They would simply choose the version that best reflects the artistic identity of their team—whether inspired by the tradition of the Royal Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, and so on—without worrying about tempo issues or technical adjustments.

Such an initiative could also encourage the emergence of a new generation of orchestra conductors highly specialized in ballet conducting.

Professionally produced ballet-specific recordings would bridge the gap between the dance world and the digital music industry, increasing demand for dedicated releases and creating new opportunities for both fields.

Music labels and digital distributors must join hands with the ballet world to build a brighter future for dancers, students and the entire music community.