~ Written by Yawen, Founder and CEO at Ballegro Player

"I love to have fun, play with my boys, drink coffee, have dates with my hubby and play the piano a LOT!"

Ballegro welcomes aboard Lorel Leal - "The Barre Pianist" & Accompanist Extraordinaire at Alberta Ballet (Calgary, Alberta, Canada).  Lorel loves to have fun, play with her boys, drink coffee, have dates with her hubby and play the piano a LOT! On top of all of that, her most recent fascination and joy is creating a business based on music education, courses for ballet teachers!  An excellent salsa dancer, Lorel has lived in Jamaica, been featured in major newspapers including the People Project by the Calgary Herald, and played in many interesting places including Disneyland and Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Ballegro Library’s June 2020 Album: « Purple » by Lorel Leal

A delightful and motivating intermediate/advanced ballet CD for a free class. Just pop it in and run your class; warmup through...

~ Written by Danielle Lee-Hogervorst, Outreach Coordinator at Ballegro Player, Alumni of Arts Umbrella’s Graduate Program

With a creepy witch cackle, many black cat hisses, haunted house visits, and bellies filled with candy, we say R.I.P. to Halloween 2019. 

No need to fret though! Winter festivities are about to begin! 

December is just around the corner, and in homes, stores, workplaces, and, of course, dance studios around the world, it will begin to look a lot like Christmas! 

Re-downloading your favorite Christmas ballet tunes can make you lose the holiday spirit, so we have a better idea!

With the magical accompanist Emanuele Lucchisani behind the piano, Ballegro has created the perfect playlist to get you in a festive mood!  With Tendu exercises to Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, Grands Battements to Winter Wonderland, and Allegro to Let it Snow, you will be jolly and enjoying the Christmas cheer in no time.

November is often the time of...

~ Written by Danielle Lee-Hogervorst, Outreach Coordinator at Ballegro Player, Alumni of Arts Umbrella’s Graduate Program

What is the only thing more thrilling than landing a triple pirouette on the left with pure ease and grace?  Doing it while being accompanied by the “Happiest Playlist on Earth!”  Yes, I am saying there is a full ballet playlist filled with every possible Disney sing-along you can think of!  :)

I have been thinking a lot lately about how much the artistry and passion of the ballet accompanist is transmitted to the dancers and teacher of the class. I become completely inspired when I am able to connect with and really FEEL the soul of the accompanist.  Another added bonus?  When you are able to sing along to the songs being played!  This allows me to take my mind off of my hyper-analytical brain and enjoy, smile, dance, and BREATHE!

This is why we at Ballegro have collaborated with Emanuele Lucchisani to offer...

~ Written by Yawen CA, Founder & CEO at Ballegro Player, Pianist at Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal and École Supérieure de Ballet du Québec.

We're delighted to welcome the latest addition to the Ballegro Music Library, the young and talented jazz pianist, composer and ballet arranger Emanuele Lucchisani. You will love his creative arrangements of some of the most well-known tunes, guaranteed to lift up your ballet class with his sensitive, musical and virtuosic playing.

I met Emanuele in person in Vancouver during his cross-Canada trip in 2018.  I was the Company Pianist at Ballet BC when Emanuele contacted us and arranged to play for a class as his audition.  I was immediately mesmerized by his musicality and sensitivity right from the beginning of class with the Warm-up and the Pliés. He didn’t follow any sheet music that would block him from the dancers; he...

~ Written by Yawen CA, Founder & CEO at Ballegro Player, Pianist at Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal and Former Company Pianist at Ballet BC.

This month we released a final album by Søren Bebe, a formidable pianist who is one of the shining lights of jazz and contemporary music both in his home of Copenhagen and across Europe.  Søren has mostly written for his own projects but has also been commissioned to write work for the Danish theatre "Team Teateret," as well as a large piece for the National Gallery of Denmark. In 2012, Søren Bebe even received a grant from the Danish Arts Council. 

He has recorded 4 albums for the ballet class, and all of them are now available in our curated Ballegro Music Library!

If you have missed our blogs on these 3 earlier releases of Søren's albums, you can access all these blogs here:

Søren Bebe - Music for Ballet Class...

“Bebe certainly belongs to the tradition of lyrical pianists that goes from Erroll Garner and Bill Evans through Keith Jarrett.  What Bebe adds to the lyrical tradition of the piano is a sense of folk-like simplicity, with mourning melodies blossoming like shy night-flowers”
~ US jazz journal, All About Jazz ~

This month we bring you Søren Bebe, a formidable pianist who is one of the shining lights of jazz and contemporary music both in his home of Copenhagen and across Europe.

Among Søren's primary influences as a musician are pianists Oscar Peterson, Keith Jarrett and Aaron Parks. He also finds inspiration in the work of non-pianists such as Kenny Wheeler. Although taking note of other musicians' work, Søren's delicate touch on the piano and as a composer is all his own.

~ Written by Danielle Lee-Hogervorst, Outreach Coordinator at Ballegro Player, Dancer at Arts Umbrella’s Graduate Program.

Musicality is a hot topic within every studio practice and rehearsal.  Why? Because it is the essence of all movement. It is always present, whether you are listening to the actual progression of notes or the spaces and silences in between.

As I began brainstorming for this post, I ended up asking myself the reverse question: What is dance without musicality? The answer I came up with: Nothing. You can choose to dance in all one, legato quality, but this is still a choice and is still a form of being musical.  You can choose to dance in silence, but this only heightens the importance of creating musicality inside of your body.  You can be still, but even when you are not moving in space there is a buzzing within you, whether it’s an emotion, sensation, thought, or experience.  So that is why musicality is important; because even...

~ Written by Danielle Lee-Hogervorst, Outreach Coordinator at Ballegro Player, Dancer at Arts Umbrella’s Graduate Program.

In every ballet class, we listen to about 20 different pieces of music. Ranging in style, tempo, and mood, each song has its own unique way of moving and carrying the dancers through the exercise. And the best songs propel and inspire us to indulge in every step.

Here are the Top 6 hits on Ballegro Music Library’s expansive collection.

#1: Pavane

Number 1 on the charts is Pavane, by Gabriel Fauré.  Fauré (1845-1924) was a composer and pianist at the forefront of his generation.  He was a major influencer for many twentieth century composers, and Pavane was one of his best-known works.  Written in a minor key, Fauré’s famous composition has a nostalgic and melancholy feel, making it ideal for Warm-up, Pliés, Adage, and Stretching!  Although a typical adage is set to a 3/4 signature, this piece is...

Hey Ballegro Community,

Another month of great NEW music in your Ballegro Player library.  Let us introduce Music for Ballet Class Vol.1 by Søren Bebe. Bebe has a style all of his own: warm, intensely melodic and frequently playful, but always underscored by an unshowy lightness of touch with just a hint of Scandinavian melancholy. His jazz contemporary music will inspire you to be a little more creative. But listen for yourself! 

Our June 2018 album release is:

Søren Bebe - Music for Ballet Class Vol.1

Music for Ballet Class Vol . 1 with  33 original solo piano pieces for ballet class by jazz pianist Søren Bebe.  All songs composed, arranged and played by Søren Bebe. Recorded at Studio B, Copenhagen, on a Shigeru Kawai SK6 Grand Piano. Mixed and mastered by John Fomsgaard at Karmacrew.  It brings out the expression in each dancer, no matter what level you are at. 

Click here to get a little...

          "Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore." ~ Dorothy in Wizard of Oz.

That's what Dorothy said after she and her dog Toto landed in the Land of Oz, after their strange yet amazing journey swirling UP in the Big Tornado.

I grew up in Taiwan where there are regular Typhoon visits.  Typhoons can be violent and devastating, but at the centre of the Typhoon, there is the Typhoon Eye - the moment of stillness - where all the sudden all the movement stops and time feels suspended.

Today we will talk about Grand Jeté En Tourant  in dance and I will show you how to make the musical tornado work for you.  Once you understand and master how this internal energy works, you can ride on the power of this musical tornado, swirling UPWARD, hitting that movement accent UP in the air on the musical DOWNBEAT. 

Hold the Tension of the Opposites:  In order to go WAY UP, you need to go WAY DOWN. Have fun with your...