As those who know me will testify, my technical knowledge of ballet will go on the back of a postage stamp and still leave room for my name and address.  This doesnt, of course, stop me from pontificating about ballet or being vitriolic about some of the best dancers in the world just because Im in a grumpy mood or have indigestion.  Just occasionally, however, I have a few pangs of conscience and feel I ought to learn a bit more about ballet.  Or at least be able to throw in phrases like brise de suite en arriere or assemble porte battu, to give people the false impression that I know what Im talking about.  

Thus, I was intrigued to come across Victoria Morgans Ballet CD-ROM in Dance Books.  Ms Morgan was a Principle with San Francisco Ballet and the core of her CD-ROM is over 700 indexed video clips and pictures, illustrating ballet positions and terms, with accompanying text, albeit in a rather odd typeface.  The video clips, which last a few seconds, are great fun and there is some nice dancing on show from Evelyn Cisneros, Katita Waldo and Christopher Stowell of San Francisco Ballet.  The CD allows you to freeze the video clips or start them from a particular point in each step.  You also get the correct pronunciation for the French terms in rather scratchy sound.  I will need to spend a lot longer working through the various terms over and over again, but I think the clips will be a great help in understanding and differentiating the various steps and positions.  For those taking ballet classes, the accompanying text gives some potential problem areas and hints, but it would be interesting to have some comments from someone who can evaluate their value as a training tool.

The other main elements on the CD-ROM are a short history of ballet and a series of interviews with dancers.  The history by Mary Ruud Ward is ok and contains useful information and pictures.  There is a comprehensive index and links to other parts of the text and the rest of the CD, but I feel the text would have benefited from chapter headings, as the continuous text does make it rather indigestible.  Like me, some might feel that the omission of MacMillan is a glaring oversight, but perhaps it underlines the sad lack of appreciation of this genius in some quarters of the USA.  

More successful are the interviews, with 22 mainly American dancers talking about various aspects of their art and careers.  However, the sound quality could be better and the content inevitably varies from the fascinating to the banal.  Helene Alexopoulos, a fine dancer from NYCB, who we saw in London at the RFH last year, talks about working with Balanchine and the problems of combining a career with being a mother.  Heartbreakingly, Cynthia Harvey talks about the injury she sustained while dancing with the Royal Ballet in Moscow.  Neither Russian nor British medical staff identified the gravity of the injury and when she eventually had an examination in New York, it was too late to fully rectify the problem and she realised that many roles would be impossible for her from then on.

The system requirements are basic and my guess is that it should run on most PCs or Macs bought over the past 4 years, but do check the spec. beforehand.  The platform is Adobe Acrobat 2.1, which is supplied.  Overall, I feel that the Ballet CD-ROM is worth the £40 it costs, given that it is a long-term resource and is roughly the price of a goodish seat at the ROH.  I would be very interested to read on Postings the views of others who have tried the CD-ROM or those who have experience of similar products.  Like most things, it may well be a lot cheaper in New York, so leave a little space among the Armani and  Calvin Klein purchases next time youre there.