Ballet Index App Reviews

Its the same as lite version, useless to pay, if there are no pictures as promissed in the description. Disappointed.

This is a pretty good app to have for a beginner who may not have Grants Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet handy and wishes to look up common terms. The developers have been providing regular updates so far and the list of terms covered is expanding too. A decent app and a good buy, IMHO.

If it charges, please add pictures and movies that show the techniques and movement.

Great little ballet term glossary! Would love to see an app with images to go with glossary to show correct position and movement.

Love this easy app. Great for finding quick and useful terms. Wish I could bookmark certain terms and have a picture or illustration to clarify. A pronounciation would be nice too... However, its very useful and I love the flashcard concept.

Good definitions, but needs photos or something to show positions. Somewhat useful anyway for beginners. Glad someone atleast made something for dancers. I could use other forms of dance (like tap) having a dictionary as well.

Great app! Worth the .99 cents, but needs more pics! Its easier to remember a step when u can c it being done.

This is a great app for remembering steps but it is hard to just read it and get it from there it would be a lot easier to hav pics .... Especially 4 the body positions

Definitions are good but no dance app should be without visual aids that start with the beginning of a movement and flow through to the end of the movement. This app says it has images for some terms but there is no way of knowing which ones. I would be more patient with the development of this app if I could easily go to the terms with images since I would mostly gravitate toward those. Save your money for this app or another app until they get a professional dancer on video for every term. I would spend good money on the app that does that.

I would like to see some sort of bookmarking system for things I need to work on and remember. The descriptions are hard to visualize for a newer student. There are simple 2 step illustrations out there that could be used within this interface. Overall, it helps me see the terms I am hearing during ballet class.

It needs pictures, but its a great dictionary.

I love it. It would be cool if it had a book maker and if you could write corrections your teacher give you on it. It would make it totally more awesome.

There are like two photos in the whole app not what it shows in the preview..

I really wanted to try this and write a good review. Because the less-than-literate world of ballet out there really needs one. But, there are some glaring issues with this app that make it frustrating at best and angering at worst. So, first, why it deserves a "star": It seems to be well coded and is fairly functional in finding and accessing terms. Good. Great template to make a great glossary or dictionary. But that is where the fat lady finishes her aria and the curtain closes. I wrote my thesis on Balletic Linguistics and Semiology in reference to the verbal transmission of technique. I confess that I tend to be a bit erudite in my criticism to this study. But, this glossary only confirms the conclusion of that thesis: There is far too little academic understanding in the world of ballet - even among academics, in regards to definition, usage and synomics between cultural schools of ballet linguistics, for them to be teaching, much less, presenting such a glossary. There are far too many omissions and little mistakes that should have been edited before the release of this app for me to count. In brief, here is the main omission of this app: it is primarily inclusive of a foundation of the usage of French from the perspective of most -English schools of ballet-, instead of the ballet world at large. Cecchetti is the next best represented, but that is because, more or less, English ballet is based directly upon Cecchetti. French school is the next, but, hey, the language of ballet is predominantly French. After that, forget it: Bournonville, Vaganova, even Balanchine are barely represented (Balanchines usage is based upon the Cecchetti influenced old Russian Imperial school). Take for example the definition of "arabesque". "in the arab fashion"? Wha....? The term Arabesque originates from arab moorish decent through Spain and is a term of design meaning "spiral." The arabesque ligne is a spiral. Then, no description of -any- of the schools forms of arabesques: not the five arabesques of Cecchetti, four of Vaganova, nor even the English versions!? To parse down a glossary to the effect of not defining the term at minimum as, say, "one leg extended derrière, qualified as arabesque by one arm extended en avant, palm down with the back erect as possible" or something along that line, betrays the purpose of such an app book. Secondly: very few discussions of synonmics. No discussion that in most schools, a so-called "split jete" (colloquial), referenced as "grande saut de chat" in most schools, is strictly "grande PAS de chat" in the Vaganova school! If this is not inclusive, a document is inaccurate. Not to mention that they use the term "raccourci" as part of the descriptor, and then dont go on to have a definition for it, nor use the synonyms that match it, such as retire, passe retire or, in the Vaganova school, one of several versions of tir bouchon...and that raccourci is rarely used in its kinetic referencing, (It is more or less, a dead usage in contemporary balletic linguistic.) The definition of "raccourci" is buried within the definition of "retire"! Lastly, the description of this step is dated; since the early 1960s, almost every school follows the larger definition of the Vaganova grande pas de chat! This may sound nit-picking, but, I can assure you, it is not. This is extremely important to the study of ballet technique and artistry! Lastly, the inaccuracies. Here is a glaring example of repeated inaccuracy under the definition of "port de bras": "The basic port de bras exercise moves from fifth en barre- to first arm position, to second arm position, then back down to fifth en -barre-. A full port de bras moves from fifth en -barre- to -fifth overhead- and back down but a variation of sequence is common." FYI: the correct term is "fifth (cinquième) en bas" meaning, low fifth position of the arms. "Fifth overhead" is "cinquième en haut" ... Not to mention that fifth en bas in the French school is "bas au repos" and in the Vaganova, "preparatory." and "fifth en haut" is "third position of the arms", grrrrrrr! Id have to write more content than is fiven in this glossary to cover a half of the problems with this book app, so, Ill leave it at that. Heres the rub: if a person doesnt know a subject in its entirety, or at least have an editor point out errors and omissions, dont write a book for everyone, when it is only meant to (misinform) a proprietary audience at best, or to make a buck, at worst....and at one buck for a purchase, youd do a lot better to simply buy a used copy of Gail Grants antique "Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet." Its much more accurate, though not quite up to date.

Unless Im missing something there are none! I am pretty "ticked off"! I bought this because at 55, even though I still teach in pointe shoes, I cant demonstrate everything the way Id like to anymore! Bring on the photos & Ill rate this higher....

I first downloaded the Lite version and after finding out that there were a lot of entries with no images, I decided to buy the (supposedly) full version. What a disappointment! more than 90% of entries will just present a dictionary-style definition, with no supporting images!

No images after paying for the full version. Dont waste your money!!!

First downloaded the lite version then found this which was indicated more pics then the lite FALSE! The only difference between the lite and the index are with the PAID version is no ads THATS IT fix this if we paid for something we expect it!

While the definitions are thorough, the lack of pictures a real upset. There might be five definitions in the whole app that include pics. Your better off googling the terms for free if you want an example. How hard is it to snap pics of dancers and uploading them to the app?

Paid for the app and there are no pictures. Screen shots are deceiving.Useless. Will be asking for a refund.