I'm a middle-aged guy who, until recently, felt the same way about ballet as a lot of people probably do - "The music is great... but does it really need to be accompanied by all that dancing?"

Then one night I was watching the A&E network. They were showing scenes from ballets, and for the first time I really paid attention. It struck me as a very beautiful art form. I found myself tremendously moved by all aspects of it.

Now I own several ballets on DVD, and enjoy them very much. The first one I got was ABT's production of Swan Lake with Gillian Murphy and Angel Corella. I must've watched it a dozen times in the first month!

As yet, I don't know enough about ballet to make intelligent distinctions or criticisms; I'm still at the "I only know what I like" stage... which is probably not a bad place to be, really.

Anyway, I hope to broaden my knowledge. Thank you for having me!

Welcome to Ballet Talk, RobH! It's never too late to love this beautiful art form.

If you ever have a question that doesn't seem to have a home, please ask it in our Discovering the Art forum. We do hope you'll post about what you see and like.

Thank you for the welcome, Helene!

RobH, welcome to Ballet Talk.

We are all sorts here. My story has something in common with yours: the ballet videos on A&E -- and the old Bravo too -- helped change my life. I grew up with ballet but was away from it, living a rather long drive from NYC. Those tv showings, which I started to tape, kept me attached, curious, fascinated, and -- gradually -- yearning for MORE, while live performance wasn't in the cards.

Watch out about ballet dvds though. They can become addictive!

Many thanks, Bart!

About ballet DVDs being addictive... boy, you ain't kidding! I only started collecting them a few months ago, and already have 20! I'm sure that's not many compared to the collections other people on the board have, but to me it's a lot.