History Main / DreamBallet

* In ''Series/{{Schmigadoon}}'', one is attempted, but even Melissa, who is a fan of musicals, doesn't want anything to do with it because they slow the whole show down.

* Miss Piggy's water ballet in ''Film/TheGreatMuppetCaper''. [[spoiler:It's doesn't end well]].

* The truly bizarre short film ''Film/DesignForDreaming," which features a dream ballet about an auto show(!) and was given the ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v91GELINmKo&feature=PlayList&p=76F6D9C63EFE0813&index=0&playnext=1 Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' treatment with hilarious results.

* The truly bizarre short film Film/DesignForDreaming," which features a dream ballet about an auto show(!) and was given the ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v91GELINmKo&feature=PlayList&p=76F6D9C63EFE0813&index=0&playnext=1 Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' treatment with hilarious results.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* Petra of ''Manga/GunslingerGirl'', being a former ballerina, occasionally has dreams of herself practicing ballet in her life before being a cyborg; however, since her memory of her previous life has been wiped, she doesn't realize that the girl in her dreams is really her.

* The "Once Upon A December" number in ''WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}}'', where the portraits in the imperial ballroom come to life and dance for Anya.

* "Old Man's Darling--Young Man's Slave" from ''Louisiana Purchase''.
* The climax of "At The Ballet" from ''Theatre/AChorusLine'' shows one as a reflection of the characters' memories.
* Parodied in ''Theatre/TheMusicalOfMusicalsTheMusical'':
-->'''Spoken Stage Direction''': As June drifts off to sleep, [[Theatre/CinderellaRodgersAndHammerstein in her own little corner, in her own little chair]], Dream June appears. Dream Willy appears. Together they dance a highly symbolic ballet. Sort of "Run of [=DeMille=]."
* ''Theatre/TheCatAndTheFiddle'' has one which segues with a DiegeticSwitch from the end of a scene where a disconsolate Victor is hearing Shirley playing one of her jazzy piano pieces. Eight girls in grotesque costumes appear in front of the curtain, playing discordant riffs on violin, banjo, trumpet, clarinet, trombone, saxophone, tuba and cymbals. The music settles into a delirious blues, accompanying the wailing of an EtherealChoir.

[[AC: Web Original]]
* The above image is from [[http://www.wirepop.com/comic_index.php?id=14 Eversummer Eve]].

[[AC: WesternAnimation]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/SkyDancers'', Skyla goes into a trance on the anniversary of Skyler's death and dreams that they are dancing together. In reality, she's dancing alone.

[[AC: Anime and Manga]]

[[AC:Films -- Animated]]

[[AC:Films -- Live-Action]]

* ''Film/SnowWhiteAndTheThreeStooges'' has a Dream ''Ice'' Ballet, to show off the skills of lead Carol Heiss.
* ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' had a scene that put Sarah in a white, puffy PimpedOutDress with a huge frilly skirt and GiantPoofySleeves. It had allusions to ''Literature/{{Cinderella}}'', with Jareth as the prince dancing with her, and the clocks striking Midnight causing Sarah to break out of the dream.

* The "Broadway Ballet" from ''Film/SinginInTheRain'' is an imagined ShowWithinAShow which has an internal dream sequence in the Creator/GeneKelly[=/=]Creator/CydCharisse ''pas de deux''.
* During the "Stormy Weather" performance, a girl waiting for the bus in dreary weather becomes a ballet dancer, and expresses the emotions of the song through dance.

* The truly bizarre short film "Design for Dreaming," which features a dream ballet about an auto show(!) and was given the ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v91GELINmKo&feature=PlayList&p=76F6D9C63EFE0813&index=0&playnext=1 Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' treatment with hilarious results.
* ''Film/TheBigLebowski'': The bowling-pin dancers in The Dude's dream.
* [[Creator/OsamuTezuka Tezuka Productions']] ''Broken Down Film'': When the nameless cowboy finally saves the damsel, the film suddenly shifts to Technicolor and the setting changes to a ballroom as the trope sets in. Then, when snapped out of it, the film suddenly reverts to its black-and-white western format.
* The 1956 movie version of ''Theatre/AnythingGoes'' included a ballet after "All Through The Night" in which Gaby Duval imagines her Broadway starring turn.
* Messed around with in ''Film/BlackSwan'' ... [[MindScrew probably]].
* ''Film/CannibalTheMusical'' features a random dream ballet as an homage to ''Theatre/{{Oklahoma}}''.
* Charlie Chaplin's ''[[Film/TheKid1921 The Kid]]'' has one near the end, with everyone in angel costumes until the party gets crashed by devils. Being that the rest of the film is fairly realistic, [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment it's appearance is rather random]].

* ''Film/MaryPoppins'' incorporates a ballet interlude into the "Jolly Holiday" number. Even Mary's parasol and Bert's cane get in on the act.
* Between the "Ice Skating Ballet" and "The Little Mermaid", ''Film/{{Hans Christian Andersen|1952}}'' incorporates a pair of these. The first one has Hans and Niels fighting over Doro, and the second is considerably more light-hearted and ends with Hans, Doro, and the corps de ballet singing "No Two People".

[[AC: Literature]]

[[AC: Live Action Television]]

* A musical version happens in ''Series/ICarly'' with both Carly and Spencer.
* The ''Series/{{Angel}}'' episode "[[Recap/AngelS03E13WaitingInTheWings Waiting in the Wings]]" had a DeletedScene that featured a fantasy ballet sequence between Fred and Wesley.

* In one episode of ''Series/CrazyExGirlfriend'', Rebecca and Valencia take drugs and hallucinate one of these, entitled "Triceratops Ballet".

[[AC: Theatre]]

* ''Stärker als wir sind'' for Sarah and ''Carpe Noctem'' for Alfred from ''Theatre/TanzDerVampire''
* ''Theatre/TheNutcracker'' is a ballet in which all of the second act and some of the first turns out to be AllJustADream in some productions (other productions play it as straight fantasy with magical things orchestrated by the mysterious Drosselmeyer).
* ''Theatre/FiddlerOnTheRoof'' has both a Dream Ballet and a ballet to explain a dream.
* The TropeMaker ''might'' be the "Beggar's Waltz" from the 1931 revue ''The Band Wagon''.
* The 1951 musical adaptation of ''Literature/ATreeGrowsInBrooklyn'' had a Halloween nightmare ballet for Johnny. It was unnecessarily melodramatic, but unlike many contemporary examples it was recorded for the original cast album.
* ''Theatre/ThePajamaGame'' has the "Jealousy Ballet," with Hines imagining what life married to Gladys would be like.
* ''Theatre/ByeByeBirdie'' has a frequently-cut ballet in which Rose dreams of killing her spineless fiance over and over again, using methods ranging from ShotAtDawn to ''Literature/ATaleOfTwoCities'' to a gangland hit.
* "The Imaginary Coney Island" in ''Theatre/OnTheTown''. "A Day In New York" in the film version uses much of the same music.
* The stage version of ''Theatre/MammaMia'' uses this as the Act Two opener, set to the ABBA song "Under Attack," complete with neon colors, blacklights, and scuba gear.
* Rod's dream ("Fantasies Come True") in Act One of ''Theatre/AvenueQ,'' and Princeton's moment of panic at the end of Act One.
* Not a "Dream" Ballet ''per se,'' but as Jo reads aloud her "operatic tragedy" at the beginning of both acts of the musical version of ''Literature/LittleWomen,'' the rest of the cast acts out the roles, [[LargeHam hamming it up]] as operatically as they can.
* The 11:00 ballet number "Venus in Ozone Heights" in ''Theatre/{{One Touch of Venus}}'' starts in {{Suburbia}}, where Venus is confined to living like every other ordinary housewife, and ends up in ancient Greece, where she can be her carefree self.
* "Peter's Journey" from ''Theatre/BabesInArms''.
* "Joey Looks Into the Future" from ''Pal Joey''.
* The ballet ''Fall River Legend'' is almost entirely a flashback in the [[NoNameGiven Accused's]] head as she is sentenced to death, but there's also a dream ballet ''within'' the flashback, in which she reunites with her dead mother after [[AxCrazy murdering her father and stepmother]].

* ''Fiddler On The Roof'' has both a Dream Ballet and a ballet to explain a dream.

* The "Broadway Ballet" from ''Film/SinginInTheRain'' is an imagined ShowWithinAShow which has an internal dream sequence in the Creator/GeneKelly[=/=]Cyd Charisse ''pas de deux''.

* The ''Series/RedDwarf'' episode "Parallel Universe" opens with a musical number which turns out to be Cat watching his own dreams on the ship's dream recorder.

* The ''Series/{{Angel}}'' episode "Waiting in the Wings" had a deleted scene that featured a fantasy ballet sequence between Fred and Wesley.

* There's one in ''Disney/{{Bambi}}'' when the title character gets his FirstKiss - the only overt fantasy moment in an otherwise realistic story.

* Discussed and then performed in the ''WebVideo/Unraveled'' episode dedicated to creating the perfect [=PokéRap=] as a way to include and honor the gods and demigods of Pokémon.

* Discussed and then performed in the ''WebVideo/Unraveled'' episode dedicated to creating the perfect PokeRap as a way to include and honor the gods and demigods of Pok&eacute&mon.

* Discussed and then performed in the ''WebVideo/Unraveled'' episode dedicated to creating the perfect PokeRap as a way to include and honor the gods and demigods of Pokemon.

The DreamBallet had its heyday in musical {{theatre}} from the 1930s through 1950s, when it was a favorite of such choreographers as George Balanchine, Agnes de Mille, Jerome Robbins and Creator/BobFosse. It appeared in other media as well, but has now fallen out of fashion. It doesn't necessarily have to be a dream, but it only takes place in a character's mind.

* In ''Theatre/{{Oklahoma}}'', there is a DreamBallet after Laurey takes smelling salts to help her decide whether to take Curly or Jud to a dance.
** Famous as the ''Oklahoma!'' DreamBallet is, ballets in Creator/RodgersAndHammerstein musicals aren't always dreams -- those in ''Theatre/{{Carousel}}'' and ''Theatre/TheKingAndI'' don't involve dreams. There is, however, a DreamBallet for Ta in ''Literature/FlowerDrumSong'', and the college dance sequence in ''Allegro'' takes a three-minute break from awkward reality to send the dancers twirling through their imaginations.

* ''Fiddler On The Roof'' has both a DreamBallet and a ballet to explain a dream.

-->'''Spoken Stage Direction''': As June drifts off to sleep, [[Film/{{Cinderella}} in her own little corner, in her own little chair]], Dream June appears. Dream Willy appears. Together they dance a highly symbolic ballet. Sort of "Run of [=DeMille=]."

* Parodied in Max Shulman's novel ''The Zebra Derby''. Max Stagecraft, Commissar of the People's Theater has a little trouble working [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed Millie de Agnes]]'s "Entrechat de United Nations" into his proletarian play. So the cue for her seventeen ballerinas to go into their folk dance in the [[ShowWithinAShow Play Within The Book]] arrives when one character randomly declare, "I am tired. I think I will sleep now and have a dream sequence."