Dedicated to Madame G. Costallat, Air de Ballet No. 1 was originally published for solo piano by Enoch (plate 1056). Although conceived as an independent piano work rather than an excerpt from a stage production, it became one of Chaminade’s most popular concert pieces, enjoying widespread success in France, England, and the United States. Its popularity led to numerous arrangements, including a piano four-hand transcription by Charles Steiger in 1897 (Enoch plate 3321) and an easy piano arrangement by E. Tavan.

An air de ballet is a lyrical concert piece written in the style of ballet music rather than a dance intended for performance. In the nineteenth-century French piano repertoire, the title generally denotes a graceful character piece that evokes the elegance, theatricality, and charm of the ballet stage without being associated with an actual ballet. Chaminade frequently drew upon this idiom in her piano music, combining lyrical melodies with sparkling virtuosity and rhythmic vitality.

Despite its apparent brilliance, Chaminade cautioned that Air de Ballet (No. 1) requires more than technical facility. Chamainde recommended the work for students “able to play works much more difficult as regards technic,” explaining that its success depends upon achieving the proper allure—a sense of elegance, lightness, and capricious charm. She emphasized that the rapid passages in which the left hand repeatedly crosses over the right should appear effortless and supple, warning that any stiffness would detract from the effect. She also instructed performers to play the sixteen-bar introduction with brilliance and a crisp attack, “similar to the ‘snap’ of an orchestra,” highlighting the orchestral imagination that characterizes much of her piano writing. (Chaminade, Cécile. “How to Play My Best Known Pieces.” The Etude 26 (December 1908): 759–760.)