"Le ballet" (meaning "the ballet") is a song by Canadian singer

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...

from her thirteenth studio album, ''

D'eux ''D'eux'' (French for "of them, "about them", or "from them"; homophonic with , meaning "two") is the thirteenth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, and her tenth French-language album. It was released by Sony Music on 30 March 1995 in ...

'' (1995). It was written by

Jean-Jacques Goldman Jean-Jacques Goldman (; born 11 October 1951) is a retired French singer-songwriter and record producer whose work remains hugely popular in the French-speaking world. Since the death of Johnny Hallyday in 2017, he has been the highest-grossing ...

and produced by Goldman and

Erick Benzi Erick Benzi (born 1 March 1959) is a French musician, songwriter, composer, and record producer from Marseille. He was previously part of the duo Die Form, with Gildas Arzel, and the group Canada (with Arzel, Jacques Veneruso, and Gwenn Arzel) ...

. The song was released as a promotional single in France in January 1996. It became immediately a radio hit, topping the airplay chart for two weeks and ranking as the sixth most economically profitable song of 1996 in France.

Background and release

Dion recorded ''

'' in November and December 1994 in the Méga Studio in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France. Most songs were written by

, while the production was handled by Goldman and

. "Le ballet", written by Goldman, was chosen as the third, but promotional only single. It was released in France in January 1996. In February 1996, "Le ballet" was included as B-side of the "

Falling into You ''Falling into You'' is the fourteenth studio album and fourth English-language album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released on 11 March 1996 by Sony Music. The follow-up to her blockbuster album '' The Colour of My Love'' (1993) and French-l ...

" single. "Le ballet" is a bluesy groove song, with percussive finger snaps, harmonica and electric guitar that shows Dion singing blues for first time. The song is an example of ''D'eux'' style that was influenced by continental pop, folk music, jazz and 1970s soul. This track is considered an example of Goldman's handling of mature topics and feelings. "Le ballet" is known for Dion's imitations of instruments. Starting in her D'eux Tour in 1995, and featured on the ''

Live à Paris ''Live à Paris'' (English: "live in Paris") is the third live album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released on 21 October 1996 by Sony Music. It features primarily French-language songs, mainly from '' D'eux'' (1995), but also includes " The P ...

'' album, Dion used an extended version of the song to introduce all her band members. She performed it similarly on her Falling Into You Around the World Tour. The song was also performed during Dion's European concerts in 2017. In 2005, it was included on her greatest hits album, ''

On ne change pas ''On ne change pas'' ( ''We Don't Change'') is the first comprehensive French-language greatest hits album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released by Sony Music on 30 September 2005. It features songs recorded between 1981 and 2005, including t ...

''.

Commercial performance

"Le ballet" entered the airplay chart in France on 27 January 1996 and topped it for two weeks on 2 and 9 March 1996. It spent 10 weeks inside top 10 and left the airplay top 20 on 20 April 1996, after 12 weeks on the chart. It became Dion's highest charting song on the French airplay chart, beating "

Je sais pas "Je sais pas" (meaning "I don't know" in French) is a song by Canadian singer Celine Dion from her thirteenth studio album, '' D'eux'' (1995). It was written by Jean-Jacques Goldman and J. Kapler, and produced by Goldman and Erick Benzi. The so ...

" (number two) and "

Pour que tu m'aimes encore "Pour que tu m'aimes encore" (meaning "so that you'll love me again") is a song by Canadian singer Celine Dion, from her thirteenth studio album, '' D'eux'' (1995). It was written by Jean-Jacques Goldman, and produced by Goldman and Erick Benzi. ...

" (number three). According to

SACEM The Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music or SACEM () is a French professional association collecting payments of artists’ rights and distributing the rights to the original songwriters, composers, and music publisher A mus ...

, "Le ballet" ranked as the sixth most economically profitable song of 1996 in France.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ballet, Le 1995 songs 1996 singles Celine Dion songs Columbia Records singles Songs in French Songs written by Jean-Jacques Goldman