In the Soviet Union of today, as in the Imperial Russia of the past, ballet occupies the position of a major art and enjoys all the privileges of that station, not the least of which is having original music composed for each new work. Few of the distinguished names in Soviet music have not, at some time or other, appeared upon the score for a ballet, and as these are all three or four acts long, composing for the ballet can be compared to writing an opera—a major work requiring time and co-operation with the other arts involved.