Children's music easily translates into a preschool ballet. Many songs and musical pieces are ideal for children, from musical arrangements of classic nursery rhymes to classic lullabies to music written for children's stories, such as music written for Beatrix Potter's famous Peter Rabbit stories. Movie soundtracks of children's movies also translate easily for a preschool ballet dance. Most movie songs are short enough for even the youngest dancers.
Piano music works well for preschool dancing because it has clearly defined notes and rhythms. There are many piano songs ideal for dancing, such as Gottschalk's Pasquinade, Beethoven's Für Elise, Debussy's Clair de Lune, any nocturnes by Chopin or Strauss' Die Fledermaus. You could also play piano arrangements of more modern songs that the children would be familiar with. Piano music also works well for dancing because most many stages already have a piano.
One choice for preschool ballet dances are some of the most classic ballet pieces, such as the Nutcracker Suite or Swan Lake. Many ballets were based on classic fairy tales, such as Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella. These ballet pieces work well with young children who still enjoy fairy tales and dressing up. The Nutcracker has many short pieces that preschoolers can dance to in a variety of dance styles. Just because the children are young does not mean they cannot be exposed to the music that older students dance to.
Folk tunes are a fun way to mix different cultures with traditional ballet steps. Most preschool children are too young for serious ballet instruction, so their dances should be fun and lighthearted. Choose folk music from your region, or use famous folk music, such as polkas, sousa marches or German dances. For a summer performance, the preschool children could even dance to traditional American folk music, such as Yankee Doodle Dandy or Shenandoah.