I've only had the pleasure of working with dancers on a handful of occasions, but there are many pianists who choose to spend their careers working as ballet accompanists. Sondra Forsyth in the Dancer Blog lists the best of them with Music Moves Me: An Ode to NYC's Ballet Class Accompanists. Her celebration of the dedication and astonishing abilities of Flora Arbitman, Doug Schultz, Michael Cherry, John Rich, Miro Magliore, and Steven Rosenthal is definitely worth a read--look closely at precisely what Sondra admires about these pianists.
Also check out the Dance Accompanist section of Required and Preferred Skills for the Collaborative Pianist for a core list of what pianists need to be able to do in the dance studio.
There is nothing like a great ballet accompanist. I took ballet from age 10-15 and there were some pianists who were AWESOME and lifted me off the floor with their playing; others fell flat, didn't find short excerpts quickly enough, nor chose music that suited the exercise or choreography. It makes a HUGE difference. Since I was also a piano student, I really paid attention to the pianist. The first thing I did in class was look over to the piano to see who it was. I applaud all ballet accompanists who "get it".
ReplyDeleteAt about the time you were taking ballet lessons at the Academy, I (bespectacled and with acne) was probably taking viola lessons down the hall...
ReplyDeleteYou took VIOLA at the Academy??? OMG
ReplyDeleteOne name I remember: Anita Perrin. She was my favourite ballet class accompanist. Lyrical, quick, and to this day I associate one of the early Beethoven piano concerti with "jetes". LOL
Thanks for this post on ballet accompaniment. It's easy to get discouraged in an environment where one is possibly the only musician, and it's nice to have this skill recognized as something valuable and unique. I'd also say that playing for dance will deepen any pianists understanding of rhythm, pulse, dance forms, etc. in a very visceral way.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post. I've been accompanying ballet in NJ for a few months and had NO IDEA where to begin to learn this skill when I first started. It was a stressful beginning as I learned from scratch and found few resources.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, Elizabeth. BTW great pictures on your blog.
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