In December 2012 I posted daily articles about what I’ve learned about playing for ballet class. Maybe I should have called it “becoming a ballet pianist” because the process never stops. I’ve noticed that they get quite a few hits, but it’s difficult to see the whole series at once and choose the links you’re most interested in. So here – thanks to the wonderful List Category Posts plugin from WordPress – are all those posts linked on a single page, with excerpts from each one. Click on the link to read the full articles.
Links to my articles about playing for ballet class
- Advent calendar 2012: playing for ballet classes
- Playing for ballet class tips #1: Listen to yourself and the room
- Playing for ballet class tip #2: It’s all about the left hand, not the right
- Playing for ballet class tips #3: Get yourself a fiddle book
- Playing for ballet class tips #4: Forget about time signatures in ballet class
- Playing for ballet class tips #5: Stock up on quadrilles
- Playing for ballet class tips #6: Focus on your outside fingers
- Playing for ballet class tips #7: Listen to orchestral recordings
- Playing for ballet class tips #8: mix humour with lyricism
- Playing for ballet class tips #9: for ‘waltz’ read ‘mazurka’ for pirouettes
- Playing for ballet class tips #10: Phrase clearly
- Playing for ballet class tips #11: Play from memory
- Playing for ballet class tips #12: have a repertoire of weird stuff
- Playing for ballet class tips #13: Make space for dancing
- Playing for ballet class tips #14: Make your intros clear
- Playing for ballet class tips #15: Talk to dancers
- Playing for ballet class tips #16: Talk to teachers
- Playing for ballet class tips #17: Composing and improvising
- Playing for ballet class tips #18: take a lesson in 18th century composition
- Playing for ballet class tips day 19: read the feet, divide the beat
- Playing for ballet class tips #20: Let dancers make the beat
- Playing for ballet class tip #21: Make friends with a notator
- Playing for ballet class tips #22: With harmony too, less is more
- Playing for ballet class tips #23: Watch the teacher
- Playing for ballet class tips #24: Speak up – don’t act the pianist
- Playing for ballet class tips #25: respect the ritual
- Playing for ballet class: a page of tips
Oh, great to have these all in one place.
I’ll be in London for the Jette Parker audition Sunday through Wednesday – if you have any time in those days, would love to meet for coffee & a chat if the offer still stands!
Absolutely it still stands! I’ll email you to arrange.
Great Great Great tips!!! thank you for sharing them, it was inspiring!
You’re welcome, thank you!
This is a fabulous website! I wish this had been available back in my heyday. I was the primary rehearsal/class pianist for the San Francisco Ballet for a period of 7 years back in the 70’s-80’s until I left for Las Vegas to become a poker dealer (long story). Since then I’ve played maybe a total of 5 classes, period. But your tip about getting a fiddle book (why didn’t I think of that?!) almost makes me want to get back into it again! You’re absolutely right about the frustrations of never having enough petit allegro music. I think that’s one of the main reasons I quit the profession, the endless search for new, fresh music. Keep up the great work!
Thanks so much for the great feedback. I keep this blog because there are so many things that took me years to learn, but which I could have put into practice much earlier if I’d known about them. It’s great to know that the work is appreciated. Sounds like an interesting life story!