Andrew Holdsworth and Lockdown Friends: The Same Sun
The Same Sun is a song, written by Andrew Holdsworth and performed by some of the pupils from the school where he has taught music for 25 years, and brought…
Presentation at DANSOX summer school, Oxford, 7th July
A packed and interesting programme of lectures/events at the DANSOX summer school in Oxford coming up (6th–8th July 2019), including a joint 2-hour presentation by me and Susie Crow based…
Sources for the “Esmeralda” pas de deux
One of the oddities about the ballet repertoire is that the more famous and frequently performed the piece, the more tricky its musical history, like the “Black Swan” Pas de…
Bulletin of the Vaganova Ballet Academy — online journal (with English abstracts)
Am I the last person to have noticed that the Vaganova Ballet Academy has published a serious journal containing the work of Russian dance scholars, Bulletin of the Vaganova Ballet…
On-screen commentary from pianist Joshua Piper during YouTube ballet class
When I first learned to drive, I read a book about the police driving test, in which you had to do a “commentary drive,” which involves describing to the examiner…
RIP John O’Brien
RIP John O'Brien, dear friend and wonderful teacher, to whom I owe everything as a pianist in ballet, died yesterday, 11th May 2019.