Jonathan Still, ballet pianist
Music, dance, IT, trivia. Not necessarily in that order.
Posts about the work of ballet pianists—including stuff that might not seem immediately related (like historical dance, character, musicology, and so on)
Class is a busy, sometimes noisy place where you and your pianist need to send unequivocal messages and react quickly. Once you’ve established a good working relationship and understand each…
Sometimes, an exercise can go horribly wrong because the pianist simply can’t find music which is suitable for it. If this happens, move quickly on to the next exercise and…
Some teachers reach a point of exasperation with an unruly class where they say something like “You’re wasting my time, and Miss X’s. Your behaviour is an insult to her…
Make sure that you regularly stand in a position that enables you to keep your lines of communication with the pianist open, even if it’s only for a moment. The…
As the teacher in your class, you are in charge both of the music and the dancers/students. Make sure everyone knows that if dancers don’t like the speed the pianist…
Go straight up to your pianist the first time you work with them, introduce yourself saying “Hi, my name is ……”, find out what name your pianist prefers to be…