Advent 7: Moving to think
I could have picked any number of examples, but this is one that I remember most from the times I’ve worked with Gillian Lynne because it’s so darn simple. Somebody…
Advent 6: If in doubt…
I think you probably have to have a mental imprint of Julia Farron’s voice and demeanour to appreciate this. It was about 20 years ago, at an induction course for…
Advent 5: When you do the step…
This has to be my favourite correction of all time, from Gary Harris (aka Fido, now director of Royal New Zealand Ballet) after the first run through of an allegro…
Advent 4: Can I have that on a…
In the years that I’ve been playing for student ballet teachers, I’ve always found the notion of asking for ‘dance rhythms’ a bit silly, unless dance rhythms are your thing.…
Advent 3: On being too ‘musical’
In the summer of 2000, Christopher Hampson (a.k.a. Chris in this blog elsewhere) created a five-minute graduation-day piece for the final year students at the RAD called Finale, for which…
Advent 2: The chord game
Prokofiev’s March from the Love for Three Oranges strictly speaking doesn’t end at the end of its first 16 counts, but it has all the gestures of a perfect cadence…