Confessions of an anxious ballet pianist #27: Playing “Siegfried” from Swan Lake Act 3
"Siegfried" from Act 3 of Swan Lake looks like simple music, but it's harder than it looks to make it sound musical.
A year of ballet playing cards #6 (S6): A barcarole for port de bras
This romance from Bizet's opera The Pearl Fishers is great for an adage or port de bras, perhaps
Music, time and politics in the ballet studio
Just published online, my chapter in the Oxford Handbook of Time in Music, "The politics of musical time in the everyday life of ballet dancers."
Kostrovitskaya’s career as a plasterer
In these days when artists are insulted by the idea of having to retrain as something else, let's take a moment to remember Vera Kostrovitskaya, famous pedagogue—and plasterer, restorer of…
Pianos and violins in the ballet class
When did the piano replace the violin in the ballet class in the Imperial Theatre schools? Galina Bezuglaya has some interesting answers.
Appeal for help: cover songs on ballet albums, and classes on YouTube
How does monetizing ballet classes online work, for dancers and musicians? I want to know!