100 tips for working with ballet pianists #28: Practise at home
Put on a tape or CD – of anything – and practise setting exercises aloud with the music. Marking an exercise in tempo is a musical & motor skill which…
100 tips for working with ballet pianists #27: Be your own rhythm section
Sometimes it helps to give directions, count or talk gently in the rhythm and tempo that you want while the music’s playing. This gives pianists a rhythmic framework within which…
100 tips for working with ballet pianists #26: Get musical ideas from the masters
If you’re stuck for what kind of music to use for a particular step, think about how those steps appear in the repertoire, and what kind of music accompanies them.…
100 tips for working with pianists #25: Discover your pianist’s musical interests
Some pianists have a misguided view about what is “suitable” for ballet class (e.g. that you have to improvise in a pastiche classical style with no dynamics and no rubato,…
100 tips for working with ballet pianists #24: Show rhythm in your body
It’s easy to ‘read’ a rhythm, metre or tempo when it’s shown in body movements (e.g. swinging, knee-bends, side-to-side movements of the torso or head and so on). To indicate…
100 tips for working with ballet pianists #23: Know when it’s good to work without music
Although it’s great to have music for class, be sure in your own mind what role it plays, so that you know when not to use it. Some examples: With…