Playing for ballet class tips #6: Focus on your outside fingers
One of the occupational hazards of playing for class too much is that you can end up playing in a way that only uses three fingers in each hand. After…
Playing for ballet class tips #5: Stock up on quadrilles
Apart from fiddle tune books (see tip #3), another great source of music for class is quadrilles. There are just hundreds of them out there for free on the net,…
Playing for ballet class tips #1: Listen to yourself and the room
If you play for class a lot, it's easy to get into a habit of being so focused on what the dancers are doing, and what the teacher wants, that…
Gymnastics, dance, difference
A stimulating article by Judith Mackrell in the Guardian about gymnastics and dance. I’m delighted that a dance critic is writing about gymnastics. The older I get, the more all…
Russian and Ukrainian folk song site
a-pesni is a huge and wonderful site of Russian, Ukrainian, Polish and Belarusian songs of every description – old folklore, war songs, variety, revolutionary songs, army songs, you name it.…
RIP Leo Kersley
Sorry to hear that Leo Kersley, dancer and ballet teacher, and author of my favourite ballet dictionary, died yesterday, aged 92. I would love to have met him. There are…