![]() ![]() A veteran of company class, rehearsals and exams with the top companies in the United Kingdom and Europe, he’s seen his share of dancers. “Musicians often don’t like ballet because they know too much,” says pianist Jonathan Still. As lovely as it is, the sonata repertoire they spent hours learning in their uni accompaniment class is useless when the teacher asks for something in a bouncy 3. And again on the other side.īallet pianists at a top company will have about ten seconds to choose the music for the exercise from the library of tunes in their heads. On the surface it seems easy enough-small bits of light classics in triple and duple meter with a maybe a show tune or two thrown in for fun. The received idea of ballet pianists is that they are at the bottom of the totem pole, working, as they do, out of the public eye with people who don’t really care about music. This flexibility and reliance on memory can undo even the most experienced instrumental accompanist. ![]() The general order of the exercises is the same as it has been since the dancer’s first lesson: barre work, traveling, turning, jumping-but it is up to the teacher to determine what exactly will happen, rather like a church service or yoga class. Ninety minutes of movement warm the body, center the mind and prepare the company for the next twenty-four hours of rehearsals and performances. It doesn’t matter if the dancer debuted in Giselle last night or went on an epic bender: the morning company class is a non-negotiable ritual. Beethoven is left behind and a relaxed but jolly The Entertainer gives the whole scene a look of mechanical toys. Arms and torsos stiffen and the legs begin a series of small, controlled movements. The most smartly leotarded man in the room, the Royal Ballet’s recently retired soloist Brian Maloney, issues an elaborately coded set of instructions. ![]() 13 Piano Sonata burbles along, framing, but not restricting. ![]() All the while, the slow movement of Beethoven’s Op. Playbill has partnered with the award-winning music magazine .Ī room full of what looks like the world’s most flexible hobos plié demi and grande, the sea of arms waving as gracefully as any anemone. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |