Customer Reviews

A Handbook for the Ballet Accompanist

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I got hold of a copy of this book sometime in the late 80s or early 90s, right after starting to play for ballet classes (and failing to retain my first job because I was overwhelmed by all the fancy French words...what's a "tahndew"?). There are different kinds of ballet accompanists: one split is between "improvise it on the spot off the top of your head" types and "play a piece of music you already know that fits the exercise, even if you have to dig in your sheet music pile for it" types. I am mostly the latter, famous for going around with lots of music books and flipping through them to find what I want. This book helps people who can play classical music to around the level of Schumann's Papillons and Joplin's rags to put together music that will get you through a typical ballet class. Boy do I wish to this day that I had read this book before starting that first ballet job...

After a few months' experience playing for classes, the "music book" types need to learn to improvise for the occasion when no music they know will fit the particular exercise; and the "improvisers" need to expand their habits to include set written music composed by someone other than themselves lest the music they improvise for class always sound the same. Both endeavors are facilitated by the information contained in this book.

This book will help you with learning the names of steps, what kind of music is good for which steps, the sequential order of a typical ballet class, basic ballet class etiquette, and how to arrange music to render it suitable for class exercises. It's a great start for any ballet accompanist, and probably good for many experienced ones as well (I can think of a few I've heard who should read it!...).

(I was also intrigued to see that this author, who by the way writes quite well, has written other books, but no information is available about their content on Amazon as of the date I am posting this. They all look disticntly non-ballet related, though.)

Powers-that-be: put this book back in print!

As a new accompanist in ballet, this book is a great help. I have played musicals, classical music, taught at colleges. served as an accompanist for choirs and soloists
but nothing prepared me for ballet. And there was very little help to be found anywhere until I located this book. It is thorough in telling the pianist what to expect in the class, from how it is organized to what steps look like and the music that should accompany them. I HIGHLY recommend it to all pianists who are
ballet accompanists!