The Art of Ballet Accompaniment , livre ebook

The Art of Ballet Accompaniment

This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press
Office of Scholarly Publishing
Herman B Wells Library 350
1320 East 10th Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA
iupress.org
2022 by Gerald R. Lishka
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Printing 2022
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Lishka, Gerald R., author.
Title: The art of ballet accompaniment : a comprehensive guide / Gerald R. Lishka.
Description: Bloomington : Indiana University Press, 2022. | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022014765 (print) | LCCN 2022014766 (ebook) | ISBN 9780253063342 (cloth) | ISBN 9780253063359 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Musical accompaniment. | Ballet dancing. | Ballet.
Classification: LCC MT68 .L47 2022 (print) | LCC MT68 (ebook) | DDC 781.47-dc23/eng/20220404
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022014765
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022014766
This book is dedicated to the memory of
Marina Svetlova ,
a great dancer and former Professor of Ballet and Chairwoman of the Ballet Department at Indiana University, where I was her ballet accompanist for a time. Her encouragement and assistance were key to the successful publication by Indiana University Press of my earlier book , A Handbook for the Ballet Accompanist. Madame Svetlova passed away in Bloomington, Indiana, in 2009 .
Contents
Foreword / Kyra Nichols
Preface
Introduction: How I View the Art of Ballet Accompaniment
1. The Ballet Class
The Ballet Studio
The Major Technical Methods of Ballet Instruction
Understanding Ballet Terminology
Uniform Musical Phrases
Musical Preparations and Their Functions
Ending Combinations with the Dancers
Changing Sides and Reversing Combinations
Thinking Ahead
Prerecorded Music for Ballet Technique Class
Some Specific Examples of the Advantages of Live Accompaniment
Open Classes
2. Advice and Guidance
The Attitude of the Accompanist
The Accompanist as Music Educator
Avoid Clich Ballet Music
Observing Other Accompanists
Avoid Sounding like Wallpaper
Organizing Music for Ballet Class
Memorizing Music
Practicing Repertory at Varying Tempos
Asking When in Doubt
Looking Up and Developing Empathy
Accompanying at the Proper Dynamic Level
Physical Considerations for the Accompanist
Frequent Stopping and Starting
Long Combinations
Balancing Orchestral Textures with Lyricism and Avoiding Physical Strain
Free Online Music Scores
Working with Dance Instructors
Pay Scales for Ballet Accompanists
Balancing Traditional Piano Work and Ballet Accompaniment
3. Barre and Center Combinations
Overview of Barre and Center
The Barre
The Center
4. Suggested Piano Repertory for Barre and Center Work
General Guidelines on Repertory and Its Use
Essential Information Provided
Avoiding Excessive Repetitiousness
Coordinating Various Sections of This Book
The Special Challenge of Grand Allegro Waltzes
Suggested Piano Repertory for the Barre
Suggested Piano Repertory for the Center
Composer Resources for Ballet Class Repertory
Fertile Musical Territory for Exploration
5. Preparing and Arranging Piano Repertory for Ballet Class
How to Play a Musical Preparation
Cadences
Simplifying Music
When Music Is Too Difficult or Too Complex
Arranging, Enriching, and Embellishing Music
6. Adapting Piano Repertory with Complex Phrasing Challenges: Four Advanced Lessons
Three Preludes from Johann Sebastian Bach s Well-Tempered Clavier
Prokofiev s Piano Concerto no. 2, G Minor, op. 16, mvt. 1-Andantino
7. Improvisation
Improvisation, Lack of Training, Common Illusions
Improvisation on Printed Music
Improvisation without Printed Music
8. Ballet-Related Accompanying Outside the Ballet Technique Class
Other Ballet-Related Accompanying
Pointe Class
Adagio (Partnering) Class
Repertory Class
Character Class
Index of Steps
Foreword
Foreword by Kyra Nichols
Like most dancers, I did not give much thought to the skills required to be the person in the corner of ballet class playing the piano. The accompanists were always a quiet presence, and certainly I was aware of those fundamental people-both the ones who brought a special energy to a class, and the ones who didn t.
But it was not until I began teaching ballet later in my career that the importance of a skilled accompanist became clear to me. It is not simply a matter of preferring the contributions of a live person to the hassle of using recordings. It is about the unique skills that the accompanist brings to the room. The ability to intuit what the teacher is wanting to hear, how the tempos and mood of the piece might be reflected in the steps. About how quickly the accompanist comes up with the right music and keeps it varied to help students maintain focus.
Only when I began teaching did I truly understand how spoiled I had been, especially at New York City Ballet. I can only imagine the degree of intimidation a pianist must have felt playing class for Mr. Balanchine, himself a pianist. Now I can truly appreciate the varied skill set of our accompanists, people like Gordon Boelzner and Jerry Zimmerman, who played company class for ninety minutes in the morning, played again for a few hours of rehearsal in the afternoon, and then might perform the complete Goldberg Variations that same evening. And the skills are different for each.
Among the things that so greatly appeal to me about this book are the clarity with which it explains the range of skills required to be a good accompanist and the way it delineates how those skills differ from the ones required to be a concert pianist. People commonly make the mistake of assuming that because someone can play the piano, that person inherently has the skills necessary to play for ballet class. I truly admire Gerald s honest explanation of the deer-in-the-headlights confusion he experienced in his initial efforts to play for dance class.
Memorizing a score or perfecting your keyboard technique are not sufficient when you play for class. A ballet teacher might appear to be doing random steps in the front of the room, but they expect you to come up with music in the correct tempo without hesitation.
The necessary skills are highly valued in some cultures. For example, at the School of American Ballet, the official school of the New York City Ballet, we had many accompanists of Russian heritage. Playing for class was something that was clearly respected and valued in that culture, and pianists trained for the role. In my experience outside New York, finding pianists anxious to embrace the role of class accompanist and do the work required to excel is a rarity.
In my career, and especially during my years working for Mr. Balanchine, dancing was always about the music. When all goes well, a relationship develops between the dancer and the music. As Mr. Balanchine said, Come see the music. For Mr. Balanchine, the music always came first, and we were trained to dance to the music as it was played, whatever the tempo. I was amazed when I d visit other companies and see dancers instructing the accompanists and conductors where they wanted them to slow down or speed up. For Mr. Balanchine, we danced what they played.
But you are not likely to develop either ability-to dance to the music as played, or to ask for the tempos you want-if you don t get to train to live music.
A partnership evolves between the teacher and the accompanist. Ideally, the accompanist learns the teacher s habits, their preferences, and yet keeps things fresh and inspiring. Being an accompanist for dance is both a specific set of skills developed on one s own, and a group experience shared with a roomful of dancers who probably don t truly appreciate all the work required to make their classes move smoothly.
I am hopeful that this book will help build the ranks of excellent accompanists and help those in and around the dance world to understand the importance of the live accompanist in training dancers who are capable of performing to live music with spontaneity, flair, and confidence. Schools and companies that consider using only recorded music in their classes and rehearsals, likely due to budgetary constraints, must also consider the limitations that this presents for the training they are providing. Paying live accompanists may have a monetary cost, but denying your dancers this necessary experience hinders their training.
It is similar to requiring dancers to take class in pointe shoes. At New York City Ballet, we took class every day in pointe shoes, rehearsed in them, and performed in them as well. There were costs to this, but it also ensured that we were the best we could be on pointe. I firmly believe that using recorded music is like letting dancers take all their classes in ballet slippers and then expecting them to look comfortable and confident on pointe.
As long as we expect excellence from dancers, we will need similar excellence in accompanists. This book provides a road map to turn a good pianist into an excellent accompanist. I hope you will pursue this path. We in the dance world need you!
Kyra Nichols
Violette Verdy and Kathy Ziliak Anderson Chair in Ballet; Professor of Music (Ballet)
Indiana University, Jacobs School of Music
Preface
This book, The Art of Ballet Accompaniment: A Comprehensive Guide , is the evolutionary outgrowth of its predecessor, A Handbook for the Ballet Accomp