Dancers and Accompanists

Tuesday Tunes: Dance Teachers and Accompanists

Tuesday Tunes

While some teachers use CDs and iPods, many use live accompanists. As we know, the successful communication between accompanist and teacher is essential to the class. According to accompanist Richard Maddock, it’s the job of the musician to pay close attention while the dance teacher is marking it with their students to find the right tempo. He also says that it is important for him to pay attention to the first 8-16 bars of the exercise, so he can spend the rest of the time to get the perfect melody.

If you would like to read more about the interaction between accompanists and dancers, check out these cool articles:

Ballet accompanist equals ballet dancer in importance.

An interview with a ballet accompanist on Dance Advantage.

Building students musicality.

Also, check out our interview of our own Kirk Suddreath here!

Tuesday Tunes