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It can have the same effect, says Wall, when you give corrections and guidance loudly throughout the whole combination. One caveat to the “voice, not hands” principle: Think about how grating it feels when students constantly talk over instruction. “Trying to change the tempo that way feels a little mean,” Boston says. Snapping and clapping, on the other hand, can be downright annoying.
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Generally, it’s better to announce “A little faster, please” or “This is the last eight-count,” rather than to try to convey what you want with your hands, as Ben-Hur says that hand gestures can be ambiguous or easy to miss across a studio. Comparisons are yet another tool, Korman notes: “You can be like, ‘Hey, I was practicing this at home to Earth, Wind & Fire’ or ‘Could you play something like a waltz by Strauss?’” Use Your Voice, Not Your Hands (If you feel self-conscious about singing in front of others, don’t: Boston and Wall both say they’ve heard the whole spectrum of vocal ability, and promise they’re not judging you.) You also can and should speak the exercise at tempo, with dynamic inflection in your body and voice. Ben-Hur recalls late NDI founder Jacques d’Amboise belting out made-up melodies to give musicians a jumping-off point. You’ll get through the class just fine by musicalizing your body and voice. As Michael Wall-composer/multi-instrumentalist and educator-says, “Dancers have much more of an embodied understanding of music than they might think, such that dance teachers are coming into the room with many tools to explain what music they need.” Too much music-theory terminology might actually be to everyone’s detriment, Boston says, since certain terms-“accent” and “adagio” among them-actually mean slightly different things to musicians. Never learned the difference between diatonic and Mixolydian mode? All four musicians agree that’s no big deal. Photo courtesy National Dance Institute Don’t Worry About Music Theory It goes without saying that you should always thank the accompanist for their contributions at the end of class-and it never hurts to tell them when they play something that really touches you or works particularly well for the dancers. “We’re demonstrating to the students what collaboration between two artists looks like,” says Yakir Ben-Hur, associate music director for National Dance Institute. Try to take miscommunications in stride and remain open to happy accidents. Recognizing your accompanist’s humanity also means accepting that this will feel far more unpredictable than teaching class to a familiar album. In turn, give the accompanist a heads-up about how you work and how they can expect the class to unfold.
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If time allows, it’d also help everyone to, as Korman says, “find out what this person’s sweet spot is.” Ask about the musician’s background (Pop or rock? Classical? Non-Western forms?), so you can play to their strengths instead of spending the whole class outside their musical comfort zone. “At least say ‘Hello’ between greeting students, setting up barres and going through your notes.”
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“Building rapport with the musician starts the minute both people are in the room,” says Robert Boston, the dance music director for Barnard College and co-founder of the Mark Morris Dance Accompaniment Training Program. To enjoy a great working relationship with your accompanist, start with common courtesy. To make that journey a little less awkward and frustrating on both sides, Dance Teacher spoke to four experienced dance accompanists to find out what that person behind the piano is really thinking. That’s because the presence of a live musician adds so much value to a dance class: another artist in the room, a sense of improvisational spontaneity, added opportunities for musical education, a near-infinite choice of musical selections.…Shall we go on?īut it can take work to develop a strong relationship with your accompanist and reach the point where live music flows effortlessly through your studio. “Yet, in another way, it’s more expensive.” After all, “Recorded music is cheaper,” says National Dance Institute’s music director. Jerome Korman isn’t surprised that live accompaniment is rare in dance classrooms.