by Massimiliano Greco
Massimiliano Greco is Principal Pianist and Head of Music Department at Académie Princesse Grace in Monte-Carlo. In this blog, he writes about his first experience as a ballet pianist and the requirements of this unique profession.
If anybody asked me what kind of profession that of ballet pianist is, I would not find it easy to answer. Nevertheless, I’ll try!
I was trained as a pianist in a very ‘traditional’ environment – a conservatoire degree with honours, the successful participation to various piano competitions, the specialisation at Accademia Chigiana in Siena with the great names of international concert piano performance. Never would I have thought to play for ballet nor that such a specific profession existed.
My encounter with the world of ballet happened in fact by accident. Accustomed as I was to often give concerts as a soloist, one day by pure chance I found myself in a dance studio, a completely new and ‘improbable’ environment – the piano no longer in the centre of the room, but at the side; a group of people in front of me moving oddly; a teacher telling me incomprehensible words… I played for a ballet class which included a series of exercises at the ‘barre’ and continued with exercises ‘in the centre’ (of the room). They were telling me to play a certain kind of music to support the quality of the exercise, by using specific rhythms and melodies.
At the start I wasn’t sure of how this correspondence between music and dance could ever happen, but with time I discovered an extremely interesting world. I started to understand how to play and what to play, and I began to compose according to new parameters.
What struck me the most in the world of dance, especially as a composer, is how movement draws a special geometry in space. At first, I couldn’t understand the communicative power and style of classical ballet, yet I would perceive it as something thoroughly beautiful. With time I understood I could translate the geometries and expressions through melody, rhythm and the way I played; and I was able to compose new music, following and re-writing in sound the movement of arms and legs as I watched it. The outcome has been the beginning of a long period of composition and interpretation in dance which continues today.
I discovered a unique profession, which demands the musician a great musical culture and deep knowledge of dance techniques. I learned the style and tradition together with the huge musical heritage. The job resembles that of playing chamber music – the pianist is asked to realise musically the choreography the teacher creates for the exercise, choosing the right touch, style and musical atmosphere on top of melody and rhythm. The best outcome is achieved through a secure knowledge of ballet technique and the ability to improvise at the piano, which is an important part of the job, if not the most important. The willingness to create a form and melody that reflect those of the movement, should encourage the musician to research the musical repertoire widely, not just in classical music but in all genres, thereby developing an uncommon musical knowledge.
But how and where do you learn to become a pianist for dance? Well, the courses are out there but they are just a few – which is one of the greatest gaps in music education in general, especially in Italy, my home country. In other countries, music and dance conservatoires provide for more opportunities.
Nevertheless, in the majority of cases pianists learn on the job, not without difficulties in understanding the specific requirements of dance and ballet. Many give up eventually, because of this lack of formal education to prepare young pianist for the profession. Those who persist, have often the opportunity to work all over the world, in academies and companies – the spirit of the dance pianist is often that of being available (and able) to travel and move as the job demands, in fact, from the States to Europe. As for learning, a good way of starting in this world is to find a collaboration with local dance schools that often require pianists to accompany exams. Often the profession starts there to then move to more defined professional contexts.
Music Management for Dance 
Hi, first of all, may I say what an interesting article. I have been playing for ballet for approximately 30 years, with a 10 year stint at the royal ballet upper school, 11 years as head of music at english national ballet school, and at various times, rehearsal pianist for the royal ballet company. During this time, I have met many musicians working in this field, and it has struck me that the thing that we have most in common, is that we all seem to have entered this unique profession by accident, and have had to spend the first few years learning the craft on the job. In England, in the major music colleges, playing either the piano for classic ballet, or other instruments for contemporary dance is never mentioned, so most pianists dont know this Avenue of work is open to them. I think the problem for most young pianists is not that they can’t play in an improvised or strict way, but that the ballet profession has never really embraced or nurtured an educational system for a class musician. There is never the time, or the patience, or the experience for most dance institutions to help a struggling musician to understand what is needed or required for a class to work properly. So a lot of younger musicians will play for ballet, as a means to get somewhere else, or to just pay the rent. If there was some way to convince both the music colleges and dance institutions to collaborate on helping musicians, and dancers that this avenue is both open to them, and necessary for its growth, this would be an amazing approach to advance understanding and appreciation of each others art. I would love to hear your thoughts on this, thanks, Chris Williams
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I was fortunate in that I took a class in college called Piano Pedagogy, in which a young graduate student who was familiar with ballet accompanying came to visit and who told us that such a thing did indeed exist. 🙂 Next thing I knew, the university’s ballet class needed accompanists, and I must say that I was completely lost for quite some time, having no experience in dance nor French. In my opinion, if a new accompanist can get the tempo and the subdivision of the beat from the teacher, they are most of the way there. I find that dynamics, articulations, and, most of all, crafty pedaling can help to make an accompanist outstanding. Thanks for a great article!
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I am always fascinated to hear other musician’s stories of their ‘baptism’ into the world of Ballet Class accompanying.
I still think of mine as a grace-of-God miracle!
Freshly launched from Trinity, I’d met and then married a fellow music student.
The need to support her and pay the rent on our flat led me to follow up a suggestion from the Keep Fit instructor I was playing for:
“Have you thought of contacting the Royal Ballet School?”
I think now she had meant White Lodge but I found only the Senior School (then in Talgarth Road).
My wife’s persistence won over my diffidence so without phoning ahead I took a train to Baron’s Court, ventured into RBS reception and asked “Are you needing any pianists?”
“As it happens,” I was told, “a pianist was due to audition just about now but hasn’t shown up. Would you like to follow me down to the class Julia Farron is about to teach.”
Armed only with the knowledge that exercises tend to be in multiples of 8 counts, I somehow survived that and several subsequent classes, some of which a seasoned accompanist sat in on and gave me some tips.
Amazingly I was offered a part-time temporary contract until the end of that term, followed by a full-time one starting from the new academic year!
Four or five years and a steep learning curve later I was able to help with the induction of new pianists.
Seven years spent there were to open doors to other schools for me later on, not least to The Legat School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance where I began 19 years ago.
At 71 I am still privileged to be accompanying all 16 of the ballet hours.
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Thanks SO much for the wonderful comments! I’ll pass on to Massimiliano Greco (the author of the blog post) and the rest of the team.
Keep the comments coming!
Tamara (MMD Marketing Director & Project Manager)
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As a footnote, I imagine, now that Trinity has teamed up with Laban, that they will have courses that specialise in Dance Accompaniment.
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