Looking Up:
Combining Visual and
Aural in the Ballet Technique Class
One of the most important aspects of being a successful pianist for the ballet technique class is the ability to “look up.”
We as pianists often have a difficult time with this “because we are so accustomed to concentrating entirely upon [ourselves]” (Lishka 1979, p. 14).
Ballet pianists must have enough skill to separate ourselves from “our own music and motor activity (never completely, to the point of losing control) and divide [our] mental attention between [ourselves] and the dancers” (Lishka 1979, p. 14).
Looking up allows the pianist to “comprehend movement patterns so that instant decisions can be made about appropriate musical support” (Teck 1990, p. 146 ).
Looking up and reacting does not only happen when the dancers are performing their combinations, it is essential that the pianist watch the instructor when they are teaching the combination.
Learn to watch for “flow, accents, and quality of the steps in a combination; don’t stop at merely ascertaining the meter” (Cavalli 2001, p. 89).