Musicality

'What is Ballet?' wrote Arnold Haskell, dance critic and former Director of The Royal Ballet School, who then defined its essential quality as 'grace, that is phrasing, fluidity, harmony... All of which are bound up with the dancer's reaction to music and goes far deeper than a purely rhythmic reaction'.

Musicality and rhythm are not synonymous. Rhythm is merely the beat that stresses the accent and dynamic. Musicality incorporates rhythm, melody, harmony and tone colour. Musical dancers perform phrases of flowing movement that respond to the music as a whole. Karen Kain, former principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada, wrote in her autobiography, 'one of the greatest pleasures for me has always been the music... I'm programmed so that my muscles and nerves automatically respond'. Kenneth MacMillan in an interview stated, 'As a choreographer, I look in the main for musicality and expressiveness of the body'.

In another article I mentioned that the Directors' Survey conducted in the autumn of 2006 revealed that without exception, they all bemoaned the lack of musicality in the young dancers they auditioned for their companies. The Directors feared that the over-emphasis on technique was leading to a loss of natural musicality. This is a problem that ballet teachers, therefore, must address urgently. In this article I shall offer some practical suggestions for your consideration, but I should also be very interested to hear of other successful practices to improve musicality.

Starting with the teacher:

1. First instruct students without musical accompaniment.
2. Teach the rhythm of the exercise.
3. Work on the timing and placing of each step.
4. Mark the movement clearly as you demonstrate it, giving the meter, accent, highlights and tempo.
5. 'Your voice should sound as smooth and calm or as strong and staccato as the movement you are making'. (Graham Dickson-Place, 1993)
6. Having taught the exercise then let the student hear a sample of the music.
7. For younger students or when a new step is first encountered, keep music simple, with a clear, musical introduction and perhaps take it slower, or with a plié stretch (soutenu) between closings to ensure accuracy before taking it to tempo. Clarity of detail is essential physically and musically.
8. 'Elementary – stricter tempos, clear beat, regular phrasing.
Intermediate – more subtle phrasing, more challenging tempi, especially in pirouettes, allegro and pointe work.
Advanced – A range of time signatures (5/4s and 7/8s will challenge) or irregular phrases.' Joan Lawson (1984). Do not leave these for contemporary classes to encounter.
9. STOP the music if students are being unmusical.
10. 'Ask students to close their eyes and listen to the music and imagine themselves performing the exercise.' (Gretchen Ward Warren, 1989)
11. If on repeating the exercise the students are still 'off' beat, either simplify the exercise or reduce the tempo and then build it up gradually.
12. Avoid shouting over the music. If students hear the teacher's voice as the main indicator, they are not listening to the music. 13. Do most verbal corrections after the exercise.
14. Match the character of the music with the portrayal of the movement quality, including appropriate introductions and endings.
15. 'Perform the same exercise in different meters and discuss the effects of the change of tempo on the movement e.g. 'Why did ballottés feel easier to do in 6/8 than in 4/4 time?'' (Gretchen Ward Warren)
16. 'For more advanced students test both musical and coordination skills by having students perform exercises in which the feet and arms execute opposing or cross rhythms eg jumps set to a 3/4 polonaise with feet executing a repeat pattern of three movements while arms move 'against' them in a repeating pattern of four movements.' (Gretchen Ward Warren)
17. As a dancer gains speed, the quality and accuracy of the steps must not change.
18. Try exercises to isolate parts of the body and build movements with smaller children. For instance, try exercises just for eyes, as in Indian classical dance.
19. Ask the accompanist to stop playing while students keep the exercise going rhythmically, hopefully coordinating fully with the accompanist's beat on resuming playing.
20. Musical use of phrasing and breathing ensures synchronisation of highlights for solo and also with pas de deux work.

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