Episode 76 – Ballet PIanists’ Interpretations of David Yow’s Ballet exercises

This episode is a playing episode.  The pianists interpret David’s work as he sets four exercises from a standard ballet class.  The team tried as best as possible to replicate the class situation, by only recording after seeing the exercise once.  It descends into deep discussion about the tunes that were chosen and why they were chosen, with some music analysis present.

David is instrumental in this episode, and he reveals what dancers want and need from music, as the episode gets underway. 

The pianists play a tendu exercise in 5/4 time, an adage, petit allegro and grand allegro, and  they each play what they would in typical setting.

It’s very much a discussion based episode about marrying music to exercises and interpreting steps musically to find the right tune.  It’s then how the tune is arranged and played to perfectly complement the dance.

One thing that is evident in this episode.  The pianists rarely get to hear each other play and it’s nice for them to hear each other’s interpretation.