ballet to pop music

[kellylynn]

I was wondering if anyone does barre exercises at home to pop music or basicly anything but classical? I know that can be a negitive thing in a ballet class. But I've realized that it's a great substitute when your at home in your sweats and old ballet slippers just wanting to get a good barre in when you cant make it to class (which happens quite often during blizzard season). I have a couple of decent "ballet barre" CD's. But why act all serious at home? I made up a whole piroutte exercise routine to a michael jackson song (very silly but fun and it works) but it's a little harder finding something a little more repetitive for typical exercises such as piles, tendus, degages, and that sort of thing. It would be fun if I can make my own non-classical cd to do barre at home. It's a nice change and I reccommend everyone else to try it, however, at times you get the urge to break out into a jazz number. lol. I was wondering if anyone else does this and what they use?

[MissyC]

I am so happy you posted this!

 

Dancing to all kinds of music is such a wonderful feeling! I have never believed ballet should be restricted to only classical!

 

When I was dancing in college, our instructor would very regularly play Modonna's "Rain" as part of the close for each class. We LOVED it and loved doing leaps and turns across the floor. There's nothing like it!!

 

I'm ALL FOR IT!

 

missyc

[Chinafish]

My teacher sometimes plays louis armstrong songs while we're doing our barre. Although they are piano solo versions and obviously altered to make it suitable for ballet barre but it always brings a smile to my face while I'm doing it (and singing along in my head as well!!)

 

 

Cheers,

Fish

[kellylynn]

I was thinking of madonna. Her older 80's stuff has alot of slower beats. I was also considering some ballads for rond de jambes and piles. Maybe even some classic rock or slow rock like the greatful dead, phish, or dave matthews. If I get really crazy I might even try some metallica. I think they even have a cd where they do a metal/classical cd. I'm sure everyone knows that song they play during christmastime..."carol of the bells" by that orchastra. Thats actually metallica as well. Something like that could probably work as well.

[Mel Johnson]

It's been going on for quite some time now. Much of Cesare Pugni's music was "borrowed" from the Hit Parade of his day, and his day was the High Romantic era of ballet.

[Guest SunshineMC2004]

I am not in a real formal class, but we play all types of music to warm up to. Whenever we're doing any barre warmups she puts on non-classical music. One of our newest musical experiences was Latin music. It was so much fun to warm up to and made everyone have an extra bounce in their step!

[cassy]

im glad you asked this kellylynn

 

sometimes i have a real urge to dance to something different just for fun, anything rnb - rock - hip hop whatever you like, its not meant to be perfect, just fun

 

i appreciate music in all forms, sometimes i need something im really feeling to motivate me more.

cassy

[Mr Robin]

I was thinking of madonna. Her older 80's stuff has alot of slower beats. I was also considering some ballads for rond de jambes and piles. Maybe even some classic rock or slow rock like the greatful dead, phish, or dave matthews. If I get really crazy I might even try some metallica. I think they even have a cd where they do a metal/classical cd. I'm sure everyone knows that song they play during christmastime..."carol of the bells" by that orchastra. Thats actually metallica as well. Something like that could probably work as well.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Although I'm by no means a big Madonna fan, I love the 'Ray of Light' album, and find it a fine accompaniment to ballet! Other unlikely favourites are Radiohead's 'Kid A', and Massive Attack's 'No Protection'. I dance to loads of dance music from my clubbing days in the nineties, too - ambient stuff is the right tempo, but house and techno are great fun too. You can dance to pretty much anything if you divide the tempo suitably!

[Guest petiteanise]

Hey KellyLynn your talking about metallicas "S&M" album. excellent choice.

 

I enjoy doing barre to stone temple pilots or nirvana unplugged and for some fast centre work the misfits or some joy division . being a metal head i love incorporating my music into class. rock on! and try not to headbang or mosh at the barre with fellow dancers. just kidding!

[Danzatriz]

The closest i had to this in class is my teachers "disney/kiddie" album. We'd plie to twinkle twinkle, Adagio to AdleWeiss and do bourrees to "HiHo HiHo". I loved it sooo much.

 

But in my house, i've used everything for practice. Hip hop is good, because it has such a marked rythm, i think. I like to warm up to gershwin too (ok, he's not pop, but quite differs from usual ballet class)

[intermezzo]

I think they even have a cd where they do a metal/classical cd. I'm sure everyone knows that song they play during christmastime..."carol of the bells" by that orchastra. Thats actually metallica as well. Something like that could probably work as well.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Er.. just realized this is the Adult Ballet Student's board, whoops..

 

Are you thinking about the Trans-Siberian Orchestra? I love their Christmas songs.

Edited January 29, 2005 by intermezzo

[Guest kristinene]

How about 'Fame'? Saute de chats are the perfect thing with this song - preferably done down the street of a city!

 

I think any sort of 'dance' music (and by this I mean the electronic stuff in a club/disco) would work, it tends to hold a steady beat.

 

Another suggestion - Blue Man Group - I love dancing to those drums!

[Dance_Scholar_London]

I think it is great to mix pop music with classical ballet. Very contrasting. Especially when you choreograph, dancers have a blockage doing classical ballet to pop music or vice versa. In my experience it is even harder to use classical music and choreograph contemporary movements as it is difficult to break out of the classical ballet frame due to its strict codification.

[Garyecht]

I think it’s great to use non-classical music in ballet class, whether it is formal class or just class on your own. My issue with doing so is more practical. I mean it’s just hard to find the right music for all the various class exercises. Yes, you can find a song whose tempo fits what you need. But you are probably not going to do the exercise through the whole song. And there is something satisfying about ending the exercise and music at the same time. Then there is all the time in changing CDs, finding the right tracts. To me it adds up to a huge pain for a modest reward.

 

Much easier to just use a regular ballet CD for work at home. Then you can concentrate of what you are doing rather than fooling around with several different CDs.

 

But if someone created a ballet CD using non-classical music, that could be real fun.

 

Of course an accompanist could also do it quite well, I assume.

[Guest prokofiev]

Great thread...

While I'm a pianist for a very strict classical-type school, I do like to sneak in bits of jazz and folk music here and there. I've found that most of the kids are getting their entire musical education (and sometimes only quality exposure) to music at the academy, so I take my job seriously and try to choose a wide variety of music to suit the mood- good ol' ballet scores, the ubiquitous Chopin and Tchaikowsky, Rachmaninoff, Bartok, Prokofiev (of course!! ) a little Mozart or Bach on occasion, loads of opera bits, Russian and Ukrainian folk songs, and jazz (Ellington, Porter, Gershwin especially, but I've adapted Billy Joel, Phil Collins and other 80s ballad-type stuff here and there). I also sneak in Christmas pop tunes in the last week of classes before Christmas break... the instructors are fairly new to the States and don't know most of that rep, so it's a private joke between me and the students - for now!

 

That said, though, I have three 'beefs' with pop music and some jazz for classical ballet in class. First, if it's in 12-bar phrases (a lot of it is) it won't go with most barre work, which is usually in 8-bar phrases. Second, a great deal of mid-90s pop on has gotten rid of dominant-tonic relations. When the harmonies move primarily by thirds, or by dominant substitutions, a sense of harmonic motion is thwarted, and the the listener is left in a kind of phrase limbo. The ear is trained NOT to expect resolution and all that's left is the beat. Which brings me to my third objection, the beat. Because the harmony is not driving the music in most contemporary pop, the natural synthesis of timing and expression that well-written classical music affords to the dancer is gone.

 

At home, of course, dancing can be all about enjoying one's body's movement to sound - of any kind! In the studio, though...once a dancer is musically literate enough to adjust and compensate for the difference, I see no problem with using whatever the teacher/choreographer wants. However, during formative training I think that using music that reinforces traditional cadences and fairly predictable phrase structures is important, since most students don't have the benefit of musical training and need all the help the music can give them. Particularly music that was designed with the same aesthetic as the movements they're perfecting. (I COULD try bharatnatyam to non-Carnatic music, but it would fundamentally change the character of the dance! Would you try to tango to Miles Davis while you were still learning?) Besides, they get Madonna whenever they want (and they have a jazz and a modern class anyway!!) and I doubt the same can be said for Puccini.