Editing Classical ballet (section)

===Music for ballet class===

The traditional ballet masters of the eighteenth century played the violin for their own ballet classes.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Royal Academy of Dance |title=A Dance Class Anthology: The Royal Academy of Dance Guide to Ballet Class Accompaniment |date=2005 |publisher=Royal Academy of Dance Enterprises |location=London |isbn=9781904386742 |page=2}}</ref> They also provided their ballet students with instruction in the relationship between the dance steps and the music.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bloomfield |first1=Anne |last2=Watts |first2=Ruth |title=Pedagogue of the dance: the dancing master as educator in the long eighteenth century |journal=History of Education |date=July 2008 |volume=37 |issue=4 |page=610 |doi=10.1080/00467600802085426}}</ref> By the end of the nineteenth century this had fallen out of fashion, and specialisation in the performing arts meant that the role of the ballet teacher and the ballet musician had become separate professions. By the twentieth century, the violin had given way to the piano as the standard accompaniment for ballet class.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Murakami |first1=K |title=Sound Moves: An International Conference on Music and Dance |date=2005 |publisher=Roehampton University |location=London |page=156-157 |url=http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/soundMoves}}</ref> When recorded music is substituted for a live musician, there is no opportunity for the dancers to make subtle physical shifts of expression that a live dance accompanist will watch and match as they play.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Davidson |first1=Andrew |title=‘The cycle of creativity’: a case study of the working relationship between a dance teacher and a dance musician in a ballet class |journal=Research in Dance Education |date=2 October 2023 |volume=24 |issue=4 |page=329 |doi=10.1080/14647893.2021.1971645|doi-access=free |url=https://openresearch.surrey.ac.uk/view/delivery/44SUR_INST/12152748600002346/13196480900002346 }}</ref>

The live musician in a ballet class plays a crucial role in the creative process.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cavalli |first1=Harriet |title=Dance and Music: A Guide to Dance Accompaniment for Musicians and Dance Teachers |date=2001 |publisher=University of Florida Press |location=Gainesville, FL |page=52-54}}</ref> As the ballet teacher sets an exercise - moving, counting, vocalising - the musician observes and imagines the music that will best support the exercise. The musician then plays either an existing piece of musical repertoire or creates a musical improvisation to support the dancers in the exercise. The dancers are affected by the musician's choices, and they integrate both the ballet teacher's steps and the ballet musician's music into their performance. Ultimately, the ballet teacher has little control over the musical portion of their lesson unless they ask the musician to play a specific piece of music. For this reason, the working relationship between a dance teacher and a dance musician is vital to the success of a ballet class.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Davidson |first1=Andrew |title=‘The cycle of creativity’: a case study of the working relationship between a dance teacher and a dance musician in a ballet class |journal=Research in Dance Education |date=2 October 2023 |volume=24 |issue=4 |page=338 |doi=10.1080/14647893.2021.1971645|doi-access=free |url=https://openresearch.surrey.ac.uk/view/delivery/44SUR_INST/12152748600002346/13196480900002346 }}</ref>