dawnsonntag

Some instructors made us feel like machines - not a nice feeling - the work could be exhausting - but never Paul or Bruni. You really felt valued as a pianist and respected as a musician in their classes. Or Gerard Charles, who was at the Columbus BalletMet some years back. I went to see something there back in 2003 with friends - my friend was a seamstress for Balletmet - and when he walked out onstage at the beginning of the performance, I immediately remembered him. He and his wife had been principals at the Milwaukee Ballet when I was there and taught class as well. They were great people, too. I would run into them in the grocery store in Bay View where we lived and we would just chat. It taught me that great artists were "real" people, and that real people could be great artists - and that hard work was the key. When I complained once about not being appreciated by some instructors to my piano teacher, Armand Basile, he said to me, "Would you rather work at McDonalds?" I learned so much rep during those years - ballet and other. An amazing experience for an undergrad music major.

It has been several years since this thread started, but I was just looking up some of the dancers I had known when I was a pianist for the Milwaukee Ballet back from 1983 - 1988. I was an undergraduate music major at UW Milwaukee and supported myself by playing for these classes. I loved ballet, but dance had been forbidden during my youth, so I finally started studying ballet as a college student. I had to support myself through college and realized I could earn money as a ballet pianist. I sort of faked my way into the Milwaukee Ballet by just calling and saying I was a ballet pianist although I had never actually played for a class. On my first day, I was thrown into the upper level classes with the professionals when one of the other pianists called in sick. A few years later, I was offered the position of main company pianist in 1985 but wanted to study voice, so turned it down. I loved, loved playing for Paul and Bruni. They were so positive and so kind to the pianists. It is so fascinating for me to look up these people from my past and learn what they have been doing. I played for some other small schools through 1993 - by that time I was living in Germany, had studied voice and was singing a lot and also becamse a collaborative pianist with singers and instrumentalists, sometthing I enjoyed doing more than playing for dance classes. So I did not play for ballet classes after that. But also am a composer and have of course always thoughty about composing for dance. I used to make up my own pieces all the time for the Milwaukee Ballet - and then with my involvement in the choral and vocal world sort of lost that vision. Recently, it occurred to me how working as an undergrad for the Milwaukee Ballet was a huge formative experience for me in so many ways. Because I had children so young I also went through pregnancies and having babies while I worked there. I actually brought my babies to class sometimes when I played for Paul and Bruni. And when I was hospitalized once for a kidney stone while I was pregnant, they were very concerned - just really great people. What started this recent search and voyage into the past was hearing some snarky remarks about male dancers. I have always had vivid memories of watching Ethan Stiefel when I accompanied the classes he was in, and of Paul working with him. It was so inspirational. I named my second son "Ethan" because of this. And of course Ethan Stiefel has had a big career. Fantastic to learn these things. Motivates me to start looking for connections for composing for dance. I teach now at Hiram College, am a member of the Cleveland Composers Guild.