Pirouettes Like Jagger: The Weird World of Ballet Hits
Upon taking up dance, guest writer Catherine Sinow learned of a little-discussed genre known only to ballerinas
A few weeks, I got a terse but interesting email from a writer named Catherine Sinow: “Let me know if you ever want to take guest posts. I am itching to write about a highly specific genre of situational music.” I didn’t know Catherine particularly well - we’d only crossed paths once before - but she had my attention. She later explained to me that she took up ballet and discovered a strange musical world she wasn’t aware of. And, no, I’m not talking about Tchaikovsky. I’ll let her explain.
How Ballet Went Pop
It was January of this year and my knees were in pain. I recalled my mom saying that a strong core is supposed to prevent back pain. I figured it might be similar with thigh muscles and kneecaps, so I signed up for the only beginner class at a nearby dance studio—ballet. It worked. My knees stopped hurting in a matter of months. But, as a music writer, I couldn’t help but notice the music played in class had a somewhat ridiculous premise.
During different classes across multiple teachers, we only listened to short, jaunty piano tunes that were covers of popular songs. Think Coldplay, ABBA, and Lady Gaga. Some were great—the cover of “Paradise” by Coldplay made me enjoy the composition for the first time. Some were not so great—the flat cover of “Dancing Queen” by ABBA made one of my teachers doubt if any of these piano interpretations were ever good in the first place. During class, in the middle of exercises, I witnessed students shout out the names of artists and songs as some kind of spontaneous public guessing game.
Eventually I decided to approach my teachers about this. “I like to use more modern ballet music covers of pop or rock,” my teacher Madeline Gambino told me after a lesson. “It’s more motivating, and it’s a way to connect with your class.”
She and other teachers showed me their Spotify accounts, which led me to some of the stars of the ballet class genre include Nate Fifield, Christopher N. Hobson, and - this is the name of the artist - Modern Ballet Class Series. The latter two are at least somewhat prolific, but Fifield is in a class of his own, releasing three or more albums per year. These albums overwhelmingly focus on pop music covers, although you can find covers of Disney tracks, movie scores, and—believe it or not—a little music from actual ballets.
Here are some examples of things you might dance to. Note that the tracks are notated with the ballet exercise they’re rhythmically best for.
Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger” from Ballet Class Pop Hits Vol. 7 as performed by Nate Fifield (Exercise - Fondu)
The Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way” from Ballet Goes 90s Pop, Vol. 2 as performed by Modern Ballet Class Series (Exercise - Battement Frappe)
Disney’s “Heigh Ho” from Magical Disney Music for Ballet Classes as performed by Ray Lindsey & Chelsea Viste (Exercise - Traveling turns)
This type of ballet music could be termed “situational music”. Situational music doesn't refer to genres, which are often created through artistic scenes (e.g., grunge), but rather music produced for a specific function. Ballet class music sits firmly in this area. Nobody says they’re an avid fan of ballet class music or goes to concerts where it is exclusively performed. It’s a hidden genre, known only to people affiliated with ballet and likely listened to only whilst doing ballet (or a related activity such as teaching ballet or waiting to pick your kid up from ballet).
You can quickly see how niche these artists are. Fifield has released an obscene amount of music, and I’ve heard him extensively in my classes, but I can’t find him on Rate Your Music or Discogs, two musical websites known for being exhaustive.
Before Spotify and Bluetooth, ballet musicians put out CDs for use in studio sound systems. And before CDs, ballet class vinyl was also a thing. These records can be found on Discogs, though the selection is quite sparse. Notably, only the exercise type is specified in these vintage track lists, and not any particular song. This suggests that the pop music adaptation is a more modern phenomenon. I exchanged some emails with Fifield, and he confirmed this to me himself. He praised Lynn Stanford, who he says pioneered ballet class pop music in the 1980s.
As for licensing, it’s easy and legal to make these covers. Fifield told me, “I am required to pay royalties when someone downloads one of my covers, but royalties for streaming are covered by the streaming companies. I work with a licensing agent to handle the payments, and it isn't too much of a hassle.” Ballet music artist Ray Lindsey mentioned that he uses the licensing website Easy Song and pays small fees.
One thing that consistently came up during my research is that recorded ballet class music is a stand-in for the real deal: a live pianist. Along with recording, Fifield and Lindsey both also perform as live accompanists. Accompanists span a similar repertoire to the CDs, touching on pop music, music from ballets, and classical. The advantage of a real person is obvious. They can handle the musical aspect of the class fully, meaning the teacher does not need to hover over an iPad when they should be teaching.
My aforementioned teacher Madeline Gambino elaborated, “Pianists are very common in Europe where they have the resources.” Nordic countries, for example, usually have a good deal of arts funding. She also noted that schools attached to prominent ballet companies, like the San Francisco Ballet, also bring in pianists. She herself trained at Madison Ballet, which sometimes hired live pianists.
Lindsey emphasized the importance of flexibility of a live pianist: “The accompanist, through years of experience, learns how to adapt his repertoire. It is very desirable for an accompanist to improvise, otherwise the teachers and students will tire of hearing the same music played the same way over and over.” This made me think of my own piano classes, where I’ve heard the same dry take on Lady Gaga’s “Alejandro” a few too many times.
Avery, the woman at the front desk at my studio, told me that live piano is usually reserved for high-caliber classes, catering to people who are very advanced and/or looking to be professionals. If I keep up with ballet, I might eventually end up in pointe shoes, the ones that let you stand right on your toes. Maybe then I will get to experience live accompaniment.
But whether it’s a real pianist or Nate Fifield on Spotify, I know that I’m probably locked into this style of dance. The piano is palatable and allows me to really focus. It’s very different from when I tried a contemporary dance class and had to dance to a song about giving your soul to Jesus for an hour. I’m a Jew and don’t want to give my soul to Jesus.
Most styles of dance are paired with music chosen at the complete whim of the teacher, which can be problematic. Not everyone has great taste. I’d much rather listen to covers that are bland at worst and thoughtful and beautiful interpretations at best.
A New One
"Taffeta Sails" by Cat Tyson Hughes
2023 - Ambient
For a long time, ambient music kissed the feet of Brian Eno and artists on the Kranky label, like Stars of the Lid. In recent years, ambient has turned into its own hotbed of sonic experimentation, and Australian musician Cat Tyson Hughes creates her own brand of cozy but noisy and emotionally serious soundscapes. This song on her debut album sounds like a precious, profound childhood memory, made unique by her singing wordlessly along with the sweet melody.
An Old One
"Street Scene in a Frontier Town" by Bill Frisell
1993 - American Modern Jazz
Creating famous ballets isn’t just for Europeans. In 1938, Aaron Copland wrote a score for Billy the Kid, an all-American ballet focusing on the titular character and the Wild West. Premiering in 1938 in Chicago, the production featured dancers in cowboy outfits. The ballet is practically never performed today, but its music sometimes is given that its composer is legendary.
This cover was recorded by jazz guitarist Bill Frisell for his album Have A Little Faith, which aims to be a musical portrait of America. (The album tackles the entire Billy the Kid ballet, along with covers of Madonna, Muddy Waters, and John Philip Sousa). The song’s dominance in Google search suggests that the Bill Frisell version is by far the most popular and well-known.
Catherine Sinow is an artist and writer in the Pacific Northwest. She is in graduate school studying to be a mental health counselor. You can find all of her work on her website.
Do you want to write for Can’t Get Much Higher? Pitch me at cdallarivamusic [at] gmail.
Looking for some more new music? Check out the live rendition of my song “Obliged to Call” that I just released.