Today on 10 Questions With… we have Robert Long, a musician who plays for dancers…

1. Can you tell readers a bit about how you got into music?

I started in music the way most kids probably do. There was a lady in the village who gave piano lessons, so off I went. I was 7 or 8.

2. How did you wind up playing for dancers?

I had finished university (Mus. Bach, M.A., University of Toronto), and couldn’t find any employment.Through friends I received some contacts for ballet schools, so I decided to give it a try, even though I had no idea what to play.

3. What are the special considerations you must address when arranging music for dance class?

For me, the considerations to be addressed involve the instructor I’m working with. Some like quicker tempos, some slower; some like lengthy exercises, some shorter, and so on. Beyond that, an instructor could have personal preferences: ragtime, tangos, habaneras, adages in 4/4 instead of 3/4, continuous exercises at the barre with 4 counts to turn the middle; things like that.

4.  What do you enjoy most about working on this type of music? [Read more…]