Without music there is no dance. Dance can be, and often is, performed in silence although that can be difficult to keep up for any length of time. Having said that, it has been done very effectively and sometimes dance and silence together make their own ‘soundscape’, which is very powerful. But it’s inevitable that music and dance go together.

So, which comes first – the music or the idea?  Usually, music is the main inspiration for dance, and for a choreographer the choice of music is very important. I have a golden rule: for the dance to come from your heart, the music has to reach your heart. As a choreographer, when listening to music it is almost impossible, sometimes annoyingly so, not to imagine movement. So sometimes, the music is in fact itself the idea but how much this drives the dance you are creating varies greatly.

For example, I liked the piano suites of Handel and wanted to make a ballet from some of them. Each piece of music inspired movement but I didn’t know straight away what ‘purpose’ the dances would have. After I listened to the music many times an idea began to form with individual pieces of the music. I played this music in many different orders and after a while, I had definite ideas of what I wanted. This is just one way of working with music to make a dance. Even if you really like a piece of music and want to use it, a way of doing so will not always jump out at you immediately.

Just as much, dance can change the way music is heard – by how much or how little movement there is at any point, or how much sound there is with the movement. In the end, it’s the way the two are combined that creates a satisfying adventure.

 Stephen Baynes, Resident Choreographer