Beyond Tchaikovsky
Modern Music Perfect for Contemporary Ballet Choreography
For centuries, ballet has been inextricably linked with the classical masters—Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Delibes. But as contemporary ballet continues to evolve and push artistic boundaries, a new generation of choreographers is discovering rich inspiration in unexpected sonic landscapes.
The rigid structures of classical composition are giving way to the textured soundscapes, complex rhythms, and emotional depth of modern composers. Here's a look at the musical voices shaping the future of ballet.
The New Sound of Movement
Ólafur Arnalds
Neo-Classical / Ambient
Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds masterfully blends piano-driven melodies with subtle electronic elements. His music possesses a cinematic quality that breathes with natural rhythm, creating perfect emotional scaffolding for contemporary narrative ballet.
Arnalds' work provides space for dancers to explore nuanced expression, where a single, sustained note can hold as much dramatic weight as an entire crescendo.
Choreographic Starting Points:
"Tomorrow's Song" for its hopeful melancholy; "re:member" for its interplay between looping patterns and organic development.
Nils Frahm
Experimental Piano / Electronic
German musician Nils Frahm deconstructs and reconstructs the piano, finding beauty in the mechanical sounds of hammers and pedals alongside haunting melodies. His compositions are architectural—building complex sonic spaces for dancers to inhabit.
The repetitive, minimalist nature of pieces like "Says" creates a trance-like state that allows for mesmerizing, evolving movement phrases.
Choreographic Starting Points:
"Says" for its building electronic pulses; "Screws" for its intimate, fragmented piano studies.
Anna Thorvaldsdottir
Contemporary Classical
Thorvaldsdottir's music is a force of nature. Her sprawling, atmospheric compositions evoke geological time, vast landscapes, and elemental power. For choreographers interested in abstract, large-scale work, her music offers a profound depth of field.
Dancing to Thorvaldsdottir is less about counting steps and more about channeling energy, becoming a physical manifestation of sound itself.
Choreographic Starting Points:
"Aeriality" for its immense, breathing textures; "CATAMORPHOSIS" for its dramatic, evolving narrative arc.
Flying Lotus
Experimental Electronic / Jazz
Steven Ellison, known as Flying Lotus, creates dense, polyrhythmic tapestries that challenge conventional meter. His jazz-infused electronic works are unpredictable and syncopated, pushing dancers out of traditional phrasing and into explosive, fragmented movement.
This is music for ballet that wants to break its own form, incorporating isolations, asymmetrical groupings, and raw, visceral energy.
Choreographic Starting Points:
"Do the Astral Plane" for its infectious groove; "Zodiac Shit" for its complex, layered rhythms.
Hildur Guðnadóttir
Drone / Ambient
An Oscar-winning cellist and composer, Guðnadóttir uses her instrument to explore the outer limits of tone and texture. Her work is deeply emotional and often haunting, focusing on sustained notes that reveal hidden harmonies over time.
This music demands a choreographic approach focused on internal motivation, slow development, and profound emotional release. It's perfect for deeply personal, introspective solos and duets.
Choreographic Starting Points:
"Bathroom Dance" (from Joker) for its tense, tragic weight; "Erupting Light" for its gradual, cathartic build.
The Future is Unwritten
The conversation between music and dance is eternal, but its vocabulary is constantly expanding. By looking beyond the standard repertoire, choreographers are not abandoning ballet's history; they are enriching its future.
The emotional complexity, textural richness, and rhythmic innovation found in modern composition provide fertile ground for creating ballet that is truly of our time—work that speaks to contemporary audiences while honoring the breathtaking physical language of classical dance.
The next great ballet score is waiting to be discovered. It might just be on your playlist.
