Sisters Doris and Robin Veldman, both passionate musicians, immerse themselves in classical ballet technique every week at Studio Simoncini.
“As a musician, you tell a story just like a dancer, but with ballet you can use your entire body and that gives you a sense of freedom” says Robin, a violinist who often plays in the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and she plays in various chamber music ensembles such as Duo Duinoord, Fluweel and the Mare quartet.
“When I am working on music, I always see the continuous line of the music piece in my mind”, says Doris. She plays the cello and is a music producer. “The balletclasses have influenced my vision when producing music, I now see more movement in front of me when I am working on a piece of music,”.
“Doris and I used to do ballet, but because of our music studies we no longer had time. I wanted to start again, back to the basics of ballet. Doris looked for a ballet school, that’s what older sisters are for!” laughs Robin
“It’s nice to be part of a group where it’s okay how you are, you don’t have to be able to do everything at once.” says Doris. “The adult beginners class is wonderful. We all come from a different place and that’s okay. We are learning together how to move on music”.
Robin: “It’s a great moment during the week for me, I am completely absorbed in the balletclass. The music that I normally make myself through small movements, literally fiddling on every musical note, is part of a larger whole here in class. It’s so nice when you make music professionally, to combine that with ballet and that you then completely internalize it in your body”.
Doris: “It is interesting to see with my own eyes the connection between ballet and music. There are many similarities, for example how you use the upbeat”.
Robin: “The difference is that here in ballet class you literally feel the music, you give it a shape. Ballet makes music visible.”
