One of the benefits students receive from the dance department at my university is live music during dance classes. Today, most teachers use music from their phones or CDs to conduct class, but this may not be the most efficient and helpful way to motivate dancers and give teachers maximum time to teach their class.

While I am so grateful for the live music, I am even more grateful for the musicians behind it that help me make it through the intense cardio ballet or a sluggish modern class.

First of all, live accompaniment during class allows teachers to easily adjust tempo if need be. The teacher doesn't have to be digging through music to find a track that will match the combination he or she has created. Instead, they can simply give the accompanist a tempo quickly before the combination begins, and the rest of the work is up to the dancers.

To my accompanist, thank you for being flexible with tempos and for working with us to find a comfortable pace to move forward.

Another fun part of live accompaniment during class is the improvisation they are able to do. Every time I step into class I never know what kind of music I will get, and that is kind of exciting! Sometimes the teacher might ask for a certain style if the pace of the class seems monotone or there is a difficult combination coming up that will require more motivation for dancers than what they can do for themselves.

To my accompanist, thank you for always having a song in your heart that inspires us every class period. You lift our spirits and give us new material that makes us move in new ways.

Overall, the best part about live accompaniment is the flexibility during class. You can adjust the tempo, ask for new styles, and even spice up old tunes in ways that you never expected. Live accompaniment brings life into the room that is dynamic, exciting, and different each day. Since coming to college and experiencing live music for the first time, I firmly believe that it has a strong impact on how efficient and effective class time can be.

To my accompanist, thank you for everything you do. It could be easy for you to just sit on the bench and be on your phone until it is your time to play. Instead, you listen in class and really try to absorb the discussions we have. Although you don't need to know how to properly point your foot or flawlessly execute a pirouette, you still listen for things in our discussion that can help you best serve the dancers.

You even pay attention while you're playing, and you increase the intensity and drive of the music to help us push through our exhaustion. This class would not be the same without you, and I appreciate every last effort you put into helping the class be the best it can be.