Grant Kennedy is a professional dance accompanist, composer, and researcher. He studied piano and pipe organ in the Hunter Valley, where he grew up in Scone, and in Sydney, where he currently resides. He has pursued dance accompaniment professionally since 2005, working extensively with leading ballet teachers, local and international ballet companies, and dance associations.
Since 2008, Grant has been employed as a pianist on staff with the Royal Academy of Dance Australia. This involves accompanying Vocational Graded examinations, including interstate tours, student and teacher workshops, scholarships, and competitions. He also tutors on music for RAD Faculty of Education programmes.
Grant also works widely as a freelance accompanist for dance educators and ballet companies, both local and international. He has composed music for various dance-related projects, including the different levels of Marie Walton-Mahon’s Progressing Ballet Technique programme.
“The work of the dance accompanist requires an enormous and constantly refined repertoire. My playlist is a cross section of the composers and styles that acted as a gateway for me to what is rhythmically and stylistically a highly idiosyncratic body of music. It is the music that I often heard wafting out of studios that I either tracked down or played by ear. I’ve also thrown in a number of adjacent repertoire that have been highly instructive in shaping my approach to the craft. I hope you enjoy”
*Please remember that per Spotify's terms and conditions, these playlists are intended for personal listening enjoyment only.