“Music is often referred to as the motivating force behind dance. However, dance teachers and accompanists are a fortunate few who see both art forms as motivating catalysts for their own creative energies" (Harriet Cavalli, Dance and Music). This paper reflects on the phenomenon of working as a dance musician, an area of improvisatory practice that has received limited research attention. It describes aspects of this practice as experienced by the author over a three-year period as a freelance ballet pianist engaged in approximately 1000 hours of ballet classes. The paper draws data from interviews with ballet teachers with whom the author has worked as a ballet pianist. It also draws from extant literature on the musician’s role in dance. The paper brings together major themes, including the embodied, collaborative, semi-structured, and improvisatory nature of the work of the dance musician.