Staff Profile: Accompanying with David Decaminada

By Raven Crosby, Emory Dance Program Office Assistant

Since the age of four, David Decaminada has been passionate about music and the piano. By listening to the radio, records, and tapes, David developed the ability to play music by ear. This talent led him to his first professional accompanist position at Ohio State University at the age of 17, where he accompanied many ballet courses and a few modern courses. He was the very first accompanist for the Emory Dance Program; he was hired in 1987, the year the program began, and is now one of three accompanists playing for Emory dance classes.  

Decaminada has a repertoire of songs that he draws from to play during class. He matches the melodic properties of the song to the tempo of each exercise. He enjoys playing music for waltz, solo stretch, and any portion of the class where he does not have to pause as much in his playing. Decaminada also incorporates musical pieces from the radio and records into the class. He also improvises, adds his own flair, and creates the music as he plays during class. Since ballet is a classical art form, Decaminada plays many classical pieces for those classes. However, he also plays classical jazz pieces inspired by ragtime to keep the class engaged musically. When a dance instructor or student tells Decaminada that they enjoyed a song that he played, he will add it to his repertoire and play it throughout the course meetings. These are just a few of the ways that Decaminada connects with a class through his accompaniment. He says, “a good accompanist isn’t heard but you notice when they aren’t there.”

In high school, David’s aunt encouraged him to listen to more Jazz LPs by musicians such as Duke Ellington, Joseph Lamb, and Scott Joplin; all have had a great impact on David’s accompaniment. Throughout his career, he has taught himself how to play ragtime pieces because his music teachers at the time did not focus on this genre. When David began accompanying dance classes, he played for a few modern courses. This experience provided him with many applicable skills that he transferred to his ballet accompaniments. A modern teacher, Carl Ratcliff, challenged David to play more waltz and ragtime music. Music theory and training were also two important tools for David as he progressed through his early career. From practicing, hearing many records, and reading sheet music, he can create music as he accompanies on the spot. If he slips up, David begins to “…try to edit, or fake it...I have become rather good at that. When in doubt, make something up. Don’t even think about it, just make it up.”

Decaminada offered three pieces of advice that, while directed at people who are interested in accompanying, can also be applied to any field. Regarding music, “Even if you don’t like something, listen to it anyway. Figure out what you like or don’t like about it. Give a critique and see how it affects you.” He then offered advice for performances. “You should never perform like you are apologizing. That’s your love. That’s your craft. That’s you. So, I play like I’m never apologizing. If you don’t like it, you can never expect that others will like it.” When it comes to making mistakes, he says “There are 500 people out there; they can’t stop you. If you make a mistake just fudge it.”