Sandpaper Ballet

Leroy Anderson

General Info

Year: 1954 / 2007
Duration: c. 3:15
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Orchestra
Publisher: Alfred Publishing
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $75.00; (digital) - $75.00 | Score Only (print) - $9.00

For further availability information, see Discussion tab, above.

Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Cornet I-II-III
B-flat Trumpet I-II
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion, including:

Bass Drum
Sandpaper Blocks (coarse and fine)
Slide Whistle

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

The Sandpaper Ballet is not a ballet score: Leroy Anderson intended it to be an orchestral work designed as a tribute to the soft-shoe dancing style from vaudeville. Dancers in that beloved entertainment genre of yesteryear often rubbed sheets of sandpaper together to create a rhythmic accompaniment to their soft-shoe routines. As one might expect, Anderson’s piece has been choreographed and performed by ballet companies, including the San Francisco Ballet, which regularly stages the piece.

The work opens with the strange, rhythmic sound of what vaguely sounds like a snare drum played with brush strokes. But Anderson used pieces of wood rubbed against sandpaper to achieve this unique sonic effect. The main theme is jaunty and carefree, played by subdued voices. The music gradually takes on a slightly brighter, more colorful manner. The sandpaper rhythms continue throughout and are even heard in what might described as brief cadenzas.

Many years ago while the soft shoe dance was still popular in vaudeville, sometimes dancers would sprinkle sand on the stage to create a crackling sound while performing it. The drummers imitated this sound by attaching sandpaper to wood blocks which they rubbed rhythmically against each other. They use sandpaper in three different strengths, coarse, medium and fine, to create different effects.”

— Quote from Leroy Anderson

- Program Note from Hijiyama (Japan) Girls Junior & Senior High School Wind Orchestra concert program, 11 February 2016

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown
Audio CD: Capital City Community Band (Tom Brawner, conductor) - 2007

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Indiana State University (Terre Haute) Wind Symphony (Nikk Pilato, conductor) – 23 April 2019
Washburn University (Topeka, Kan.) Band (J. Thomas Seddon IV, conductor) – 15 April 2019
Hijiyama Girls Junior & Senior High School Wind Orchestra (Hiroshima, Japan) (Yusuke Konishi, conductor) - 11 February 2016 (2016 CASMEC Conference, San Jose)
Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corps Symphonic Band (New York City) (Kelly Watkins, conductor) - 12 December 2014
Frankfort (Ky.) Capital City Community Band (Patrick Dunnigan, conductor) – 20 December 2007 (2007 Midwest Clinic)

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

Sleigh Ride (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Fernie) (1948/)
Sleigh Ride (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Torskangerpoll) (1948/2020)

All Wind Works

Belle of the Ball (1951)
Blue Tango (1951)
Blue Tango (arr. Ployhar) (1951/1980)
The Bluebells of Scotland (1954/1962)
Bugler's Holiday (arr. Edwards) (1954)
The Captains and Kings (1962)
China Doll (1951/1953)
A Christmas Festival (1950)
A Christmas Festival (arr. Smith) (1950/2007)
Clarinet Candy (1962)
Concerto in C for Piano and Symphonic Wind Orchestra (arr. Murschinski) (1953/2008)
Fiddle-Faddle (arr. Lang) (1947)
Forgotten Dreams (1954)
The Girl I Left Behind Me. See: Irish Suite: The Girl I Left Behind Me
The Girl in Satin (1953)
The Golden Years (1962)
Home Stretch (1962)
Horse and Buggy (1951)
Irish Suite: The Girl I Left Behind Me (1949)
Irish Suite: The Irish Washerwoman (1947)
Irish Suite: The Last Rose of Summer (arr. Wagner) (1950/2010)
Irish Suite: The Minstrel Boy (as arranger) (1947/1952/2009)
Irish Suite: The Rakes of Mallow (1947)
Irish Suite: The Wearing of the Green (arr. Wagner) (1947/2009)
Jazz Pizzicato (arr. Lang) (1938)
The Last Rose of Summer. See: Irish Suite: The Last Rose of Summer
A Leroy Anderson Portrait (arr. Barnes) (1982/2006)
Lullaby of the Drums (1970)
March of the Two Left Feet (orch. Boyd) (1969/2008)
The Penny Whistle Song (1951)
The Phantom Regiment (1951)
Pirate Dance (1962)
Promenade (arr. Lang) (1945/1948)
Promenade (arr. Wagner) (1945/2017)
Pyramid Dance (1960)
The Rakes of Mallow. See: Irish Suite: The Rakes of Mallow
Sandpaper Ballet (1954)
Selections from Leroy Anderson's "Irish Suite" (arr. Wagner) (1947/2011)
Serenata (1947)
Sleigh Ride (1948)
Sleigh Ride (Brass Ensemble) (arr. Fernie) (1948/2010)
Sleigh Ride (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Fernie) (1948/)
Sleigh Ride (arr. Mellema) (1948/)
Sleigh Ride (arr. Ployhar) (1948/1980)
Sleigh Ride (arr. Schwalgin) (1948/)
Sleigh Ride (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Torskangerpoll) (1948/2020)
Sleigh Ride (arr. Warner) (1948/2006)
Sleigh Ride (ed. Woodfield) (1948/)
Song of Jupiter (as arranger) (1952)
Song of the Bells (1953)
Suite of Carols for Brass (1955)
Suite of Carols for Woodwinds (1955)
Summer Skies (1953)
The Syncopated Clock (1945)
The Syncopated Clock (arr. Lang) (1946/1948)
The Syncopated Clock (arr. Schubert) (1946/1997)
Ticonderoga March (ed. Boyd) (1939)
A Trumpeter's Lullaby (arr. Lang) (1950/1978)
The Typewriter (arr. Heide) (1950/)
The Typewriter (arr. Werle) (1950)
The Waltzing Cat (arr. Lang) (1950)
The Wearing of the Green. See: Irish Suite: The Wearing of the Green

Resources

Anderson, L. (2007). Sandpaper Ballet [score]. Alfred: Van Nuys, Calif.
Leroy Anderson website Accessed 14 May 2021