About Mood/Atmosphere in Ballet vs. Contemporary Class

A very striking thought about the difference in music in ballet and contemporary class was suggested today by a pianist during a conversation:

In ballet, the musician reproduces the dynamics of the step in his music, and this varies for each exercise. He termed the music "more narrative", which I found striking: the music narrates, or it tells you what the step is. In contemporary however, the musician, rather than respond to the structure of the steps, sets a more general mood. It struck me that this might be explaining my different musical experiences in both styles.

What does the teacher do? Really, I find that the teacher's use of voice is much more even in contemporary than in ballet. In ballet, the voice reflects the dynamics of the step (at least that's what we are taught!) and in contemporary the voice, whatever step of the sequence is being set, reflects the overall mood. The teacher is setting a certain mood, and that makes it more of an organic experience for all learners...yes or no?

The teacher in ballet are often not setting an exercise in a certain mood. I think of adage, where however beautiful the choreography might be, the steps are set in the same matter of fact manner than the allegro - albeit with very different dynamics. The dancers are expected to implement these dynamics. But if they do not feel any mood/atmosphere of the setting, it will still seem shallow, if not to the audience so at least to themselves. Maybe that is in part responsible for my experiences in ballet to be less memorable than those in contemporary? Maybe memorable experiences are anchored in moods/atmospheres?

Contemporary dancers seem to have much more of a connection to mood than ballet dancers - even in terms of their personal philosophy (think about the kind of people attracted to ballet versus contemporary). They get into a mood before class (stretching on the floor in silence and engaging with breath) and after class (cool down that often is part of a contemporary class). Ballet is not related to mood so much. Even the révérence is not "mood-ful"; I experience it as more superficial than the breathy cool downs of contemporary, after which the teacher even sometimes does not want applause to "keep the feeling" (quote by anonymous inspiring person and teacher).

All this raises many questions:

Do musicians continue a certain mood they set for an exercise into the next setting? Is there a continuity, or do they approach each exercise/sequence as a separate setting, and respond solely to the teacher's momentary input?

How do pianists choose which mood to set, as this freedom obviously, and as experienced, leaves them with a great responsibility for the overall atmosphere/mood of the class?

So does this mean that it is the musician who is reponsible for the atmosphere? How much does the teacher influence him/her?
Are musicians aware of this?

This has not emerged from any analysis but are raw thoughts about the thing this pianist said to me today, and which I have thought about during class this evening. Writing up the data of the day, I was trying to capture a feeling in words: "I felt elated, I felt in the right place, I felt beautiful and connected, and in a complete moment. There was nothing but the pianist, the music, my body, my movement and a right feeling to it." Although this might sound naive, it is the best I could do to describe what I felt at that moment. And I can't remember when I felt like this the last time in ballet? Do you?

Hopefully once this has been integrated a bit more in data I will be able to say more about it with more confidence.

I would love for anyone to contribute their thoughts on this to further my thinking!