Dance 13 is a brief, dance-inspired work that employs light, rhythmic textures typical of Kimberling's educational writing. It is distinguished by its charming, unassuming melodic contour.
At Henle 1 this is an early-beginner piece — the challenge is playing evenly and confidently, not the notes themselves. The main demands: a waltz lilt that needs charm and a flexible left hand; precise articulation — the difference between crisp and blurred is the piece; and chord voicing — bringing out one note inside a handful of others.
Ensure the left-hand accompaniment is kept light to allow the dance rhythm to feel buoyant.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Where this piece's skills lead: slightly harder works making similar technical demands.
Lesser-known works by the same hand, at a comparable level.
Dance 13 is rated Henle level 1 of 9 — beginner repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 1–2. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 2.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 1. Learning it one level early is possible as a stretch piece, but more than that usually leads to months of frustration.
A typical performance of Dance 13 lasts about 1.5 minutes.
Dance 13 is available as free public-domain sheet music on IMSLP — the score is linked directly from this page.
Pieces at a comparable difficulty and character include Dance 30 by Clark Kimberling, Dance 6 by Clark Kimberling, Dance 28 by Clark Kimberling — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.