mUSIC + DANCE

a creative collaboration

Let us not forget that jazz is a music of liberation, and as such it loses something when divorced from the body. The music unexpressed through the freeing action of movement stagnates as mere notes on a staff. Like jazz, dance is a unique art form with tradition and culture and styles. This page is a summary of the two semesters I undertook to study the idiom of modern dance and its unique relationship to music. In particular, I investigated the ways in which musicians and dancers can rekindle a spirit of vitality and collaboration in advancing both art forms.

“Turkey and Sam”

I had the pleasure to work with Mason Gross School of the Arts dance student, Casey O'Neill. For her solo recital, Casey choreographed and performed her work, titled "Turkey And Sam." I composed, produced and performed all of the music for her dance. I created a pre-recorded textural backing track; then during the live performance I improvised on the saxophone according to the sequence of the dance and based upon a loose harmonic and melodic structure adapted from the choreography. 

I composed the backing soundtrack as both a supporting narrative of Casey's movement and as a platform for my voice on saxophone. Ultimately, I was choreographed into the dance, itself, my body and my horn’s musical statements acting as a counterpoint to Casey’s story. The resulting work was a fully integrated artistic vignette. I am proud of what Casey and I produced. I believe we demonstrated that this type of cross-pollination produces fruitful results.

an independent study

I also had the good fortune to study for two semesters with Robert "Tigger" Benford of the Dance Department at Mason Gross School of the Arts. The purpose of our independent study was to explore the modern relationship between dance and music. I studied the atypical musical forms, meters, styles, rhythms and conceptual approaches of music composed for modern dance. These conceptual structures afford contemporary musicians ways in which music and dance successfully communicate.

My musical background is the 4/4 worlds of jazz, salsa and American popular music in its various forms.  Dancing and movement is intrinsic to all these styles of music. My goal was to study the contemporary artistic relationships between music and modern dance in order to influence my own artistic development.  This project enhanced my composition and improvisation strategies by providing new insights into the possible (renewed?) connections between movement and jazz. This project introduced novel insights into how musicians, their music, modern dancers and other artists all connect with each other moment-to-moment.

During the course of this study we explored the following topics: mid-20th century modern artistic philosophy; improvised dance-class workshops; artist's journal; modern dance technical theory; student collaboration; and a final project.

final project

The culmination of my independent study with Prof. Benford was the premiere of his musical composition in collaboration with the choreography of Jay T. Jenkins, "Presence of Rhythm," at the Mason Gross School of the Arts Spring 2012 DancePlus student recital. This work featured contemporary dance styles and body percussion for 12 dancers in collaborative contrast with live musicians on stage (percussion, acoustic bass, Prof. Benford on vibes and myself on alto saxophone).