I love working as a dance musician. Sometimes friends or family ask me "what do you actually do?". The simplest answer is that I play music while people dance during dance classes, and what could be cooler than that? Sometimes I worry the fun police are going to show up and put a stop to it!

But, there’s more to it than just playing music in class. When I worked as music director at the University of California Riverside, I was responsible for most things having to do with music or sound in the dance department. Ultimately, I was there to teach, mentor, and guide students exploring music, sound, movement, aesthetics, and relationships between them. Here are some of the things I might do on a typical day:

• Play musical accompaniment for modern dance classes, usually as the solo musician. I improvise live music on percussion, keyboards and electronics. This is typically what people mean when they say they play “music for dance”. I watch and listen as the teacher demonstrates an exercise or dance combination, and based on the movement quality, tempo, and phrasing of the dance, I create music on the spot that supports the dance. For me, the dance studio is a simultaneous space for performance, and a laboratory for creative learning and collaboration.

• Accompany West African dance class, along with 1-3 other musicians. We play West African rhythms on hand drums called djembe, and and one person plays dunduns, which are played with sticks.

• Provide technical support (configure, setup, maintain, troubleshoot) and user support for the dance studio sound systems.

Other things I do:

• Perform live music/sound scores for dance concerts. Usually percussion and electronics, although in 2016 I accompanied a baroque violinist, by playing a cello part (on a keyboard synthesizer) for a 18th century dance class!

• Collaborate with choreographers to create sound designs and compose music for new dances. Each collaboration is different and requires different approaches/skills.

• Guest teach and co-teach classes on music/dance relationships in choreography, dance pedagogy, and dance technique

• Consult with choreographers on music/sound score choices for their pieces

• Hire, mentor, oversee ballet pianists

• Manage sound systems in each of the studios - troubleshooting, maintenance, upgrades, etc.

• Manage our inventory of musical instruments - maintenance, upkeep, repairs, purchasing new equipment, etc.

Some special projects I’ve done:

• Designed new sound systems for installation in of all the dance studios

• Mentored musicians in playing music with modern dance

• Created virtual recordings of music of which there were no existing recordings

• Created notated musical scores for musicians to play in performance

• Performed live music and/or sound designs for dance performances

...and much more!  Every day, I face some kind of new challenge or situation, and it's always fresh. Ultimately, it's the interaction with students and watching their growth over time that is most gratifying.