Music for the Dance

Teck explores the creation and performance of music for ballet, modern concert dance, and musical theater dance in 20th-century America. The author writes from her perspective as a professional musician with a graduate degree in composition and extensive experiences as an accompanist for dance. Dividing her study into four sections (Creation, Performance, Silent Artists Speak, and Toward the Future), Teck investigates issues that arise in music and dance collaborations. She presents personal interviews with composers, choreographers, conductors, and performers of both music and dance along with her own reflections on a number of interesting and rarely addressed issues. Two of the most engaging are `What is musicality in a dancer?' and `How does one obtain new music for choreography?' ChoiceMusic is the most constant partner for the dancer in America today, yet it is often the one least written about, least understood, and most challenging to work with effectively. This book is an exploration of contemporary musical collaboration for the dance in 20th century America. It offers an overview of music for theatrical dance in both the creative collaboration and performance of ballet, modern dance, and show styles. Written to be understandable to most theater-goers, this engaging study is based on exclusive personal interviews with outstanding artists in the field of dance, including choreographers, composers, instrumental performers, and dancers themselves, and it presents information that will be helpful to students and professionals as well. Focusing on some of the more practical aspects of music and dance production, the book addresses a number of important questions, such as how choreographers choose music for their dances, how composers know what to write for a ballet, how conductors accommodate the needs of dancers, what dancers need to know about music, what musicality is in a dancer, and how electronic sound technology has been used artistically for dance.Music for the Dance deals with the creative collaborations of choreographers and composers, elements of musical performance, the aesthetics and experiences of dancers in regard to music, the musical training of dancers, and current trends in theatrical dance music. It examines, through the experiences of practicing professionals, the various relationships of sound and movement, and presents a broad view of the art of dance as it is today. This definitive work will be read with interest by dance students and teachers, musicians, theater goers, and patrons and managers of dance companies and arts organizations.