Composing for Dance

The course presents tools, techniques, methodologies, and concepts for composing original music for dance (both acoustic and electronic). Composers will develop a work for dance collaborating with choreographers, culminating in a public showing at the end of the semester. Weekly meetings will be used to discuss the unique challenges (both practical and aesthetic) that this type of interdisciplinary collaboration raises, and to troubleshoot potential solutions. Students will examine case studies of collaborative composer/choreographer pairs (especially from the last 75 years), as potential models for working via the study of artist statements, interviews, articles, videos, and classroom discussions with invited guests. No prior experience writing for dance is necessary. Basic familiarity with a digital audio workspace is preferable. For participants who don’t write music or work in sound, a research project either analyzing a composer/choreographer pairing or looking at a topic relating to music and dance more broadly will serve as an equivalent final project (resulting in an academic paper, a podcast, or the production of an educational video).