Michael Joviala

Tag: improvisation

  • Locomotors at Windhover

    My improvisational music and dance group, Locomotors, is performing at the Windhover Center for Performing Arts in Rockport, MA on September 5th, 2025. Here’s a brief history of our origin and evolution.

    I first had the idea for Locomotors while finishing my DMA at Stony Brook: a group based mostly in free improvisation (at the time, mostly music) anchored by short compositions built around rhythmic themes or ideas. (Yes, I was also hoping to be able to also use the composed material in Dalcroze eurhythmics lessons!) At school I took advantage of some of the excellent musicians who were there at the time. Here’s a wonderful flute player named Giovanni Perez:

    And here’s a dynamite vibraphonist/percussionist named Ross Aftel:

    I also tried the concept out with me on clarinet and my friend and colleague William Bauer on piano, and we played at several Dalcroze events and conferences:

    During the pandemic, dancer and choreographer Dawn Pratson and I were meeting via Zoom for a teaching exchange. I helped her with piano improvisation and she worked with me on movement. The sessions were beneficial for both of us, but eventually we drifted into us just improvising in our primary domains — Dawn moving, me playing. Dawn is one of my favorite movers. I love the way she improvises. When I watch her I see someone having an experience rather than trying to express something, and I find that very moving and inspiring. Working together has changed the way I play in ways I am only beginning to understand. I have more patience to follow ideas through, and I am perhaps a less restless improviser. I’ve thought a lot about why this might be so, but I think it has something to do with the awareness that I will be directly and unavoidably influencing someone else’s creative process by the choices I make. Of course this happens in jazz as a matter of course, but it is less common to see in dance. When I realized this, the light bulb went on: improvised music as an equal partner with improvised dance, anchored by short compositions, organized sort of like a jazz group with heads or ‘tunes.’

    Dawn and I did some performances in 2023, both on our own and at Dalcroze conferences. I managed to get some grant money and was able to hire the great saxophonist Marty Ehrlich for one of the shows. We performed at Mark Morris Dance Center in Brooklyn. Boy was that fun!

    When I decided this year that it was time for another round of performances, I thought of my longtime friend, visual artist Derick Melander. Derick has been creating beautiful and stunning sculpture out of used clothing for years, and he agreed to collaborate with us.

    I also wanted to enlarge our circle of movers, and so we invited dancer/choreographer Sarah Slifer Swift to improvise with Dawn. Sarah is also the director of Movement Arts Gloucester Massachusetts (MAGMA).

    Dawn and I value a kind of interplay between independence and dependence. We are definitely influenced by each other, but we reserve the right to respond by not directly responding to what the other is doing. She is not always dancing to what she hears and I am not playing what I see her do. Sarah will no doubt add further complication and inspiration. Dawn and Sarah have been working together for a while, but the four of us (including Derick) will only have the day of the performance to get to know each other!

    Without giving too much away, Derick’s contribution does involve clothing (no surprise) but also invites the dancers to interact with clothing in unusual ways (more of a surprise).

    So, in a day of rehearsal, we will organize a set, get used to working with Derick’s installation and get used to working with each other.

    Did I mention that Windhover is an outdoor space and that for the first time I will not be playing an acoustic piano?

    If you are in the area I hope you’ll come to see how it all turns out. I’ll be as curious as you to see what happens!

    The next day, September 6, 1—4pm, Dawn and I will follow up the performance with a public workshop at MAGMA, a dance center and venue in nearby Gloucester. Information and registration is here. We have given workshops in our process for the Dalcroze Society of America, New York Dalcroze and at the International Conference of Dalcroze Studies. All are welcome regardless of background or experience. This session will culminate in an optional performance centered around one of our pieces.

    A sketch for a logo. Cheesy, I know. But.. get it

  • Watching Music, Hearing Movement

    A collection of video about music and movement.

    Nice piece of scholarship about Bach, Balanchine and the ‘divisions of 12’ from the Society for Music Theory.

    Margaret Beals has been performing as improvising dancer for many years. (She is actually a friend of Dawn’s.) Here she is with sitar player and jazz musician Colin Wolcott (who participated in the groups Oregon, The Paul Winter Consort and Codona to name a few). There is a documentary, Dancing Without Steps, about her life and work releasing soon. She is introduced in the film by Meredith Monk. Though both Wolcott and Beals seem very connected in this clip, they make little effort to match or mimic each other’s phrases. I appreciate that.

    Sonny Rollins and Savion Glover: Two master improvisers, both perhaps the best living exemplars of the respective art forms are in dialogue in this clip. Rollins, a fountain of invention known for 30 minute+ solos, generously gives Glover the spotlight here, creating the framework for his poly-rhythmic pyrotechnics. Attitudes towards tap dancing have had a varied history of regard in the jazz community, but here the two artists are (pun intended) on equal footing.

    Yvonne Rainer: Rainer was part of the Judson Dance Theater, along with Steve Paxton (creator of contact improvisation), Trisha Brown and many others. I don’t believe this dance is improvised (though I’m not sure – anybody know?), but I love it because it feels like it could have been. It makes me want to run to the dance floor and move. I love playing to it, too (it was presented without music). When I do, it is very close to what I feel when Dawn and I rehearse over Zoom.

    Nancy Stark Smith and Mike Vargas (and company): Smith was part of the same group of dancers as Rainer, also closely involved with the creation of contact improvisation. Vargas has provided music for improvised events for years, and has an interesting and useful perspective on playing for them. Watching this, I can imagine why improvised dance and music have not left a larger mark. These are ephemeral sand paintings meant to disappear. While it can be electrifying to watch performers invent on the spot, the results can be like a good cup of coffee: after 15 minutes in the cup, it’s not exactly coffee anymore. That is not to take anything away from the high wire act presented in this clip (or old coffee, as long as it is iced :-).

  • Becoming More Yourself

    Dawn Pratson, Michael Joviala and Michele Herman in Conversation

    For about 2 years now, Dawn Pratson (dance and choreography) and I (piano and composition) have been meeting every week through Zoom to improvise together. Dawn usually leads us both in a physical warm-up. Eventually I wander over to the piano and start to play. We go wherever it leads, and sometimes end up with (or start from) a composition of mine. As part of our pilot artist’s residency with the New York Chapter of the Dalcroze Society of America, we decided to open our rehearsals once a month during the spring of 2023. We’ve done two so far (the next one happens on May 6th, Saturday, 1-2pm NYC time. Details on how to join here.) Both times, exactly one person has showed up! But that’s been enough to influence our process in interesting ways. Last month, writer Michele Herman attended, and stuck around for a short discussion afterword.

    In the rehearsal, Dawn left and re-entered several times with changes of clothing. Michele had some great questions for us about that and about our process in general that got us all thinking about the many moment by moment decisions that go into the artistic process.

    Dawn: There were a number of possible endings, and I know you were aware of them. We usually don’t think about it so much, but when we have somebody watching I worry about it a little bit more. Are we making it go on too long? Should we stop here? So I’m curious, Michael, when I was here [performs movement], I really enjoyed this moment. It was like a recap from where we started. Did you feel that as a possible ending?

    Michele: Being a writer, my creative process is very different from yours. I’m by myself with words. You, Dawn, have all of the parts of your body that you can move. I was very curious about how much the conscious part of your brain is working away and how much you’re able to just let it go and not care.

    Dawn: That’s the dance. I’m confused about it all the time, but I think that’s OK. I’m starting to work with masks. Michael’s connected me with this great mask teacher in New York, Peggy Lewis. But I don’t have any masks, yet. She has a developmental process which I really like, and putting on different kinds of clothing and costumes is a starting point.

    Michele: That was fascinating for me too. Each time you disappeared for a minute you came back with new clothes and the flavor was different because of whatever you were wearing. It grew freer and freer with whatever you had on, and that was really fun to watch.

    Michael: I enjoyed that, too! That’s the first time she’s done that.

    Michele: Really? Did you have fun doing it?

    Dawn: Yes! What was it like for you Michael seeing that for the first time?

    Michael: I was expecting it, but, yes, that was the first time I had seen it. It created very clear demarcations between sections, so it made me very aware of our transitions. When you would come back with something new on, we really had to find out who we were and where we were going next. Without the costumes, the transition phases are more ambiguous. In fact, we might not even both be experiencing a transition at the exact same time. It’s not necessary that we do in that case. But when there’s a costume change, we are both aware that we are in a transition. I can feel us both waiting to see where it’s going to settle.

    Dawn: For me it was about deciding when to do it. Do I do it abruptly or gradually? At the end of a section? I’m trying to work with the music.

    Michael: Did you have those things laid out in advance?

    Dawn: Yes, I did. I had mostly decided on an order.

    Michael: That might be an interesting way to organize a set. “OK, we’re going to start with green scarf, and then business woman suit and then we’re going to fade into…” You know?

    Dawn: Yes! I noticed how you carried the music through the transitions. I trust you to do that.

    Michael: Sometimes (without the costume changes) I have the urge to stop playing, but with costume changes you would disappear completely for a period of time, and it felt like not a good time to stop playing. There would be nothing there. But we could experiment with that too!

    Michele: As an audience member, I see you come in with a fringy, stripy thing, and I accept it. But then you change to a black coat, and I think, “Are there going to be more costume changes or should I settle in with the black coat?” But when you come in with the third thing, I get it. My expectations keep subtly shifting throughout.

    Michael: When you came in in that big Martha Graham cape it immediately changed what I wanted to play.

    Michele: I was thinking about the image of cloak and dagger [ed. Names of the compositions we started and ended with.]. You were doing sort of a viewfinder thing for a while that I really loved. It felt very spy-like.

    Michael: That’s funny! You were kind of playing with identity there, weren’t you?

    Dawn: Yes, that’s what the mask work is.

    Michael: Thinking about your question, Michele, I am aware that while I’m playing I have different internal voices that might say things that I choose to accept or ignore. And sometimes the executive “I” might say, “Ok, I’ll take that suggestion, or no, I’m not going to do that.” But when I’m working with somebody, especially somebody like Dawn, the executive accepts far fewer inner suggestions or impulses. That’s why I like working with Dawn. It makes me more responsible. I am less likely to simply abandon something because a voice says, “this isn’t working.” I’m more likely to stay with it and work through whatever is happening so that I can at least accept the original impulse that arose. I try to live with it a little longer because I am now also affecting her choices. Because if I just change too quickly, especially because of a critical voice, it will be harder for her to settle into something.

    Dawn: We have a responsibility to each other, yes. It’s great to hear you describe how you listen to or don’t listen to this “editor”.

    Michele: I’m also really interested in the masks. In the school where I teach, The Writers Studio, the whole premise of teaching creative writing is that you have to create a persona. Even if the “I” is all a construct and constantly shifting anyway, the idea is that you find freedom through a little bit of artifice. A little bit of disguise get you out of the limitations that are often just nonsense in your head anyway. The word ‘persona’ refers to masks.

    Michael: I had an opportunity to do some mask work with the teacher that Dawn is working with now, Peggy Lewis. It was completely liberating! You completely become someone else.

    Michele: And in doing so you become more yourself.

    Michael: exactly!

    Michele: I ask my students if they’ve ever gone to a Halloween party completely disguised, and if it made them feel more free or less free? And they always say way more free!

    Michael: I wonder what it would be like to play piano with a mask on?

    Dawn: Is there a comparable phenomenon for music?

    Michael: Good question. Maybe music is less about identity than writing, dance and acting. I’m not sure what the corollary would be.

    Well, it’s been great to have you here, Michele. Even if just one person shows up, it has been a useful experience. And, this time, having someone appear who’s willing to engage with us has been really valuable!

    Michele: I’m so glad! It’s a comparable thing to my world. I’m teaching writing students and I’m always trying to free myself up enough to get to the good stuff! I feel like maybe that’s my life’s work is helping other people do that as well.

    Michael: Well, thank you for being here and talking with us today!

    Michele: My pleasure! Thank you!

    See clips of Loco Motors on YouTube, including the full rehearsal discussed in the article.  

    Attend the next Open Rehearsal (online and free): Saturday May 6th, 1-2pm. Details here.

    Interested in improvising music for dance? Join Dawn and myself online for an NYC Dalcroze workshop. Info here.

  • Come Play With Us

    I’m leading drop-in online guided improvisation sessions in February 2023 on Saturdays, 1:00-1:45pm Eastern. To learn more about it and find out how to join, click here. No improv experience necessary and only you (and whoever is in your house!) will hear yourself.

    A few past attendees were kind enough to write descriptions of what the sessions are like. I’m sharing them here. This time, I’ll post videos of myself playing through the prompts here. Join us!

    “I loved the guided improvisation classes with Michael last year! There were many new ideas to try out in my improv that I had never considered. The use of visual reactions via a powerpoint presentation helped spur creativity and kept the class moving without too much dialogue. Participants were muted for the improvisation, and the anonymity helped me to feel safe in taking creative risks. I’m looking forward to another session this winter!” Katie, Denver

    “As a working musician trying to find the right work-life balance, I took the online guided improvisation sessions with Michael to give myself time to check in with my mind and body. The instructions are easy to understand. I am given enough time to play for each one. It requires me to stay focused and actively present during the session as the instructions flow from one to the next. I feel calm and refreshed afterwards. I like to use this as a warm-up exercise to improve focus and concentration in my personal practice.” Tina, New York City

    “Michael’s online guided improvisation sessions are a true musical gift. Each time I’ve participated, he’s crafted unique prompts that encourage the participants to explore their instrument in new ways. By participating online, I found the freedom to express without any self-consciousness, and his thoughtful prompts provide a structure where I otherwise might have floundered. It is a really wonderful way to help craft a personal practice and I look forward to every opportunity I have to participate.” Liz, New York City

    A sample prompt

  • Ensemble Skills for 1st-2nd Grade (Part 4 of 4)

    This is the final part of a series on skills, goals and objectives for 1st-2nd grade Dalcroze classes. The lists from the previous posts on movement, rhythm and pitch would not have been out of place in many other introductory theory, ear training or music or movement fundamentals classes. I regard this final category, ensemble skills, as just as important as the others, even if they are not the outright focus of the class. Items that appear on this list are an attempt to answer the question, “How do we make music with others?”, especially music that we create ourselves through real-time composition, a.k.a. improvisation.

    When I went to the list I shared with parents last year, I was surprised to find it was much shorter than I expected. In my mind, learning how to function in a performing group are foundational skills for musicians that can provide a lifetime of enjoyment in music-making. Yet there were only eight things on the list, and I could easily imagine a list of 8 different things. How could that be?

    As I sat with this discrepancy, I thought about what each of these items have in common. Unlike the other lists, they are less concerned about what music is, and more focused on how it is made. They are relational: they focus on the quality of connection with other musicians, and the ability to retain and express individuality within a larger group.

    These items fall squarely in the ‘musicianship’ category on the syllabus, as opposed to the ‘music theory’ end of the spectrum. They are skills musicians need whether playing improvised music with others or playing “pre-composed” music (e.g. performing a string quartet or an orchestral work). Developing these skills is a lifelong process, but I try to make space for them in each class. There are many ways into the woods, so this is simply the form the work took last year. Instead of just bullet points, I’ve included a bit of background for each.

    Play something that has a beginning, middle, and end

    I can hear you thinking, “Doesn’t everything have a beginning, middle and end? How hard can that be?” True, beginnings are not hard. Middles take care of themselves. It’s the end that seems to be a learned behavior (and not just for children). Endings are different from merely stopping. Endings are intentional. They make space for the next thing. They can question or answer. They can merely pause. They can be abrupt or gradual. They can be expected or they can surprise. But in my experience, this is learned behavior needs to be encouraged at every level of improvisational study and practice.

    Make clear choices of dynamics, tempo and texture

    Most students come in with a primary or favored mode of expression: loud and fast, say, or careful and deliberate. In class we might call attention to these tendencies in the form of simple observations. “Mark played fast and loud.” “Jenny played soft and slow.” After a while, I’ll try to find ways for students to try on someone else’s mode of expression. Imagery and story are very helpful for young children, but so is cultivating careful and close listening, naming and acknowledging so that children are exposed to a wide variety of possibilities while having their own choices validated.

    Play something similar

    Remember that Sesame Street feature, “One of these things is not like the other”? I loved playing that game. It highlighted not only what was different (1 fruit and 3 vegetables!) but also what was the same (all something that you eat!). This is a very useful concept for creating music. When we are playing together we can learn to both stand out as ourselves while fitting in to the overall dynamic of what’s happening. Not a bad life skill, either.

    Play simple ostinatos under an improvisation

    The group plays a repeated pattern (perhaps with some combination of beat and twice as fast or slow), and a soloist is free to play as she likes. At first, most kids will either play something completely disconnected from the music or play the irresistibly compelling thing the group is playing. I’m fine with either of those at first because I am mostly interested in helping the group to stay together in a simple repeated pattern. Can we maintain it without speeding up or falling apart? Can each child resist the urge to unleash his or her wild energy on an instrument for the sake of the group? It takes a while to cultivate this, but when it happens, it’s the same magic feeling humans have been addicted to for time out of mind.

    Follow a conductor in a group

    Again, subverting your will to the will of someone else (a composer, say, or a conductor) is sometimes what music is all about.  I find children are often more than willing to watch and take direction from each other, usually much more excited about it than doing so with me, yet another adult telling them what to do. When they lead each other, I love watching them sense the power behind (at least momentarily) investing someone with authority.

  • Guided Improvisation Sessions

    As we returned to (mostly) in-person teaching and learning, I found myself wondering if I could create a short class that would actually work best remotely. I thought about things the internet does well, like encouraging a feeling of connectedness while simultaneously allowing users to be completely isolated. To exploit this paradox, I began teaching series of guided improvisation in short series from time to time.

    The idea is simple. Much like a guided meditation session, participants will use a series of instructions to lead them through an open improvisation session. Each participant will be muted, free to make as much or as little sound as they like. The instructions will appear on the screen as prompts. I’ll be playing, too. You’ll have the option of turning up the sound to see how I am interpreting the prompts, or you can keep me muted as you like. At the end, we will have a brief discussion, during which you can share experiences, ask questions or ask to practice something specific with me.

    The sessions are open to any instrument, including voice, and can even be adapted for movement. Though it is probably not suitable for complete instrumental beginners, complete beginners to improvisation are welcome. The prompts will contain a mix of very open and very specific, so even experienced improvisers should have plenty of inspiration.

    Each class will be unique. To prepare for the classes, I notice things I do when I improvise freely or I explore themes that call out to me. I’ve created the instructions out of things I find myself doing when I play alone. The prompt might be very specifc: “Play and hold a single tone; Keep imagining it while you play the next one.” Or very open: “Play a rhythm you would not easily be able to write down.” Though we might have time to practice a bit during the discussion, the overall goal is for each person to connect to their artistic selves through the experience and discipline of in-the-moment-composition, otherwise known as improvisation. After the class, I send you notes and the powerpoint slides.

    I used this format in a recent class for the Dalcroze Society of America as part of their Dalcroze Lab series. You can actually view a recording of that class here (note: there is a charge for this).

    Please join me and spread the word. Classes will meet on Saturday between 1:00-1:45pm Eastern on January 23rd through February 25th, 2023. Drop-ins are welcome at $10 per session, or you can pay for 5 classes. Respond to the contact form on this page, and I’ll send you the information. You can also visit the classes page here, which I’ve also updated to include the upcoming Dalcroze and Dalcroze teacher-training classes at the Kaufman Music Center.