Description
Michael Roberts was born in Sussex, England. He began playing the piano at age four. From 1967 to 1975 Michael was production stage manager for Harold Prince in London’s West End. He has been accompanying and composing for dance for over three decades.
Michael has played for such notables as Finis Jhung, Stanley Holden, David Howard, Juliet Prowse, Mark Morris, Alvin Alley, American Ballet Theater, The Joffrey Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Mikhail Baryshnikov. He has produced four ballet Class CD’s and one Modern Dance CD. Currently he is music and technical coordinator for the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute at the Colburn School for the Performing Arts in Los Angeles California.
“The right combination of dynamic accompaniment for teaching modern dance class is found in Michael’s CD. I appreciate that the tracks are long enough to allow the necessary warm-up and repetition of exercises at the beginning of class, and inspirational for substantive combinations across the floor. Training dancers in musicality is one of my teaching objectives, and much easier when the music is fun and makes them listen!” … Bonnie Oda Homsey (Former principal dancer Martha Graham Dance Company/Master teacher/Choreographer)
“Composer and accompanist Michael Roberts takes what we do, and skillfully translates it into what we hear. He understands dance from the inside out. A class with Michael’s music is like champagne without bubbles.” …Douglas Nielsen (Master teacher/Choreographer)
CONTENTS:
| Exercise | Instruments | Meter | Bar | Time | Demos | |
| 1. | Warm up #1 | Lyric Piano | 2 bar intro 6/8 moderate | 120 bars | 4:54 | [mp3j track=”http://www.asgardprod.com/MP3/modernclass-vol1-trk1-warmup1.mp3″ title=””] |
| 2. | Warm up #2 | Piano | 2 bar intro 4/4 slow | 58 bars | 3:45 | [mp3j track=”http://www.asgardprod.com/MP3/modernclass-vol1-trk2-warmup2.mp3″ title=””] |
| 3. | Warm up #3 | Piano, Percussion | 2 bar intro 3/4 moderate | 148 bars | 3:41 | |
| 4. | Warm up #4 | Piano, Percussion | 2 bar intro 4/4 moderate | 80 bars | 4:25 | |
| 5. | Floor Exercise #1 | Piano | 2 bar intro 6/8 modernate | 126 bars | 2:59 | [mp3j track=”http://www.asgardprod.com/MP3/modernclass-vol1-trk5-floorexercise1.mp3″ title=””] |
| 6. | Floor Exercise #2 | Piano | 1 bar intro 3/4 slow | 150 bars | 3:49 | |
| 7. | Floor Exercise #3 | Piano, Percussion, Violin | 2 bar intro 4/4 slow | 96 bars | 3:17 | [mp3j track=”http://www.asgardprod.com/MP3/modernclass-vol1-trk7-floorexercise3.mp3″ title=””] |
| 8. | Floor Exercise #4 | Lyric Piano | 2 bar intro 6/8 moderate | 80 bars | 3::39 | |
| 9. | Combination #1 | Piano, Percussion | 4 bar intro 4/4 fast | 96 bars | 2:53 | [mp3j track=”http://www.asgardprod.com/MP3/modernclass-vol1-trk9-combination1.mp3″ title=””] |
| 10. | Combination #2 | Lyric Piano | 4 bar intro 3/4 slow | 132 bars | 3:47 | |
| 11. | Combination #3 | Piano | 4 bar intro 4/4 moderate | 146 bars | 4:54 | |
| 12. | Combination #4 | Percussion | 2 bar intro 7/4 moderate | 26 Bars | 1:37 | [mp3j track=”http://www.asgardprod.com/MP3/modernclass-vol1-trk12-combination4.mp3″ title=””] |
| 13. | Combination #5 | Piano, Percussion, Jazzy Violin | 4 bar intro 4/4 moderate | 72 bars | 2:27 | [mp3j track=”http://www.asgardprod.com/MP3/modernclass-vol1-trk13-combination5.mp3″ title=””] |
| 14. | Combination #6 | Piano, Percussion, Violin | 2 bar intro 4/4 slow | 76 bars | 4:13 | [mp3j track=”http://www.asgardprod.com/MP3/modernclass-vol1-trk14-combination6.mp3″ title=””] |
| 15. | Combination #7 | Piano, Percussion, Violin2 | 2 bar intro 4/4 moderate | 60 bars | 3:09 | |
| 16. | Across Floor #1 | Piano | 2 bar intro 6/8 fast | 86 bars | 2:53 | [mp3j track=”http://www.asgardprod.com/MP3/modernclass-vol1-trk16-acrossfloor1.mp3″ title=””] |
| 17. | Across Floor #2 | Piano | 4 bar intro 4/4 fast | 96 bars | 2:36 | |
| 18. | Across Floor #3 | Piano, Percussion | 4 bar intro 4/4 moderate | 80 bars | 2:39 | |
| 19. | Across Floor #4 | Percussion | 1 bar intro 9/4 fast | 31 bars | 1:33 | [mp3j track=”http://www.asgardprod.com/MP3/modernclass-vol1-trk19-acrossfloor4.mp3″ title=””] |
| 20. | Across the Floor #5 | Piano | 1 bar intro 3/4 fast | 200 bars | 3:22 | |
| 21. | Across the Floor #6 | Piano, Percussion, Violin | 2 bar intro 6/8 fast | 112 bars | 4:18 | |
| 22. | Cool down | Piano, Violin | 2 bar intro 4/4 moderato | 56 bars | 4:32 | [mp3j track=”http://www.asgardprod.com/MP3/modernclass-vol1-trk22-cooldown.mp3″ title=””] |
ORIGINAL MUSIC FOR THE MODERN DANCE CLASS
By Michael Roberts
