Information on the 2025 conference of the International Guild of Musicians in Dance - International Guild of Musicians in Dance

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Session Synopses

Musicians in Series: Ballet

Lucy Allan and Bill Patterson will perform for the session, Musicians in Series: Ballet where 4-5 musicians rotate playing combinations in a dance class led by a BU professor, Elizabeth Sweatt on Saturday, September 6 at 9:30 a.m.

Dr. Suzanne Knosp is the Co-Host for the IGMD 35th Anniversary Conference and will moderate the session Musicians in Series: Ballet the session

Musicians in Series: Contemporary/Modern

Farai Malianga and Chia-En Li will perform in the session, Musicians in Series: Contemporary/Modern where 4-5 musicians rotate playing combinations in a dance class led by a BU professor, Kellis Oldenberg on Saturday, September 6 at 9:30 a.m. in Studio 4 of the Bitsy Irby Visual Arts and Dance Center.

For Art’s Sake: Serving One Another for the Sake of Serving Art

Josh Nichols will give a presentation titled, For Art’s Sake: Serving one another for the sake of serving Art on Friday, September 5 at 3:30 p.m. in Studio 4 of the Bitsy Irby Visual Arts and Dance Center.

There is a foundational link between great music and dance collaboration, and the symbiotic function of this link greatly depends on the collaborative atmosphere and ulterior motives behind it. Many find this link difficult to describe, which often coincides discussions about artistic “soul mates” and “kindred spirits.” Yet it is easy to identify its failures and successes—collaborative relationships either breaking down when there is disunity and dysfunction, causing a rift and tear in the artistic experience, or flourishing with creativity and beauty, resulting in an elevated and meaningful experience of dance and music.

But what exactly makes this collaboration collapse or flourish? Is it the deep understanding and anticipation of each other’s wants and needs in any given collaboration, like the great collaborative relationships of yore? Yes, and more—it is this presenter’s argument that the burden of success lies in the mutual and unconditional service of each person to the other first, to serve one another before being served. This results in the collaboration of dancers and musicians transcending the ordinary and creating extraordinary Art. Evidence of this is presented through historical analysis, anecdotes, and philosophical treatise.

If one will accept the goal of dance and music collaboration is to create “Art”, then it follows that we must serve our collaborative partners first before our own interests, inevitably leading to a more beautiful and thrilling enjoyment of dance for both artist and audience.

Predict and Connect: Tools for Compelling Advocacy in Our Field

Greg Woodsbie will give a presentation titled, Predict and Connect: Tools for Compelling Advocacy in Our Field on Sunday, September 7 at 3:15 p.m. in Studio 4 of the Bitsy Irby Visual Arts and Dance Center.

Abstract: The role of the dance musician has experienced significant decline as recorded music increasingly replaces live accompaniment in dance education and performance. Why this has happened is clear—the convenience and cost-effectiveness of recorded music— but if and why it’s a problem is a far, far murkier question, usually answered very abstractly and in ways that are generally easy to ignore. To answer well requires interdisciplinary insights from evolutionary biology, neuroscience, music therapy, and social-emotional learning to build compelling arguments for the deeply humanistic value of our field. The purpose of this presentation is to educate dance musicians about some of the mechanisms by which humans process music, enabling us to better articulate the benefits of live musical accompaniment to dancers, teachers, and administrators while providing a framework to further the efficacy of our musical communication in the studio. We will discuss the central importance of entrainment. We will see how imagination is a key component of processing and understanding all sorts of sensory experiences. We will zoom out to identify the empathetic functions of music and dance in human societies. We will zoom back in to the studio to look at the known gains and losses experienced by dancers when we remove live music, as well as the more subtle and powerful losses that we don’t usually see. This mirrors the gains and losses that ALL of us (but especially teenagers and young adults) are experiencing with the increased use of technologically mediated social activities (social media, video chatting). We will discuss the potential further challenges that generative AI could bring to this topic, and finish with discussions of co-teaching models that could provide additional benefits to schools while addressing resource constraints. I aim to populate stronger and more specific language and arguments for the value of live music and generate discussion and imagination about how these ideas can lead to renewed integration between these historically wedded art forms.

Ben Hazard — "Ghost Hero"

Rob Kaplan will give a presentation titled, Ben Hazard — "Ghost Hero" on Friday, September 5 at 10:30 a.m. in Studio 4 of the Bitsy Irby Visual Arts and Dance Building.

Abstract: Ben Hazard was a child prodigy pianist, professional dancer, flutist, composer, and former member of the International Guild of Musicians in Dance. His musical gifts emerged early—he began performing professionally at age six, playing major piano concerti ranging from the Baroque era to early 20th-century styles. At 16 he studied at the Conservatory of Cincinnati, where he pursued composition under Yanos Takacs, Scott Houston, and John Cage. During this time, he observed his first ballet class, and within a year was a principal dancer with the Cincinnati Ballet, and later with the Atlanta Ballet. At age 28, he joined the Metropolitan Opera as Principal Musician for the Metropolitan Opera Ballet. His improvisational style was steeped in the rich pianistic experiences of his youth. The purpose of this presentation is to offer a glimpse into how I’ve been using recordings of Ben’s playing in ballet class to inform and deepen my own musical approach. First, by closely listening to his recordings, I will highlight the structural relationships between the left and right hands—and how these interactions help shape a musical narrative. Second, I will play several transcriptions and demonstrate how these ideas are influencing my own improvisations for ballet class today. Exploring his work from both an improvisational and compositional perspective provides a deeper understanding of his artistry—and the creative spirit that brought us together in a close friendship over the last 12 years of his life. Although Ben passed away in 1992, I’m still learning from him. He has become one of my “ghost heroes.”

Audible Motion, Visible Music: Reimagining Composition for Contemporary Dance

Ali Balighi will give a presentation titled, Audible Motion, Visible Music: Reimagining Composition for Contemporary Dance on Sunday, September 7 at 1:30 p.m. in Studio 4 of the Bitsy Irby Visual Arts and Dance Center.

Abstract: The evolving relationship between music composition and contemporary dance choreography opens new avenues for artistic collaboration, particularly in contexts that emphasize improvisation, embodiment, and real-time responsiveness. In contrast to traditional composer-dancer hierarchies, today’s interdisciplinary practices invite both artists to function as co-creators within dynamic, multisensory environments. This presentation draws on my work as a composer collaborating with choreographers in academic and professional settings to explore how compositional strategies in contemporary dance foreground sound not as background, but as an equal partner in shaping meaning, structure, and emotional resonance. Through close engagement with movement, space, and technology, the composer’s role extends beyond writing scores to include designing systems for sonic interactivity. This session will examine four central questions: How can musical phrasing, texture, and silence influence and be influenced by the dancer’s body and spatial presence? What compositional tools support mutual improvisation between dancer and musician in live performance? How can collaborative creation serve as a site of shared authorship rather than accompaniment? What new skills and sensitivities must dance musicians develop to fully engage with choreographers in co-creative processes? The methodology includes analysis of rehearsal footage, compositional sketches, and performance recordings from several recent collaborations, highlighting the shift from music “for” dance to music “with” dance. I also discuss the use of digital audio tools for real-time manipulation, spatialized sound, and gesture-triggered musical events that allow the dancer to function as an active musical agent. Participants will come away with a deeper understanding of how dance musicians can rethink their role from accompanist to co-composer. This presentation offers a framework for collaborative composition, tools for fostering creative dialogue with choreographers, and examples of interactive performance techniques that support innovation and mutual authorship in contemporary dance. Whether working in a ballet studio or experimental theater, attendees will gain insight into how to cultivate musical responsiveness that enhances rather than follows movement.

The Pianist in Exile: Introducing criticality to practice, learning, teaching, and research in dance accompaniment

Lucy Allan will present a talk entitled The Pianist in Exile: Introducing criticality to practice, learning, teaching, and research in dance accompaniment on Sunday, September 7 10:30 a.m., in Studio 4 of the Bitsy Irby Visual Arts and Dance Center.

Abstract: Most dance accompanists learn their craft on the job, without any specific education in their field, and those who do undertake a formal qualification in dance accompaniment usually learn received wisdom. Musical accompaniment for dance is an under-theorised area, with a paucity of academic research in the subject. Meanwhile, sociological research has found its way to all sorts of niche, specialist human activity, including professional ballet! Yet, musical accompaniment for dance remains overlooked as a subject of sociological inquiry. I would like to introduce my PhD research, which explores how pianists for professional ballet experience what we might call “ballet culture”. I am a piano accompanist for Scottish Ballet and the department of Modern Ballet at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, as well as Lecturer on the Conservatoire’s Piano for Dance programme and a graduate of Sociology and Philosophy at the University of Glasgow. As such, I am incredibly well-placed to carry out this unique research. In this presentation, I will offer some preliminary thoughts about how musicians may fit (or not fit!) into the norms and expectations of the professional ballet environment. I will then introduce Zygmunt Bauman’s theory of “exile”, which serves as a theoretical framework for my PhD, before sharing further details of my research. Finally, I will discuss what it would mean to introduce criticality into the field of dance accompaniment, with particular focus on how this might impact the learning and teaching of it as a subject. I hope that my research will be of interest to participants who are dance accompaniments, who may see themselves reflected in my work or feel galvanised to reflect on their own experiences as an “outsider” in the ballet studio. Participants who are ballet dancers and educators may benefit from hearing an alternative perspective on their professional environment – one which is often overlooked in practice and in research. This, in turn, can lead to better understanding and communication between practitioners from both disciplines. More widely, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is one of the only places in the world to offer a degree solely in Piano for Dance, and so the research I will present has the potential to impact on how accompanists for dance are educated.

Musical Motion: An Empirical Approach to Implicit Vertebrate Locomotion Patterns

Andrew Warshaw will present his ongoing work entitled Musical Motion: An Empirical Approach to Implicit Vertebrate Locomotion Patterns on Saturday, September 6 at 11:15 a.m.

Abstract: Beginning in local, 2005 NYC IGMID meetings and continuing through IGMID events in 2006, ‘07, ‘08, ‘09, ‘11, ‘12, ‘13 and ‘15, also in conferences such as the 2018 Il Corpo Nel Suono (The Body in Sound) in Rome, attended by many IGMID members, I have been developing a approach to movement/music relationships that addresses an unexplored parallel between the fields. Even with important recent research on embodied musicality and the emergence of choreomusicology as a dance/music study, there has been little systematic investigation of how locomotion - body movement that travels through space – contributes to musical organization. Music and locomotion both involve complex, patterned coordination of limb movements, but studies of such topics as dance rhythms in music, tempo & expressivity, and even work on the evolutionary origins of music have not produced any empirical approaches to how the varieties of limb movements involved in locomotion also determine aspects of musical expression. My work involves identifying Pattern Movements, encoded but audible representations of locomotor movement, in instrumental music. Beginning with a model of early childhood movement acquisition that references its evolutionary origins, I correlate types of locomotor coordination with the specific limb actions, intentions and affects that create music, particularly piano/percussion music. The result is a methodology demonstrating that much of world music - from Beethoven sonatas to Mandinka balafon music, to Western post-tonal compositions, Indonesian gamelan and even music with strings - communicates, along with other messages, unique and precise images of the coordination patterns of vertebrate/human locomotion. Thus, many structures, developmental procedures and phase transitions of musical compositions also can be understood as schemes of locomotor movement. My approach can be presented graphically, showing how at any time-scale of a musical score the locomotor Pattern Movement is unfolding; and it also can be applied aurally, naturally integrating with the complex, often metaphorical processes of musical listening. In sum, it can provide musicians and dancers with a common theoretical and practical perspective to the juxtaposition of movement and music. In addition to presenting and publishing on my approach, I’ve recently been conducting workshops for musicians and dancers at conservatories in the U.S. and Europe, exploring these concepts collaboratively. In my conference presentation, I’ll give a brief overview for new members who’ve never seen it; but the focus here will be on updating where my work has gone since last presented to IGMID and outlining pathways for future development.

Using Percussion and Electronics to Accompany Modern Dance Classes

Owen Rockwell is host for the IGMD 35^th Anniversary Conference at Belhaven University and will give a demonstration of his approach to using percussion and electronics to accompany Belhaven University modern dance classes, in a class taught by Ariana DiGiovanni and Erin Rockwell on Friday, September 5 at 1:00 p.m. in Studio 4 of the Bitsy Irby Visual Arts and Dance Center.

Presenter Biographies

Bill Patterson currently serves as the Vice President of The International Guild of Musicians in Dance and is a pianist at the Houston Ballet. In addition to playing piano for dance, Bill also teaches music to the Houston Ballet Academy professional division students integrating eurhythmics and dance as a kinesthetic approach to learning music, mentors pianists who are new to playing for dance in the Houston Ballet's "Ballet Apprentice Pianist Program", and teaches musical theater dance for the Houston Ballet Academy. Upon finishing his undergraduate studies in saxophone with Dr. Timothy McAllister and a minor in dance, Bill taught as a band director in the Catalina Foothills School District and then returned to the University of Arizona to earn a master's degree in dance accompaniment on piano under the direction of Dr. Suzanne Knosp.

Dr. Suzanne Knosp is Professor Emeritus at the University of Arizona School of Dance,

where she was the Music Director for over 30 years.

Dr. Knosp is recognized as a pianist, composer, and collaborative artist in both music and

dance. She has worked with master teachers from many professional companies and has

collaborated in the classroom and at conferences with luminaries such as Ann Hutchinson-Guest, Helene Scheff, Melissa Lowe, Amy Ernst, Ben Stevenson, Edward Villella, and Bill Evans.

Dr. Knosp is a specialist in the research, education, and training of dance musicians. Her

collection of music for dance is one of the largest in the world. She created the curriculum for the MM in Dance Accompaniment in both piano and percussion performance, as well as the Doctoral Minor in Dance at the University of Arizona School of Music. Knosp has lectured and performed at numerous national and international festivals and conferences and has been an active member of the NDEO and MTNA, as well as past President of the International Guild of Musicians in Dance.

FARAI MALIANGA-Videographer/Composer/Musician

Farai Malianga, born and raised in Zimbabwe, began his career in African Dance in Colorado with Leticia Williams’ Harambee and Musical Director Judy “Fatu” Henderson.

Upon arriving in New York, he began studying dance and drum with pioneers Yousouf Koumbasa, Mbemba Bangoura and Ronald K. Brown.

Performing with the Masters: Chuck Davis in BAMs ‘Dance Africa’, Reginald Yates and Heritage O.P. for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre for their 40th Anniversary.

In Theatre: with the Off-Broadway production of “Darker Faces of the Earth” directed by Trezana Beverley and on the Broadway Stage in the musical 'Fela!'

In Film: International Domestic Violence Series produced by Joe Rodman as well as Kasi Lemmon’s film “Black Nativity”.

Also Performing for the Public Theater in 2021 for their Shakespeare in the Park reimagining of “Merry Wives of Windsor” set in Harlem and consequently appearing in the HBO documentary “Reopening Night” cataloguing the return to Central Park. Malianga’s composition credits include commissioned works for Camille Brown, Karen Loves’ Umoja, Christal Browns’ Inspirit Dance Companies, Beatrice Capote, Leslie Parke, Jade Charon and "Jenaguru" An African Creation Myth for the Smithsonian. Recently scoring music for the Dance Documentaries “Black Stains” and Kehinde Ishangi’s “Not My Enemy” produced and edited by Tiffany Rhynard.

Farai Malianga is honored to be joining FSU as a tenure track Professor with a focus on Music for dance and choreography. This year he will begin teaching Rhythmic Analysis, Music for Choreography, Digital Audio Recording while also providing music support for African, Dunham and Contemporary classes.

Joshua Daniel Nichols (D.M.A., The University of Arizona) is a dance accompanist, composer, and collaborator in dance. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Organ Performance at Belhaven University, a Master of Music in Organ Performance at Mississippi College, a Master of Music in Composition at Florida Atlantic University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition with a Minor in Dance at The University of Arizona. His teachers were Ms. Carol Durham, Dr. Robert Knupp, Dr. Kevin Wilt, Mr. Daniel Asia, and Dr. Suzanne Knosp. While studying at Mississippi College, he began his journey in dance accompaniment and collaboration studying the art and playing for classes with the faculty of Belhaven University’s Department of Dance. His Master’s Thesis was a ballet titled “Into the Light”, a retelling of C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe with choreographers Laura Morton and Rachel Bitgood.

Greg Woodsbie is a versatile and sensitive collaborator who blends a wide range of musical styles with an intuitive sense of ritual and presence. Rooted in the improvisational and folkloric African American language of jazz, Greg’s background also includes European classical piano, Afro-Cuban music and salsa, American musical theater, mainline Protestant church traditions (choral, organ, and gospel), and West African drumming. This broad foundation informs a rich career in performance and education. In addition to his full-time faculty role in the dance department at SUNY Brockport, Greg has collaborated with artists across dance genres, including Bill Evans (tap and modern), SET GO (contact improvisation), Catherine Cabeen, Kristina Berger, Mariah Maloney, Stevie Oakes, and Sarah Jacobs (modern and improvisation), and Boston Ballet (company class pianist). He is a top call pianist in Rochester, NY, performing with groups ranging from jazz and salsa ensembles to the funk/neo-soul band Helium Bubble who recently closed out the Rochester International Jazz Festival, opening for Trombone Shorty. Greg’s personal projects explore the intersection of music, movement, and mindfulness—drawing on his passions for neuroscience and Buddhism to create stage experiences that merge contemporary somatics with collective inquiry into perception, thought, and presence.

Robert Kaplan is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, educator, and dance musician whose work bridges the performing arts, education, and healthcare. His approach, Living Musically™, uses improvisation as a framework to enhance mind-body focus, presence, and communication—key skills for collaboration and well-being. Since 1976, Kaplan has composed for dance, performed, and taught across the U.S. and internationally, including the American Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival, and the International Ballet Teacher’s Conference in Vail, CO. Over seventy of his scores have been choreographed by artists such as Mel Wong, Ze’eva Cohen, and Susan Marshall. His book and multimedia work, Rhythmic Training for Dancers, was published internationally by Human Kinetics. A classically trained pianist and lifelong improviser, Kaplan has collaborated with Kirk Nurock, David Torn, Geoffrey Gordon, and Thomas Chapin. He is a founding member and former President of the International Guild of Musicians in Dance. From 1984–2024, he served as a Full Professor and Music Director for Dance at Arizona State University and has been a longtime dance musician with Ballet Arizona. He also served as a Clinical Professor at Creighton University School of Medicine. His recent study, Finding Ease in Caregiving, explores creative support for caregivers through improvisation and the Alexander Technique.

Ali Balighi, a composer, sound designer, and sound engineer, was born in Tehran, Iran. He graduated from The University of Art in 2011 with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance. A passion for composition led him to pursue a Master’s degree in Composition at Texas Tech University, where he is currently a student for a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Composition. A number of research and teaching interests align with Balighi’s academic pursuits, which include music technology, open-source software, contemporary music analysis, and music theory. His teaching experience includes positions as a sound engineer, music recording assistant, composition and music theory teacher, and positions as a cello instructor in various Iranian music institutions. His publications and awards have made a notable contribution to the field in addition to his academic engagements. Among his poetry collections are My Loneliness Is A Hippo That Loves You and The Forest Was on Fire And The Snail Did Not Know Which Way to Flee. He received a residency and a grant at The Saari Residence in Finland for his electroacoustic ensemble opera, Migration inside. In addition, he won third place in the 5th Reza Korourian Awards 2020 competition for electroacoustic composition. He won second place in the composition competition of Radio Javan (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) 2017 with his composition titled Daramad for Harp and Orchestra. Balighi’s compositions have been showcased internationally at festivals and conferences, including Sonic Matter, New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, Hot Air Music Festival, Tehran Contemporary Music Festival, NoiseFloor UK Contemporary Music, Research On Contemporary Composition Conference, ClarinetFest, Cortona Sessions For New Music, Audiovisual Frontiers Festival, ICSC 2022 6th International Csound Conference, and Tehran International Electronic Music Festival. His works, such as Daramad for Three Sopranos and Fixed Media, Khane Haftom for Santur, and Too Loud A Solitude for Cello and Live Electronics, have been featured in these platforms. As a composer, Balighi has released contemporary music albums, including Whispers of Papers, Noise vs. Silence vol. 1, and Intolerance. His compositions have been performed by musicians and ensembles such as Sputter Box ensemble, Front Porch ensemble, Zenith Saxophone Quartet, Twenty Fingers Duo, SynthBeats, The ____ Experiment, Michael Bridge, Parker Fritz, Anoush Moazzeni, Kathryn Vetter, Hamed Shaded, Golnaz Khalili, Puneh Zare’i Sefid Dashti, Neda Asadinejad, Shaghayegh Bagheri, Behnoush Sabetghadam, Negin Goodarzi, Zeinab Hajihasani, and Ulrike Brand. Balighi actively engages with the music community, holding memberships with the Millennium Composers Initiative in the USA and the Iran Music House. His involvement extends to conferences and collaborations, reflecting his commitment to the global exchange of musical ideas.

Balighi Ali 2023 Texas-Tech-University-scaled

Lucy Allan is a piano accompanist for ballet and contemporary dance at Scottish Ballet and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, specialising in improvisation. She is a Lecturer in Improvisation on the Conservatoire's Piano for Dance programme and also teaches an introductory module in dance accompaniment to piano performance students there. With an academic background in Sociology and Philosophy, Lucy is interested in cultivating students’ awareness of and critical perspective about their professional environment, as well as developing their technical and creative skills. Her PhD research, which is jointly supervised at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the University of Glasgow, explores accompanying pianists' experiences of "ballet culture". Lucy’s own creative practice as a dance accompanist draws inspiration from a wide range of musical genres and is particularly influenced by jazz, funk, and minimalism. Alongside her teaching and accompaniment work, she is a successful music producer, DJ, and broadcaster.

Andrew Warshaw is a composer and writer and for 24 years has been Music Director of the Dance Department of Marymount Manhattan College, the largest conservatory-level Dance program in New York City. A graduate of Wesleyan University and New York University (MFA Music Theater Writing), he danced professionally throughout the USA and Canada as a member of CONTRABAND and in collaboration with Nancy Stark Smith and other prominent freelance improvising artists, originating the long-running A Cappella Motion summer program at Smith College. An awardee of multiple NY State and national grants, a sponsored artist of the NY Foundation for the Arts, and a finalist for the Thatcher, Hoffman, Smith Creativity in Motion Award, his musical theater works and commissioned scores for prominent US choreographers have premiered in NYC, San Francisco, Texas and Canada. He has scored two independent films for director Richard Schlesinger. Warshaw’s opera-in-progress, The Sparks, The Ringing includes Gambian kora player Salieu Suso and young orthodox Jewish singers in Brooklyn, NY. Several published papers on the topic of this IGMID presentation, as well as papers from national and international conference presentations and public lectures he has given on the subject, can be found at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andrew-Warshaw/research.

Chia-En Li is a dance pianist, composer, and interdisciplinary artist from Taiwan. Trained in classical piano from an early age, she received a Ministry of Education scholarship to study at the Sibelius Academy in Finland, where she developed a lifelong passion for improvisation. She has toured Taiwan and Finland with solo recitals, composed for animation, collaborated with world-class harmonica virtuosos, and won top honors including the Special Award at Beijing Film Academy Animation Festival and the World Harmonica Festival championship.

Her artistic journey has connected her with over twenty leading dance companies worldwide, including The Royal Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, The Royal Danish Ballet, The Spanish National Dance Company, Mark Morris Dance Group. Now based in Seattle, Washington, she plays with Spectrum Dance Theater and continues to expand her collaborations with artists across cultures and disciplines.

Andy Hasenpflug (he/they) (PA) has had the great pleasure of working as a musician in the dance world since 1989. He is the dance music director at Slippery Rock University and the American Dance Festival. As a composer and dance musician, he has collaborated with countless choreographers and film makers over the years, including Rosie Herrera, Helen Simoneau, Helanius J. Wilkins, White Fox Butoh, Dance Alloy, Kate Jewett, Gerri Houlihan, Ursula Payne, Jesse Factor, and The Seldoms. Andy has also been a professional drummer and percussionist since 1986, having played with the United States Air Force Band, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, COBRA ensemble Cincinnati, tons of weddings, bars, recording studios, houses of worship, and many more. He publishes music under the names Andy Hasenpflug and Rabbitplow.

Owen Rockwell, DMA, is Director of Music for the Belhaven University Department of Dance where he leads a staff of dedicated musicians - together, they provide live accompaniment for most of the dance technique classes offered on campus. “Doc Rock” uses an assortment of drums, keyboards, electronic looping/sampling, and his voice to create rich aural soundscapes. His experience includes playing for Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Tap, West African (Guinea, Ghana), as well as Afro-Latin/Caribbean dance forms. Additionally, he composes, mixes and edits music for dance performances and teaches the course Rhythmic Awareness for Dancers to graduate students. During the 2023-2024 Academic year, he founded the Director of the International Center for Musicianship in Dance at BU. He participated in the 2nd annual Mark Morris Dance Group Dance Accompanist Training Program in New York City, further solidifying his interest and commitment to guiding dancers and musicians through the process of discovering effective co-teaching and learning strategies for music within the context of the dance technique class. Dr. Rockwell received Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Percussion Performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and later the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Percussion Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Southern Mississippi. He is an active member of the International Guild of Musicians in Dance where he serves as Treasurer and Membership Director. He was a 2015 Mississippi Arts Commission Fellow in music performance. He is also a former Assistant Band Director with the Jackson State University “Sonic Boom of the South” Marching Band.

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