Michael Joviala

Creation and performance of an evening length work with the improvising music and movement group, ‘Loco Motors’.

Loco Motors is a music and dance group inspired by both the practice of Dalcroze eurhythmics and the jazz tradition of open-form improvisation, sometimes known as ‘free jazz’. The group also has a special interest in the somatic connection between sound and movement, and in using that connection as a basis for artistic creation. The core members are Michael Joviala, piano and composition, and Dawn Pratson, dance and choreography. The group will be part of a year-long pilot residency program of the New York Chapter of the Dalcroze Society of America during the calendar-year of 2023.

For its residency, Loco Motors will create an evening length performance that combines the compositions of Michael Joviala, the choreography of Dawn Pratson, and the improvisation of both. This grant supports the inclusion of a master musical improviser, saxophonist/clarinetist/flutist Marty Ehrlich, who will act as mentor to the project and will also perform with the group.

The developing work will be presented in-progress at several points during the residency through a series of workshops which will focus on different aspects of collaboration and improvisation.