POSITION: Percussion Accompanist (Dance) STATUS: Part-time, Hourly, As Needed DEPARTMENT: Conservatory of Performing Arts (COPA) REPORTS TO: Accompanist Supervisor PRIMARY FUNCTION: Responsible for providing drum/percussion accompaniment for studio/class dance work. REQUIREMENTS: Excellence in percussion performance, live dance accompaniment, and improvisation. Knowledge of Modern and West African dance repertoire. Organizational skills appropriate to the variances of university course time scheduling. DUTIES: • Provide live, improvised percussion accompaniment that supports dance students and responds to the needs of the class. • Select and perform appropriate musical material with accuracy and responsiveness, maintaining appropriate meter, tempo, phrasing, dynamics, rhythm, and musical structure. • Clearly support the structure of dance exercises by emphasizing rhythms, phrases, counts, transitions, and exercise lengths, and providing effective cues for dancers during traveling exercises. • Accompany Modern and West African dance classes, providing music appropriate to the specific technique and instructional goals, including Graham and Horton exercises. • Develop and maintain a broad dance-accompaniment vocabulary through observation of other accompanists, collaboration with instructors, and exploration of diverse musical traditions and resources. • Collaborate with faculty and staff and adapt to changing instructional and scheduling needs, while performing other related duties as assigned. PHYSICAL DEMANDS: Must have percussive skills able to withstand several hours of accompanying per day.