Twenty years ago, Sound for Movement began when founder Michael Wall noticed dance teachers spending their evenings searching through piles of CDs to find the right track for their classes—something with the right meter, tempo, feel, and without awkward lyrics.

The vision was clear: create a website offering a wide range of music in various meters, tempos, and styles, all made specifically for dance teachers and creators. When mp3s became popular and could be linked to PayPal, Sound for Movement evolved through many versions to become the platform it is today.

Sound for Movement is built on nearly 30 years of experience playing music for dance classes, working with hundreds of teachers and thousands of students. The music combines piano, trumpet, harmonica, djembe, congas, modular synths, and vocals—blending traditional instruments with modern technology.

Our library covers all types of dance techniques, including improvisation, contemporary, modern, ballet, pointe, Gaga, contact improvisation, partnering, West African classes, yoga, meditation classes, and various hybrid styles that mix different musical genres and movements.

This foundation began in 1995 at Rutgers University under the guidance of Robert "Tigger" Benford, and expanded through learning from leading musicians at the American Dance Festival and Bates Dance Festival.

Sound for Movement has produced thousands of pieces for choreographers, dance filmmakers, international TV and film companies, students, and friends, with over a hundred music for dance projects created each year.

Sound for Movement has contributed to education at several universities and dance programs through guest lectures and curriculum development for teaching music to dancers. By sharing knowledge and techniques, we help dancers create their own music using software—a method now widely used in the dance community. We've also supported several dancers in building music careers alongside their dance work.

Sound for Movement continues to expand its diverse music library, improve music licensing options for the community, collaborate with emerging choreographers around the world, teach anyone interested in making music for dance, and stay up-to-date with web and music distribution technology. Our mission is to support the next generation of artists creating sound for movement.