Meg Morley (piano) and Petra Haller (dance) have established an exciting duo partnership which is based on free improvisation and the concept of interplay and interchange between two performing artists of equal standing (rather than on 'dancer as soloist, musician as accompanist'). Their exhilarating performances focus on giving audiences access to free improvisation whilst presenting them with the historical roots of tap and jazz as Black American art forms.
Shoulders I Stand on
Released 25 May 2023 (for International Tap Day)
Petra Haller's debut studio album is a suite of pieces featuring the traditional Catalan Song El cant dels ocells (which is referenced to open the album and stated in full to close the album) as well as a number of freely improvised pieces and several compositional structures/ideas and is dedicated to some of her teachers, heroes and guardian angels. The album was recorded in November 2022 at Ocean Sound Studio in Giske, Norway.
“Shoulders I Stand On is a duo album, but not a typical one. It is a recording which combines piano with tap dance, the interplay creating a soundscape that is both original and fascinating.”
★★★★- All about Jazz, 2023
"Haller and Morley play off one another to create an experience of both free-wheeling athleticism and highly disciplined technique. They explore rhythm and time and most engagingly, how top-tier artists communicate in real-time."
Wandsworth Fringe Festival, 2022