Music: Paul Arsianian
(Lead sheet for jazz trio of piano, bass, and drums accompanies dance score. Due to improvisational aspects for both musician and dancer, live accompaniment is recommended.)
Length: 4 minutes
Costume: Sparkling black jumpsuit with a vest-like top. Tuxedo shirt and bow tie.
Set: Wooden pedestal-type stool
Notation: 1982-84
Consultancy: Required

Tone Poem is a virtuoso tap dance solo for a man or a woman which dispays textures in sounds and subtle changes of mood. Control of dynamics is essential. The exquisite manipulation of the feet necessary to achieve the intricate footwork is combined with the technique, body movement, and choreographic elements of modern dance. The dance is built on images, but unless the dancer has the required tap technique there will be no dance.
The first two and a half minutes are without musical accompaniment and begin with the performer seated center stage on a wooden pedestal. The sounds of the feet and taps against both the floor and the pedestal vary as the intensity and rhythmic complexity build. The rest of the dance is divided into three sections: Fire Solo with the image of a Flamenco dancer/bull fighter, Air Solo, a Spanish waltz with a quality of "floating", and Coda, with the dancer returning to the stool, ending with a crescendo of sounds from both the floor and the wooden pedestal.