Two dissertation recitals and a piano pedagogy workshop were given in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctoral of Musical Arts in Piano Pedagogy and Performance at the University of Michigan. The first dissertation lecture recital, "Afro-Cuban and Brazilian Dances," was presented in McIntosh Theatre on…

Today, some of the important dilemmas of music education are that performers are too dependent on the notes in a written musical score and they are not being so able to improvise. Stage phobia, lack of motivation and problematic of perception regarding today's modern music are additional problems facing musicians. This research aims at revealing…