A pretty little song from Agnes Obel, Avenue has a music-box-esqe piano melody accompanied with her haunting vocals. I think it would make a nice group number for ballet, contemporary or modern.
And it’s in waltz time! Bonus!
Grab it on iTunes: 
Tag Archives: contemporary
NMM: Home – Grace Aplin
One of my graduating seniors picked this song for her senior solo this year and I can’t get enough of this song!
“Home” is a beautiful song and Gabrielle Aplin has such a unique-sounding voice, although she does remind me of Ellie Goulding. Grab the song on iTunes: 
February Challenge: A Day In The Life
For those who work in the arts, every day can be so different from the next, but that’s part of what I love about my job and what makes it so much fun. It keeps me on my toes! (pun intended… groan.)
Here’s one of my more ‘typical’ days:
7am – Wake up. Contemplate exercising or yoga before I shower, but not today.. the blankets and snooze button are calling my name. Shower, eat breakfast, remember that I am going to take pictures for “Day In The Life” post today!
9:30am – Drive to the studio – weather’s looking a bit icy.. better keep an eye on it.
10:00 am – Admin time. Pretend to be Beyonce much to the chagrin of my office manager… “I’m all up in these costumes like my job… admin time”. Follow up on some back-ordered costumes and work on handouts. Dance party in the office to the hold music (hey Weissmans, at least you have some good tunes!).
11:00am – UPS delivery – hooray! The first of our recital costumes have arrived! Unpack, sort and label costumes.
The Dance Things I Love
In no particular order, the dance things I love:
When my littles rush into class because they can’t wait one more second to start dancing
Opening up the first costume shipping box of the season
The hush of the audience as the lights go down in the theater
Celebrating the small accomplishments
Warm-up camaraderie before a performance
Love Playlist for Lyrical / Contemporary Class
Until Valentine’s Day, I’ll be doing a different “Love” themed playlist every Monday. This week’s playlist is geared towards lyrical or contemporary dancers. After I made the playlist, I realized it tended to go to the darker side of love – the heartache or wanting. All the better to ’emote’ with, I guess! As my students would say, “this song needs an angsty lyrical face.”
[Links open up in iTunes]
Love Remains The Same – Gavin Rossdale – an uplifting song
My Love – Sia – hauntingly beautiful
She Is Love – Parachute – simple and soft acoustic guitar
A Little More of You – Ashley Chambliss – mellow
Like You Do – Angel Taylor – very “pop” and bubbly
I Will Show You Love – Kendall Payne – updated love ballad
Be Be Your Love – Rachael Yamagata – 3/4 rhythm, bluesy
The Book of Love – Peter Gabriel – beautiful song for all ages
Thinking About You – The Big Scary – slow and steadily tugging on your heartstrings
Fools In Love – Inara George – another 3/4 time! Lamenting about fools in love
Jar of Hearts – Christina Perri – no need for description, there’s a reason it’s overplayed…
Piece of My Heart – Keri Noble – song about leaving a piece of yourself behind – I used this as a duet for sisters when one of them was a high school senior
NMM: Katie Herzig – Lost & Found
I love this song – I heard it on Grey’s Anatomy a few months ago and needed to have it immediately! I finally found out that it is Katie Herzig’s “Lost and Found” from her album “The Waking Sleep” that came out in September 2011. Grab the song on iTunes here: 
I’ve been using it in my jazz & contemporary warm-ups and cool downs. The beginning starts off slowly, but make sure you listen through until about 2:10 when the chorus starts in and the song really starts to take off… it has such an uplifting feeling! My teens really enjoyed this song and the lyrics are PG enough to use for younger students as well.
NMM: Hey Ya – Obidiah Parker
This one’s been around for a while, but I recently re-discovered it in my playlists.
Today’s New Music Monday song is an acoustic cover of Hey Ya by Obadiah Parker
I like to use this song in my modern and contemporary classes and also for a cool-down in jazz class. The only problem is for the first few times you play it, the kids will be concentrating on figuring out why it sounds so familiar. I know I was!
Click here for all contemporary New Music Mondays
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NMM: Jungle – Emma Louise
Today’s New Music Monday tune is Jungle by Australian singer Emma Louise. Enjoy!
I’ve been using the “TapeGun” remix below for my jazz and contemporary classes, which you can download here (for free!). I like the intro of this remix and that it is a little faster than the original. We used it for a combination that only used the first minute or so. After the chorus it gets into the more “remixed” feeling and dubstep, which doesn’t inspire my lyrical-leaning choreography, but you might like it!
Click here for all contemporary New Music Mondays
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And there’s ONE MORE WEEK LEFT to VOTE FOR US for Top Dance Blog of 2011 by commenting on the post (click this link). Thank you!
New Music Monday: Currently Loving…
Short music post today – just wanted to share three songs I’ve been loving lately!
Titanium (David Guetta feat. Sia) – My go-to warm up songs for my older students. I’ve been using this in tap and jazz classes as it has a nice steady beat and hasn’t been overplayed on the radio yet.
Timshel (Mumford & Sons) – This is a hauntingly beautiful piece that I’ve been using in my lyrical/contemporary classes. Easy to put emotion into it.
I’m In Here Piano/Vocal Version (Sia) – I can’t help it – I love Sia’s voice. You might recognize her from “Breathe Me” a few years ago. I just love the different sound she has. I’ve been using this song in lyrical and jazz class for a cool down.
Playlist Update for Fall 2011
Now that the studio is open and I’m getting back into the swing of things, I updated some of my playlists for class and wanted to share my favorite new songs with you! Most of these are from the Top 40 and some are old favorites, but hopefully they might inspire you or give you something new for the season!
Not offered on iTunes:
Pumped Up Kicks (RLYNX Remix) – Foster The People
Party On The Floor – DJ Earworm Remix – check out his other remixes too!
The Dance Buzz 