2013 Song Selections

A look back at all of the songs I used for choreography this past year.  This post is more or less for my own archival purposes, but maybe someone will find something new too!

My little "Nutcracker" dancers

My little “Nutcracker” dancers

Want more?  Check out 2012 and 2011‘s lists.

TAP CHOREOGRAPHY



MODERN / CONTEMPORARY / BALLET

CHILDREN’S MUSIC

Apparently this was the year of Regina Spektor and combining songs!  Oh well, onto the next year 🙂
What was your favorite music you choreographed or danced to this year?
All songs open in iTunes, Dance Buzz is an iTunes affiliate.

Summer Playlist

Beach DancingHello all – hope everyone’s summer is going good.. as we move into August, here’s a list of the songs that have been getting the heaviest rotation on my summer dance playlists!

Ballet Class – I like to use Sunny Choi’s tunes during our stretch to keep things fresh – links open in YouTube

22 (Taylor Swift Cover) – Sunny Choi
I Knew You Were Trouble (Taylor Swift cover) – Sunny Choi
Just Give Me A Reason (P!nk Cover) – Sunny Choi

Stretch / Lyrical Class

All I Want – The Kodaline – EP – nice and slow for stretching
Pompeii – Haunt – EP
Gone, Gone, Gone – The World from the Side of the Moon (Deluxe)
Red Hands – R.E.V.O.

Tap Class
Wake Me Up – Avicii – love this one!
You Make Me Feel So Young – Michael Buble – my favorite off his newest album
Wild – Royal Teeth
Mountain Sound – Of Monsters & Men
I Love It (Radio Edit) – Icona Pop

Jazz Class
People Like Us – Kelly Clarkson
Cups (Pitch Perfect’s “When I’m Gone”)- Anna Kendrick
Treasure – Bruno Mars
Blurred Lines (Radio Edit) – Robin Thicke

The Dance Buzz is an iTunes affiliate.

Western Week at Dance Camp

We just finished up a week of Dance Camp and we had a blast!  Our theme was “Out West” and we had a lot of fun coming up with different crafts to keep ourselves occupied.

I can’t wait to tell you all about it next week but in the meantime, I’ll share our playlist for the show:

Western / Hoe-Down Theme (ages 6-9)

Our tap songs:

Our jazz songs:

Have a great weekend!

NMM: Shine Brighter – DJ Earworm

Don’t miss this year’s remix by DJ Earworm – he combined 25 of 2012’s pop hits to create one song… and the kicker is that it actually sounds pretty awesome!  The kids seem to like this one a lot.  My pre-teens ask me to play it each week, and the first week it took them a while to actually focus on the steps in warm-up because they were trying to figure out what this song was!

As of this post, I believe you can still download the song on SoundCloud.

If you love mash-ups like this song, check out more mash-ups here.

NMM: New Year’s Playlist

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It’s hard to find a picture of new beginnings in January,but here is a “snow egg” in a nest that’s in front of our house.

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With it being January, I wanted to make a playlist of songs about beginnings, fresh starts and the future.
Enjoy! (All of the links below open to iTunes)

I’m Beginning To See The Light – Maynard Ferguson – an instrumental jazzy tune with a big band feel, that would be nice for a classic jazz or adult tap class.  There’s another great version by Michael Buble too!

At the Beginning – Anastasia (Music from the Motion Picture) – classic Disney love song – could work for a lyrical dance.

Starting Now – Ingrid Michaelson – I’ve used this quick-tempo song for combinations in modern, jazz and contemporary class.  It starts out sounding acoustic and then builds to a full band, which is nice for a dynamic change.

Where Do I Even Start? – Morgan Taylor Reid – This song was used on Grey’s Anatomy, so you know it’s dramatic!  I am a sucker for songs with piano harmony sections, so I liked this one right away.  I would use it in lyrical or contemporary class or possibly for a lyrical ballet piece.

New Age – Marlon Roudette – Another nice lyrical / contemporary song.

Intro – xx – One of my teachers used this song last year for a jazz / contemporary piece.  I could see it working for a modern dance as well.  Has a great creepy beginning and then changes into an intense and building melody.

Wanna Be Starting Something – Michael Jackson – Doesn’t need explanation 🙂 There is also a newer version featuring Akon, but you gotta love classic Michael.

This is what my front yard looks like in January…snow and ice!

New Soul – Yael Naïm – Ever since it was featured on that iTunes commercial, I hesitate to use it in class, but it would be such a fun song for a young modern class or for a solo.

Brand New – Emilie Mover – She has such a fun voice – this is a nice uplifting song with a country or bluegrass feel.

What other songs make you think of new beginnings and the New Year?  Leave a comment!

Holiday Music Update

Our ‘happy elf’ at the studio!

Does your holiday playlist need some updating?

Here are a few songs that you can add into the usual rotation to spice things up a bit this year (links open in iTunes):

Jazzy Tunes

The Happy Elf – Harry Connick Jr.

Cool Yule – Louis Armstrong

I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm (Stuhr Remix) – Kay Starr

(Everybody’s Waitin’ For) The Man With the Bag – Kay Starr

A Little More Mellow

The Christmas Waltz – She & Him

Christmas Lights – Coldplay

Snowfall – Ingrid Michaelson

Somewhere In My Memory – Home Alone Soundtrack (I actually recommend the entire Home Alone Soundtrack by John Williams for some fun music that has a Christmas-y feel to it – I especially love the track “Holiday Flight”“)

And a few more…

Hurry Home – The Good Lovelies

Bring Me Love – Marie Digby

Last Christmas – Taylor Swift

March of the Toys (Instrumental Version) –

From 2011:  Holiday Music Round-up

From 2010:  NMM: Holiday Music

NMM: Contemporary Song & Video Playlist

A few new songs that I’ve been loving in class and some videos to go along with them:

“Great” – Tony Robbinsfree download here – this is the song from the Purina dog commercial that might have made you cry.  I think it would make a nice contemporary dance:

Try – P!nk – I didn’t know she was such an awesome dancer – check out the video:

And my final song / video combo is:
Capital Cities – Safe And Sound – you could use this techno song for warm-ups in jazz or tap, but I just love this fan-made video. Its a mash-up of historical dance moves juxtaposed with war images. I dig the old dance moves against the song:

2012 Song Selections

Now that the competitions and recitals are over, I’d thought I’d share my list of songs I used this past year for choreography. (Here is 2011 in case you’re curious)

All links open in iTunes, unless otherwise noted

TAP

 

My magic hat!
Faces obscured for privacy

LYRICAL / CONTEMPORARY

OTHER

What was your favorite song that you danced to this year?