You know how you start on YouTube looking up a ballet step and then you end up down a weird alley of YouTube and don’t know how you got there? Or is that just me? Anyway, this time I ended up at drone videos of Chernobyl (what?), but at least I got this haunting song out of it. Happy Monday!
iTunes link to Promise Land by Hannah Miller
And here is the drone video of Chernobyl:
Because I’m a huge music / stats nerd, I like to share my song choices from each year. It’s mostly for me to be able to look back and say “when did I use that song”? , but maybe someone will enjoy it too.
(Here’s 2013’s music list if you’re curious… and 2012… and 2011)
Our first half of our recital had a theme which was “dance inspired by literature or literary themes”, so you may notice that some of my songs are related to books.
Links open in iTunes, unless otherwise noted 🙂
TEENS
TWEENS
CHILDREN
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| “I’m Late” – white rabbit tap solo
Loved this one! |
Can I get a show of hands for who used an “over popular” song this year and regretted it? What was your favorite song to choreograph to this year? Comment below.
This post is part of our “Frozen-Inspired” Dance Camp Series.
Melting & Freezing
We explored the movement qualities of melting and freezing by pretending to be Olaf melting in the summer or freezing with Elsa’s help. We melted for 16 slooooooow counts, and froze again for 16 then repeated in 8 counts, 4 counts, 2 and 1! We melted with a friend, froze into different shapes or poses, started on one leg, etc. Lots of variations to be had with this one!
More Melting Inspiration from Maria’s Movers Blog
Journey to Elsa’s Castle
We pretended to be Anna and Kristoff making their journey to or from Elsa’s castle. We did this by playing Going on a Bear Hunt, but we changed the words to “We’re going on a journey, we’re gonna go get Elsa, I’m not scared, I’m not scared”. For the next part (“we can’t go over it, we can’t go under it, I guess we’ll go… through it!”), we encountered :
Until we got to the castle and knocked on the door and found… MARSHMALLOW (the snow monster)! Reverse all the actions as fast at you can to go back to Arrendale and climb into bed with the covers over our head.
Creative Movement based on Scenes or Characters from the Movie
We did a lot of creative movement / free dance, based on settings and characters from the movie. We would first describe the scene / character, then talk about the movements the characters did (running, rolling, climbing, skating, etc) and then dance them using those movements. Some of our favorite scenes:
Olaf In Summer – skipping, laying (sun-tanning), swaying, blowing dandelions, floating
Skating on Elsa’s pond – skating, twirling, sliding
In addition to the usual run of camp games (Freeze Dance, 4 corners, relay races, etc), we added a few or tailored them to better fit our theme:
Obstacle Course – We set up various obstacles around the room relating to the trip to Elsa’s castle. We used cones to tip toe around like trees, a tunnel to go under, a gym mat to roll across, a “tightrope” (tape line on the floor) to walk on, ice puddles to jump over (little rugs)
Pin the Nose on Olaf – we had an Olaf-shaped posterboard and had the girls take turns being blind-folded and pinning their “nose” onto Olaf. Since we had a large crew, we split them between three different groups so we could have three people going at the same time.
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| Our life-size Anna & Elsa was a big hit for photos! |
Red Light, Green Light, Frozen Variation – Basic Red light/Greenlight rules – in our version instead of being a redlight/greenlight, the “It” person is Elsa – and freezes people when she turns around. We used the terms “WINTER” for STOP and “SUMMER” for GO. If anyone was caught moving when the “It” person said WINTER, they had to go back to the starting line. First person to touch the “It” person gets to be “It” for the next round.
One other thing that we used during the week was this Life-size Anna & Elsa – we found this great life-size cardboard cutout from Amazon. They have other characters, but I really liked the two girls together. We used them for a backdrop in our pictures and the kids loved “holding their hand” and just seeing them in general.
What other games / activities can be adapted to fit a “Frozen” theme? Are you sick of the music yet? Will you use it in your classes next season? Comment below!
Hope you’re all having a great summer!
Need some refreshments for your class playlists? Look no further – here are a few tunes to change up your playlist. I’m teaching mostly tap this summer, so my playlist tends to lean in that direction, but most of these songs could easily crossover into jazz / children’s hip hop / contemporary.
– Call It Whatever (Bella Thorne)
– Really Don’t Care (Demi Lovato)
– Dar Um Jeito/We Will Find A Way (Avicii / Santana) – FIFA World Cup theme, a really good upbeat song – the whole album “One Love, One Rhythm” actually has a lot of fun “world” music
– Can You Do This (Aloe Blacc) – I’ve been using this as part of an improv combination – on the chorus we trade 8’s in tap class
– Love Runs Out (One Republic) – its been all over the radio stations, but I love using this in tap class for warm-ups
– Basically I (Robert DeLong) – good warm-up / across the floor song
– On Top Of The World (Imagine Dragons) – a happy little song that makes me smile
– Problem (Ariana Grande feat. Iggy Azalea) – another Top 40 rounds out my summer playlist update
The Dance Buzz is an iTunes affiliate.
Another great instrumental track (see “Let It Go / Winter” mash-up from last month if you want another instrumental), here is “Torn” by Nathan Lanier. It’s very “epic soundtrack-y” – I’m using it this year for a modern class who requested a dance where half could be good and half could be evil. It seems to be suiting them well.
I believe it was used on SYTYCD a few seasons back, but haven’t seen it hit the competition circuit too hard yet, so I figured I’d share!
The Dance Buzz is an iTunes affiliate.
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
Want more? Check out 2012 and 2011‘s lists.
TAP CHOREOGRAPHY
MODERN / CONTEMPORARY / BALLET
CHILDREN’S MUSIC
Today’s New Music Monday is a song that just makes you want to create something: Perpetuum Mobile by Penguin Cafe Orchestra (link opens in iTunes).
I’ve been using this one in my modern classes during improv and I think it helps set a creative atmosphere in class. Plus its just fun to listen to! Enjoy 🙂
Grab it on iTunes:
As a side note, this song was used in the claymation film “Mary and Max“, which if you’re in the mood for a moving animated movie – watch this (its on Netflix). Just keep the tissues nearby and don’t say I didn’t warn you.
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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.
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| 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.
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| The cold weather makes my classes excited to play “Freeze Dance”! |
“Freeze Dance” is the first activity requested whenever we have a special day in class. My students know Freeze Dance as dance around the room and freeze when the music stops.
This past week in my beginning modern/creative movement class, we used our creative minds to come up with some new variations on Freeze Dance to try in class.
Here are some of the ways that we manipulated the game to be our own – hopefully some are new to you or inspire other new variations!
We’ve been using this version in our exploration of shape-making.
While the music is on, the teacher names a shape (circular, square, triangle) and the student must make that shape with a body part when the music stops.
Similar to the Shape variation described above, but dancers must freeze in the position given – this was fun in ballet and jazz class. Positions to try: 1st, 2nd and 3rd position, retire, arabesque, tendu, plie, lunge, etc.
This might also be fun to try with a class who is learning room positions and stage directions (“Freeze en face” or “Freeze facing upstage” or “point to corner 2”).
The teacher (or student leader) tells the class how to move during the dance part (“Everyone skip”). After each freeze, the type of dancing changes. You can also give speed directives, such as “chasse really slowly” or “bouree quickly”.
We like to play this in tap class for practice on our traveling steps: running flaps, flap ball changes, shuffle hop steps, toe heels, etc.
Also know as the iPod Shuffle…! After each freeze, change the song and dancers must move to the new song.
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| Now these dancers are REALLY frozen! |
In creative movement, we played this after a few weeks of learning the concept of listening to the music and interpreting it in our bodies. It really helped their improvisation skills.
You could also use this in tap or jazz class to work on rhythm and finding the beat in each new song.
Dancers must freeze with a partner when the music stops.
You can give conditions such as “freeze connected to another person”, or “Freeze in a group of three”.
I like to mix this one into the other types – “freeze in a round shape with another person”, etc.
For my younger classes we don’t “get out” in any of the above games – we just play for the fun of it. For my older students, they really like the games when there is a chance to be eliminated, so we play that way.
Sometimes my classes age 6-8 request to play the “out” version, but some students get very upset from being “out” whenever we play a game like this.
I like to soften the blow by letting them come over to the music player and telling me when to freeze the music next. Or if they are a particularly enthusiastic class, they can also come up with some new ways to freeze.
What is your favorite movement or dance game to play in class? Share in the comments!
I read Maria’s great pumpkin patch creative movement idea and was inspired to try it in my classes this past week! And check out this post at Maria’s Movers for even more ideas.
I teach two ages of creative movement – 4’s & 5’s and an older group of pre-modern students (ages 8-11). Both loved the new activity!
First we had a quick discussion about pumpkins:
We planted ourselves in the room and grew very, very slowly. My assistants pretended to be farmers and people going pumpkin-picking and they inspected each pumpkin.
Our pumpkins rolled around the room for a bit and then we started over. This time, the pumpkins were painted with happy, silly or scary faces. They had fun making faces while they were pumpkins.
Next we changed roles and went pumpkin picking. My studio is in a suburban area surrounded by farms, so many of the students were familiar with the idea of pumpkin picking. Our movements:
I used these exercises as a warm-up. It was a nice change for them and they seemed to enjoy it:
Surprisingly enough, we started the same way, but with less instruction.
1 We have been learning rolls where we hold our ankles in the butterfly position (my modern instructor at college called these “UFO’s”… not sure of the ‘correct term’).
I tried to incorporate our modern dance vocabulary into our movements:
1) Prancing: We didn’t want to get our shoes muddy, so we pranced through the rows (and hopped over pumpkins in our path).
2) Triplets: We put boots on and squished the mud with our up-up-squish (down).
We chose pumpkins and explored how it was like to move with our pumpkins (we are currently exploring weighted-movement, so this fit in perfectly).
We repeated this a few times with various sizes, various ways to carry our pumpkins and then we found the Biggest Pumpkin Ever and tried to move it but it wouldn’t budge.
We decided to carve the Biggest Pumpkin Ever right there! We cut the top off and climbed inside (it truly was a big pumpkin!). Other movement ideas:
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