New Music Monday: Alone - Jessie Ware

Loving this new song from Jessie Ware called "Alone". Would be a great lyrical or jazz piece.

When the chorus comes in it has a really nice pick up and the whole song just kind of grooves.

Enjoy!

 

Summer Playlist 2017

Happy (End of) Summer!  Keep the summer vibes going as we move towards fall and update your playlists with fun summer tunes!  Here is a list of songs I've mixed into my classes to keep them feeling updated. Most links open in iTunes store - The Dance Buzz is an iTunes affiliate.  All opinions are my own.

Is This Love (LVNDSCAPE & Bolier Remix) - Bob Marley: Instant beach vibes remixed into a good 3-minute warm-up song. (Link to YouTube)

Believer (Kaskade Remix) - Imagine Dragons:  A fun twist on this summer hit.

Thunder - Imagine Dragons: Another one from Imagine Dragons, love this song right now

Someone Who Can Dance - Icona Pop: Another good steady beat for warm-ups

Most Girls - Hailee Steinfeld:  My middle school classes love this song

LovE is LovE is LovE (Benji Schwimmer Edit) - LeAnn Rimes:  Great message, fun song - have been using it for leaps and turns class (link to YouTube)

Celebrate (feat. AJR) - Ingrid Michaelson:  A nice laid-back summer tune

Told You So - Paramore:  Have been using this for tap warm ups in my senior classes. Has a good steady beat.

Switch (feat. Anitta) - Iggy Azalea:  Would be fun for a tap, jazz or hip hop combo.

Location - Khalid:  A nice groove for cool down and slower warm-ups.  I also used it in tap with my seniors for a nice mellow

Enjoy!

Summer Playlist

Happy Summer!  Time to refresh those playlists with some fun summer tunes from the Billboard Top 40!  Here is a list of songs I've mixed into my classes to keep them feeling updated.

That's How We Do - Teen Beach Movie 2:  Super fun and upbeat song - would be great for a tap or jazz combination - currently using it in my 7-10 year old tap class

Drop That - Jacob Plant:  A nice funky electronic beat - fun for tap or hip hop - totally instrumental

You Know You Like It - DJ Snake & AlunaGeorge - have been using this in teen tap

This Feeling - L’Tric: A fun feel-good song - great for warm-ups

I Don't Like It, I Love It (feat. Robin Thicke & Verdine White) - Flo Rida: My other go-to warm-up song

Fire Under My Feet - Leona Lewis:  A nice moderate tempo for tap or jazz

Fun (feat. Chris Brown) - Pitbull:  Another moderate tempo

Lean On (Remixes) [feat. MØ & DJ Snake] - EP - Major Lazer:  Steady beat for across the floor combos for older students

Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix Radio Edit) - Omi:  This song.  I have a love-hate relationship with it.  The kids love it and it has a nice calypso-y feel to it that makes it fun for tap, so I had to include it.  Be warned - this will be the song that plays over and over in your head when you go home for the night.

Rude (Acoustic) - MAGIC!:  This is from last summer, but I have been loving using the acoustic version for tap.  Such a fun little groove.

Enjoy!

What songs have you been obsessed with this summer?

NMM: Promised Land - Hannah Miller

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:

New Music Monday: Maps (Maroon5 cover) by Madilyn Bailey

Loving this cover by Madilyn Bailey of the Maroon 5 song, Maps.  I've been using it with my advanced tappers for a little combination.  My tappers call this style "lyrical tap" - when you tap to a song that could traditionally be for contemporary or lyrical.   I like that this song has a lot of pauses in it which are fun to fill with tap!

Grab this song on iTunes

Enjoy - happy Monday!

 

Refreshing Covers of Pop Songs: Postmodern Jukebox

I regularly troll YouTube looking for covers of pop music, however when you search "cover + song title", you inevitably end up with 100 acoustic covers done by anyone with a piano, guitar and a voice. Generally nothing too exciting, usually a slower version of the pop song.

Side note - if you ARE looking for acoustic covers of pop songs done really well, check out Boyce Avenue, Madilyn Bailey, and Savannah Outen.

Anyway, when I stumbled onto Postmodern Jukebox, I knew I had struck gold.  Pop songs with a vintage twist, they are such a unique cover band.  Do you like Doo Wop?  Ragtime? Swing? Ever wonder what pop songs would sound like if they were sung in speak-easies?  Yeah, me neither, but now I can't stop listening.

Here are my three favorites (although it was very difficult to choose - check out their album, aptly named "Twist Is The New Twerk" on iTunes for more!):

We Can't Stop:

Their doo-wop cover of "Timber" is pretty amazing as well.

A little jazzy version of "Careless Whisper" with a little "Take 5" thrown in there for fun:



And this last one has to be my favorite, simply because it includes tap dancing (!!!):



Grab their album on iTunes and listen on repeat!

The Dance Buzz is an iTunes affiliate.

New Music Monday: Torn - Nathan Lanier

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!




Grab it on iTunes:

The Dance Buzz is an iTunes affiliate.

NMM: The Piano Guys - Let It Go / Vivaldi's Winter

Happy Monday! Here is a beautiful classical music mash-up of from The Piano Guys, mixing Vivaldi's Winter and Disney's Frozen "Let It Go" to start your week off right:

 Download the track from iTunes



  The Dance Buzz is an iTunes affiliate.

NMM: Freight Train - Sara Jackson-Holman

Love this song! First heard it on Grey's Anatomy (which, by the way, is a wonderful resource for angst-y, dramatic lyrical songs!) and we've been using it in our contemporary / lyrical class.

Listen to or download it in iTunes



Enjoy!

The Dance Buzz is an iTunes affiliate.

New Music Monday: Ballet Goes Pop

Recently got turned on to this album by Adult Beginner's ballet music post (side note: if you don't already read Adult Beginners's blog, you should because she is awesome and its about ballet and other fun stuff!).

If you're looking for some new stuff for this year's ballet class, check it out!

Don't miss frappes to Single Ladies, and grande allegro to I Kissed A Girl, adagio to Someone Like You.  I hope they make another series soon!



In an RSS feeder and can't see the widget?  Click here to open in iTunes.  TDB is an iTunes affiliate.

New Music: Feelin' Good - Christina Grimmie

This song came on my iPod this morning on my drive to work and I coudn't help tapping along to the steering wheel.  I think I'll be using this song to warm-up to in the fall...enjoy!

Open in iTunes:



By the way, her whole album ""With Love" - Christina Grimmie is worth a listen.

Full disclosure: The Dance Buzz is an iTunes affiliate :)

NMM: Perpetuum Mobile - Penguin Cafe Orchestra

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.

NMM: DJ Earworm - Shine Brighter 2012

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: The Lucky Ones - Kerli

I am currently loving this song by Kerli "The Lucky Ones".  I've been using it for tap and jazz warm-ups this week and its got a great beat (and no bad words!).


Grab it on iTunes:

NMM: New Year

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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.

--------
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 Playlist 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: Where Is My Mind (Pixies Cover) by Maxence Cyrin

Just discovered this haunting piano cover of the Pixies tune "Where Is My Mind" by Maxence Cyrin.

And bonus: at 2 minutes 47 seconds... you don't even have to cut it!

Grab it on iTunes


Enjoy!

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 Robbins - free 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:

Eric Hutchinson - The Basement

Obsessed with this song and there's a pretty great video that goes with it.

Happy Weekend!

Grab it on iTunes: The Basement by Eric Hutchinson 

NMM: September Contemporary Playlist

It been a while since I've done a New Music Monday post, so I thought I'd share my updated music from my contemporary classes.

I'm teaching a beginning contemporary class this year of ages 10-14, instead of just my usual 15 and up class, so it has been a challenge to find some music that is relatable to a 10-year old.  In fact, when I tried playing the slower, lyrical-type music for the younger class, they asked if I had any faster or "fun" music.

So far (third week in), I have found a balance of "fun" and "serious" music keeps everyone happy - we are working on emotions in combinations, but then we keep it more upbeat during technique portions.  What do you find works best for this age group?

Songs For Contemporary Combinations

All links open in iTunes 

• A Thousand Years - Christina Perri - used this song in both classes
• Youth - Daughter - my younger class said this was too boring... haha! Teens loved it.
• Us - Regina Spektor - used this in my younger class
• Love The Way You Lie - Ariana Grande - younger class
• On The Nature Of Daylight - Max Richter - teen class

Songs For Contemporary Class - warm-up, across the floor

• Two Dots (Nic Fanciulli Remix) - Lucine - great steady beat for grande battements, chaines, etc
• Dance My Pain Away - Wye Oak - use for warm ups
• Too Close - Alex Clare - I just love this song right now!
• Up Up Up - The Givers - used in my younger classes for warm-up (I also use it in my modern classes) - it is a happy song!
• Home - Phillip Phillips - the Olympic USA Women's gymnastics unofficial theme song
• Collide (feat. Avicii) - Leona Lewis - another nice strong beat for across the floor
• Into the Wild (Live) - LP - I am obsessed with this song right now, I use it for warm-ups or cool down in my teen class