Here are my top 10 favorite songs to use for dance improvisation: 1. So Long Lonesome by Explosions in the Sky I was introduced to this group by some colleagues of mine in college. I remember watching an improvisation to this song and being blown away. It has been a favorite of mine ever since. It builds beautifully and seems to turn any phrase of movement into a story. 2. Water From the Same Source by Rachel's I first improvised to this song during a class I took while I was in high school and it had a big impact on me. I remember feeling a sort of magical connection with the dancers I was improvising with. I didn't know dancing could be like this! I continue to use this song hoping it will bring the magic to others. Plus, it's a great song to use to get dancers out of 4/4 time (which is all many of them know) and into waltz time. 3. Sleepless by Flume feat. Jezzabell Doran Honestly, I just think this song is groovy and fun. Many of my students seems to think so too. I've noticed that many of my students in the public school system listen to mostly hip hop, rap, and pop songs. They have a hard time relating to lots of my music, but they relate to this song because of it's electronic, studio sound and the strong beat. This is a great song to start with in the process of slowly introducing my students to new sounds and then progressively getting further and further from what they are used to. 4. Escape (Piano Theme) by Phillip Glass I sincerely hope you've heard of Philip Glass. If you haven't, take some time and research his brilliance. He's an accomplished composer who has written music for many venues including several film scores that you may be familiar with. This is the piano version of a song he wrote for the film, The Hours. I've never seen the film, but this song is beautiful. It's repetitive and somewhat somber, but keeps me interested. 5. Stupid Fambaloo by Matmos I like to use this song just to get students to react to the different sounds and textures. It's a great way to play with energy qualities. Be prepared for some laughs from some students who are new to the whole improv thing...use this one wisely. (For those of you who are wondering like I am... I have no idea what the picture on the album art is. At first glance I thought it was something that it isn't... It's probably just abstract art and I shouldn't be analyzing it so much, but I can't help it. I'll just look away now.) 6. Awaken Me by Panda Panda! I just really enjoy the atmosphere of music by Panda Panda! I love how this artist uses various sound clips of spoken word and sound effects mixed with beats and ambient melodies. It all ends up sounding so happy and positive too, almost childlike; it's amazing. 7. Music Box Opera by Delerium This song has a lot of energy qualities to play with: smooth and sharp, percussive and sustained, electronic and acoustic. Overall, it has a very ethereal feel. 8. Year of the Boar by Sufjan Stevens Ok, so I'll admit, personally this is not one of my favorite songs of all time. BUT, I love putting songs like this into my improv playlists because it forces dancers to do something different. I like to play an improv game that is similar to freeze dance where I play songs with different energy qualities and they have to change their energy to match each different song. I love when they have listened to several smooth, melodic songs previously and then all the sudden this song comes on. It's so jarring at first they don't know what to do! But then, if their self-consciousness doesn't get the better of them, they actually start trying raw movement: stomping, shaking, kicking, punching. They stop trying to look pretty and just start reacting to the sound. It's refreshing and can help them broaden their movement vocabulary. 9. Era of Secrecy by John Dragonetti Honestly, songs from movie soundtracks are great to dance to. Here's a movie you may not have heard of: a Documentary about Aaron Swartz called, The Internet's Own Boy. Once again, I'm guilty of not seeing the movie. (I'm not a huge movie person these days, guys. But, apparently the whole movie is on The Documentary Network's YouTube channel here if you are interested.) The worst part about this soundtrack by John Dragonetti is that most of the tracks are fairly short. But seriously, great music. 10. The Ash is in Our Clothes by Sleeping at Last This is not the first time I've featured a song by Sleeping at Last and it probably won't be the last. He just has a way with music... I find this song really relaxing, yet it is driving and motivates me to move at the same time. An improvisational treat.
Well, there you have it. 10 great songs to improv to...or choreograph to or just listen to for that matter. What songs do you love to improv to? Let me know, I'd love to add to my playlists! Hopefully I will post several more lists of great music for dance before the baby comes in September. After that, I have a feeling life will be a lot more busy and posting will work it's way down the priority list once again. (Let me know what kind of music/dance you want to hear about!) But hey, being a parent...that's life's grandest form of improvisation, right? Jumping right in, even though you don't completely know what you are doing. Trying your best, learning as you go. Some of it will be messy and awkward and just hard to watch...but overall it will be mostly amazing and beautiful. I'm excited for the journey.
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