It's that spooky time of year! Time to plan your Halloween dance classes. I've put together a list of 20+ unique Halloween songs to give you inspiration for your classes in October and Halloween choreography. If you'd like even more ideas for Halloween songs, you should also check out my post "15 Fun Halloween Dance Songs" that I wrote a few years ago. I love this jazzy, soulful song originally sung by Donovan. Lana Del Ray brings a modern sound to it and it is great for an older jazz or contemporary class. 2.The Halloween CD by Craig Wingrove This album is perfect for planning your October ballet classes! 3.My Family (from the Addams Family Motion Picture) Hip hop dancers of all ages would enjoy dancing to this song from the new Addams Family movie. 4.Skeletone by Caspar Babypants (mention Them Bones) Caspar Babypants has a very large collection of songs for young children. This particular song definitely has a spooky feel with a skeleton theme and a bit of The Hall of the Mountain King by Edvard Grieg. Them Bones is another Babypants song that is great for Halloween. 5.Monster Methuselah by Mary Lambert Mary Lambert is also a great artist for young children. Kids will like this song because of the repeating chorus that would be easy to choreograph some fun hand gestures or simple choreography to. 6.Spooky Halloween by John Maxim (mention The Witch & Her Cat) This song, along with John Maxim's The Witch and Her Cat are perfect for a little Halloween fun in a pre-ballet class. 7.Castin' My Spell by Johnny Otis I happen to love Johnny Otis and his boppy 50s sound. If you like that too, this song would be a lot of fun for a jazz class. 8.Spooky Walk by Jacob Johnson This is a great song for preschoolers! As you go on a spooky walk, you see a tiger, an alligator, and a bear. You could use simple actions for each of the creatures you come across on your spooky walk or let the children improvise. There are no YouTube videos of the song, but it can be found on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Spooky-Walk/dp/B01MXRS21K or on Spotify or Apple Music. 9.Ghostbusters (version for Frappe) by Nate Fifield If you teach ballet and you have not checked out Nate Fifield's albums, you need to. This song is perfect for a Halloween ballet class. 10.Do You Know How Pumpkins Grow? by the Kiboomers Another great song for a preschool dance class. It could be fun to bring in real pumpkins for the children to dance around. 11.Ghosts by On An On This is a dynamic, yet steady and somewhat ambient song that would be great for an older contemporary class. 12.Dance-A-Story "Enchanted Toy Store" by Richard Maddock This song is perfect for guided improvisation for young children. It is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Dance-Story-Enchanted-Toy-Store/dp/B01EH2GMTY. It is also available on Spotify and Apple Music. 13.Witchy Woman by the Eagles This is a great 70s rock song with some twang by the Eagles. I also love the cover done by the Hollies. 14.Bats by Daniel Ingram (from My Little Pony) This song from My Little Pony would be fun for a Preschool or young elementary school age tap or jazz dance class. 15.Batty Bat (From Sesame Street) I used to dance with this song when I was a young child! Your dance students will love this classic Sesame Street Song. You could even bring towels for scarves for the students to use as their "wings". 16.Monsters Under the Bed by Dylan Cartlidge I can see this unique, high energy song being used for an older hip hop or jazz class. 17.Do the Skeleton Scat! by the Wiggles Little kids love the Wiggles! Their songs are easy to dance to! This is perfect for a tap class. 18.We are Monsters by Mr. Eric & Mr. Michael This song would be great for any kind of stomps or marches in young childrens class. This song is great for teaching children to stay on the beat of the music. It could also be fun for improvisation. 19.Heffalumps and Woozles (From Winnie the Pooh) Have fun doing a Halloween Combination to this classic from Winnie the Pooh! 20. I Put A Spell On You by Screamin' Jay Hawkins I personally love the energy that Screamin' Jay Hawkins brings to this song. This would be awesome for an older jazz class. Or, if the older sound isn't your thing, try this newer version by Annie Lennox. 21.Grim Grinning Ghosts by VoicePlay Last, but not least, I love this fun version of the Disneyland classic from the Haunted Mansion! I plan to use it for some Halloween tap choreography.
What Halloween songs do you love to dance to? Let me know in the comments!
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This song gets me pumped! It's like big band meets electronic hip hop. And Angela McCluskey's voice is sort of reminiscent of Ella Fitzgerald. So much love. 2. Sunset by Panda Panda! I was so excited to hear that Panda Panda released a second album! I use his first release, The Black and White EP, in class all the time! This album, Cherry Blossoms, did not disappoint! Panda Panda's mix of electronic and acoustic music along with the occasional clip of recorded text is the perfect background for improvisation or dance workshopping. I've used it for student choreography as well. You can get the album free (legally!) from Noisetrade here! (I promise Noisetrade doesn't pay me or anything. I just love them!) 3. Tell Me There's a Garden by Jospeh I've been loving and using Joseph's music for a while now, and I've featured them before, but I've noticed that they've gotten a lot of attention lately for their song White Flag. These sisters definitely deserve the attention! Their harmonies are so unreal! But while White Flag is a good song, it's not nearly as good as many of their other songs, in my opinion. So, I just had to share this one with you. I used this song last year for some contemporary modern choreography I set on my dance company at school. This song means a lot to me and I hope you'll love it too! 4. The Gene Sequence by Barclay Crenshaw I came across this song recently and thought it was so cool! With it's unique electronic sound and hip hop beat, it's just like a mysterious cacophony of goodness. 5. Let the Games Begin by Aloe Blacc This past winter, the concert at my school was titled, "Let the Games Begin". The students created choreography inspired by games. We had a good variety with everything from Twister, to football, to the Quiet Game. This song from the Race soundtrack was the perfect finale song for our concert. 6.Colors by Verite I used this song in my set warm-up this year and my students seemed to really like it. The is an electronic pop song with a strong beat and echoing female vocals. 7.Liv and Leo by Danny Black Danny Black is Dan Schwartz, the guitarist of one of my favorite bands, Good Old War. He came out with a solo album earlier this year titled, Adventure Soundtrack. Not only is this album the perfect background for all of your outdoor adventures, it is also the perfect pick for your next piece of choreography! Each song on the album has a very different sound as he uses both acoustic and electric guitar. I used this particular song for choreography in my last concert. Dan is an excellent musician and you won't want to miss hearing this one! 8. Built for this Time (The Hidden Memoir EP version) by Zayde Wolf I originally found another version of this song, which has a beat more constant throughout the song, but I actually like this version better. This dramatic song could definitely make for some epic choreography! Also, does this music video make anyone else laugh? The little boy is just so cute with his angry face, haha. 9. Hunger of the Pine by Alt-J You may have heard other tracks by Alt-J like Breezeblocks and Left Hand Free, which are both great songs, but you may not have heard this slower, more eerie side of their music. It's definitely interesting! Give it a listen! 10. The Raven's Song by Aaron Embry This is a sweet little song with piano and vocals. Like the lyrics say, "It's short, but it's strong." It's from the Soundtrack of Wish I Was Here, which I've never seen, actually. This is the only recording of the song I can find too. But...I kind of like the roughness of the recording. It makes it seem kind of sentimental, like listening to an old record. It's a pretty song.
Well, that's it for now. Let me know if you like these, end up using any of them, or need more recommendations! Choreography by Haley Israelsen Nelson. Photo Credit: Benjamin Allen Dynamics are essential. Maybe it's just me, but I get really disappointed when I hear a song that begins with great choreographic potential, but then ends up being monotonous, repetitive, and just...boring. Don't get me wrong, monotonous, ambient songs have their place in choreography, but usually I prefer a song that takes the listener on some kind of journey. I love songs that tell a story - they capture your intrigue in the beginning, build to an epic climax, and then resolve at the end. These are the kinds of songs I want to feature today. Songs that build dynamically! So if you're like me and hate sifting through lots of songs with no dynamic flavor, keep scrolling and enjoy! 1. My Body is a Cage by Arcade Fire It doesn't get much more epic than this organ and drums combo. When I first listened to this song, I thought it might fall into a repetitive slump as many electronic pop songs do. But, I was pleasantly surprised! The ending is intense and attention grabbing. Make sure to listen to the whole song. 3. Rise by Josh Garrels Josh Garrels. Once again, he is a Christian artist, but not your average Christian artist. This song builds beautifully. If you are choreographing in a venue where you can use his music, do it. 4. Love is Blindness cover by Jack White (originally by U2) If you've seen the recent Great Gatsby movie or even the trailer, you may recognize this song. Jack White gives this U2 song a dynamic rock kick. 5. Conditions by Jesse Morrow I choreographed and taught a contemporary combination to this song a couple years ago and it was a hit. I love his voice against the simple piano chords. The song builds in energy at about 2:20. I would also recommend his song Can't You See. Check that out if you like his sound. 6. Arrival of the Birds and Transformation by the Cinematic Orchestra If you are looking for a song that tells a story, movie soundtracks are a wonderful place to look. These songs are from Disneynature's documentary The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos. I like what this YouTube video did; it combined two similar songs from the soundtrack to make a longer piece. I suppose you could do that or use either of the separately. The Cinematic Orchestra did a beautiful job with this soundtrack. If you are a part of the dance community, my guess is that you've heard their song To Build a Home, which is also beautiful, but is used a lot. Anyway, I picture ballet piece when I hear this song. What do you think? 7. Sea Fog by Keane Ok, I'll admit, I've had a soft spot for Keane's sound for a long time. There's just something calming yet exciting about this song. This would make for a captivating lyrical or contemporary piece. 8. Try a Little Tenderness by Otis Redding Ready for some 60's music to change things up? I thought so! Alright, I just love Otis Redding's voice because it is raw and real and he makes you believe what he's saying! The climax of this song gets me every time. Really, please, someone choreograph a dance to this song! I don't care what style it is, this just has to happen. Also, if you haven't seen the clip from Pretty in Pink featuring this song, please watch it now here. This is the best part of the whole movie. It's sure to give you some movement inspiration... 9. It's Around You by ANR The cool and quirky song builds nicely and won't leave your audience bored. I've choreographed to this song and it was a lot of fun to dance to. 10. Amsterdam by Coldplay Coldplay. Yep. This song is from their 2002 album which also included many other favorites of mine such as The Scientist and Green Eyes. The climax at around 3:57 is still amazing!
Well, there you have it. 10 songs that are sure to bring a dynamic climax to your choreography! Do you have other song ideas? Let me know; I'd love to hear them!
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. Today I am featuring the music of the talented, Lucy Schwartz. It's likely that you've heard her before, as her music has been featured on many movies and TV shows such as The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1, Shrek Forever After, Nashville, Parenthood, and more. I don't know Lucy Shwartz, and she certainly didn't endorse this, but I do have a connection with her music. I love how she tells stories through sound with her cinematic and climactic style. It translates beautifully into choreography. I also love that each of her songs is completely unique from the others, so her work could be used for many different styles of dance. Personally, I've used it for contemporary, jazz, lyrical, and tap, but there are so many possibilities. Here are a few of my favorites by Lucy Shwartz, but if you like them, by all means - look up more! http://lucyschwartzmusic.com/ 1. Boomerang Let's start this off with a boom, shall we? I am using this song this year for jazz choreography and my dancers and I love it! This song has so much personality with it's bouncy beat, catchy lyrics, and even a tap solo (at 2:38), which happens to be triple time steps, if anyone is wondering. Plus, the music video is full of cute dogs, so it's definitely worth checking out! 2. Gone Away I used this song for a lyrical piece I choreographed for a high school dance company several years ago. It's beautiful and soft with a nice build, which makes it easy to choreograph to. I did have to edit out the "D word", but it was an easy fix. 3. Graveyard Lucy's songs are so perfect for dance, she even uses modern dance in her videos. 4. Ghost in My House I used this song for a contemporary combo and it was a hit. I'd love to see this one interpreted on stage! You can download this song and a few others from the Timekeeper album here on Noisetrade. 5. Running I've never used this one, but it's on my to do list. I'm seeing a modern dance with lots of running evolving into contact improv... What do you think? 6. Timekeeper There is something about this songs that reminds me of magic. Listen for yourself.
Again, if you like any of these, check out the rest of her work. Would you use her music in your choreography? Let me know! First post! On this blog I plan to regularly feature new (or old) music that I feel would be great to add to your music library as a dancer, teacher, or choreographer. To kick off the blog, I thought I'd give you a list of some of my favorite songs I have used for choreography and teaching in the past. Hopefully at least one of these will spark interest for someone! 1. Hypnosis Theme by Wax Tailor This French artist collaborates with many other artists and uses his turn-table style of mixing music and text to create beautiful and unique tracks. I used this creepy and mysterious song as a part of my senior graduation choreography project in the Modern Dance Department at the University of Utah. 2. Mr. Pitiful by Matt Costa I recently used this bouncy, up-beat tune for a character jazz piece with black folding chairs and a bit of miming. It did really well at competitions and my students easily got into character with this song. 3. Steam Heat from the Pajama Game I recently won a People's Choice Award at a Broadway themed dance recital for my choreography to this song. It was a tap number (complete with bow ties and bowler hats) but this song would also be great for a jazz piece. I used a newer version of this song... but Bob Fosse is one of my favorite choreographers of all time, so I hope you enjoy his original choreography from the Pajama Game movie. 4. All I Want (Piano & Strings Sessions Version - Instrumental) By Future of Forestry Click on the link below to get the instrumental version that I used for free (legally!) at Noisetrade.com. http://noisetrade.com/futureofforestry/the-piano-strings-sessions A quick word about Noisetrade... If you like music, you need to check it out! Here, artists let you download their music for free to build publicity. You have access to lots of free music from upcoming artists and some you've probably heard of like Nate Ruess of FUN. and Ingrid MIchaelson. Plus, if you want to support the artists financially, you can make a donation to them right there on the website. Anyway, I choreographed a large ballet piece to the instrumental version of this song. My husband said it was his favorite dance he's seen me choreograph. Black leotards, interweaving lines, dramatic lighting...this song inspired a great one for me. 5. Tigerlily by La Roux You've probably heard La Roux's "Bulletproof", which was very overplayed on the radio stations a few years ago, but you may not have heard "Tigerlily", which is better in my opinion. I choreographed a competition jazz dance to this song a few years ago and still love it today. Electronic. Attention-grabbing. A little spooky during the bridge section. Check it out. 5. Atlantic by Sleeping at Last I had a hard time choosing which song by Sleeping at Last to post. If you like this, please research him. I use his music for all sorts of things. I specifically like to use this song for improvisation in my classes at the public school I teach at, but I also used his song, "Next to Me" for my wedding video. His voice is just as beautiful as his instrumental tracks. 6. Eleven by Thao & Mirah I used this song in a piece I choreographed for a high school dance company a few years back. It's fast, exciting, and original. Almost industrial electronic meets oriental? Maybe not. I'm not quite sure how to describe this song, you'll just have to listen to it for yourself. Also, enjoy the video of people dancing with scarves. 7. Railway by BOY This has been one of my favorites for warm-up in modern class. I constantly have students asking me for the title and artist. It's calm, yet driving. And I love her voice.
It was soooo hard to pick only 7 songs. I'm excited to post music every week! I'll post some new finds as well as songs that I've rediscovered in my library. What do you think? Would you use any of these? What would you be interested in hearing? Anything I should look into? Leave me a comment below! |
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