How to Select a Song
By Kate Smith
When every dance season ends, dancers take a well-deserved break from the classes,
the competitions, the rehearsals, and the recitals. But while their dancers are having fun
and relaxing, choreographers and teachers are still hard at work, because when the next
season starts, the routines must be prepared for the dancers to learn and rehearse. An
important part of the process of routine preparation is the selection of music.
Arts teacher and choreographer Jessica Cseter states. “Hearing a song that makes
me want to move the first time I hear it is a good sign I will use it.”
Those instincts are common amongst choreographers looking for the perfect song for
their next routine. Professional Egyptian dancer, choreographer, and instructor Jasmin
Jahal advises in an article on her website, www.jasminjahal.com, “Select a piece of
music you really like and which makes you want to move every time you hear it.”
Of course, it is also important to keep in mind the style of dance being choreographed.
What works for a lyrical routine might not work as well for a jazz number.
“For jazz musicality is key, and I try to choose a song that has music changes,” Cseter
states. “For tap, a song with different rhythms and a lot of energy usually works out
really well.”
In terms of using popular music, it can be a positive or a negative, depending on the
choreography accompanying it. Director and choreographer Michael Bourne states
in an online BBC chat that “Generally, I work with famous music, so I need to be true
to the music, so I don't upset people too much. They have feelings and strong ideas
associated with the music.” Some songs become popular once they are used in a
competition routine. Cseter cites singers such as Imogen Heap and Roisin Murphy
as current artists often heard during competitions. “Once a song gets used it usually
becomes popular because other people have heard it and will use it and bring it to
another competition.”
However, many choreographers are interested in using music that has rarely been
used. Cseter often looks to soundtracks when she is looking for something unusual.
“Soundtracks usually offer a wide variety of songs from lyrical to hip hop that often
aren’t found on the radio.” Of course, once the song is used, it will start to catch on,
and the choreographer’s search for music, old or new, fast or slow, continues.