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.

“Song selection is essential for a great routine,” Stoughton Center for the Performing

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.