Tag Archives: CDs

More group CDs bound for competition!

Here are just a few of Squirrel Trench’s original remixes for small to large groups in jazz and tap categories that will be competing (and in most cases premiering) this weekend in Springfield, Massachusetts at USTD.

I can’t even begin to fathom the number of hours that went into producing these gems… a true labor of love. We’ll see if it translates into scoring well for the dancers. I can’t wait to see them performed!

Soloist’s CDs are ready!

It’s that time of year… when the anticipation reaches a peak with the first dance competition of the season coming up in just days or weeks. The students have been rehearsing for months. Costumes have been selected and have arrived. Now it’s time to make sure that all of the studio’s music is perfect too. Squirrel Trench Audio has been busy burning-competition ready CDs on high quality Taiyo Yuden CD-Rs, complete with competition-ready labels. Note the nine rectangular spaces on the lower part of the CD; these spots enable the studio to write the number of the routine on each CD for every competition entered.

Competition CDs are ready to go

If you are a studio owner, and you want to make your music prep this easy, contact me about our Studio programs— a full service where you simply select the music for each dancer, and receive a set of rehearsal CDs for each student, as well as competition-ready CDs for performance. With this program, it is possible for the studio to make a small profit on their music each year instead of incurring an expense.

For more information, email me. The sooner the better, because the 2012-2013 dance season will be here before you know it!

Top 5 care tips for your CDs

In today’s world, often the best way to store and play your dance and competition music is on your iPod, iPhone, mp3 player, or laptop. But CDs haven’t gone away just yet, and is still the most reliable source for playing music at competitions, because society has not yet quite embraced cloud computing.

So many dance teachers, studios, and dancers still rely on CDs for their music, as well they should. But many people also don’t realize that these shiny discs that play your music beautifully with no hiss are NOT indestructible. So here are my Top 5 tips to make sure your CD plays right every time, and does not start skipping at the worst time… like in the middle of competition!

  1. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS keep your CDs in its sleeve or its case.
  2. NEVER NEVER NEVER stack CDs on top of each other… this can cause circular scratches, which are the worst kind, much worse than scratches that go from the center out to the edge.
  3. ALWAYS handle a CD by its edges; avoid fingerprints on the shiny part
  4. DON’T expose a CD-R (a custom burned CD) to direct sunlight. Too much exposure to a strong light source will render a CD-R unreadable.
  5. DON’T keep your CDs in your dance bag. Dance bags can collect dirt and other abrasive particles as they travel around, and this debris can work its way into your CD sleeves which will rub around and cause scratches.
  6. If you absolutely have no other choice but to put your CD in a dance bag, put the CD and it’s case inside a sealed ziploc bag so that dirt can’t get in and ruin the playability of it.