Tag Archives: choreography

Legitmix has shut down; Squirrel Trench continues

It is with great sadness that the music web site Legitmix has ceased operations. Squirrel Trench Audio had a terrific two-year relationship with that company. We hope all of the fine professionals working there have a very productive future ahead of them.

In the meantime, Squirrel Trench Audio will continue to supply you with the clean song edits and remixes that you have come to expect and love. We are still in business, and have been fulfilling dozens upon dozens of orders directly. We are working to find alternatives ways to present you with our catalog of clean edits and remixes, which at this point may be well over 1,000 edits and remixes.

I have begun work on a Google Spreadsheet listing just a few of the clean song edits and mixes created. As always, all music prepared by Squirrel Trench Audio is designed expressly for the needs of choreographers and dancers, and is musically seamless.

View the Google Spreadsheet of completed clean song edits and mixes here.

Sia’s Elastic Heart Remixed

ive got thick skin and an elastic heartSia’s Elastic Heart is full of passion and heart-pounding drama. And Squirrel Trench Audio is proud to announce an exciting new remix of this amazing song. Full of twists and turns, this 2:59 rendition starts with a lonely heart beat and evolves from a delicate piano into a whirlwind of synth electronics, bass drops, and sharp outbursts, perfect for passionate choreography. If you have a contemporary or lyrical soloist or group, you’ll want to take a listen:

Get more Squirrel Trench remixes at Legitmix

Castle by Halsey

halsey castleHalsey has a haunting and beautiful song out called Castle. Get the official Squirrel Trench 2:51 or 2:21 edited version, for your next jazz or contemporary routine. Editing has been carefully done to provide the best possible foundation for your choreography. Squirrel Trench Audio is your source for clean edits and remixes created specifically for dance routines.

Get more Squirrel Trench remixes at Legitmix

Don’t forget: what you do is amazing

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all of you amazing dance teachers, ographers, studio owners, guest teachers, and everyone else who helps young people develop their dance abilities. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your wonderful dance community.

Dance is a precious art form that requires a spectacular amount of dedication, knowledge, skill, and training. From concept to choreography, music to costumes, hair to make-up, and every movement, hundreds upon hundreds of hours go into a single routine of three minutes…. three amazing and beautiful minutes, never repeated in exactly the same way twice.

-a-deep-breathAt times, it may be hard to remember all the positives of dance, especially when you are dealing with crazy parents who don’t read the material you send, and students who don’t want to put in the time and effort, yet want to dance like Misty Copeland. It’s easy to be frustrated about the time and energy required to recruit new students, update your web page, chase parents who are late with their payments, coordinate recital ticket sales, pay the bills, and the thousands of other tasks on your plate which aren’t nearly as fun as inventing new choreography or being in the studio teaching your kids.

At those difficult times, take a deep breath, stop for one minute, and remember that:

  • you are creating something of exquisite fragility and beauty, lasting but a few performances before a new routine takes its place
  • you are making the world a better place with the beautiful routines you create in it
  • most importantly of all, you are building beautiful human beings, giving them a purpose, a pride, and dedication in the craft that they love so much

It’s the last one on the above list that is the most lasting and impactful. You never know when that small child you teach is going to herself grow into a beautiful dance teacher, and inspire yet another generation of dancers to take flight.

Never forget.

What you do is beautiful.

What you create is beautiful.

Who you touch, is beautiful.

No one can do it exactly the way you do, with as much care and passion for your students.

Break a leg this recital season, and don’t let the drama-mamas nor pompous-papas get you down!

Prince tribute for dance studios

Purple-RainIt is with great sadness to learn that the amazing musician and talented artist, Prince, has passed away. For many of us, his music is an integral part of the soundtrack of our lives.

It has been my honor to edit and remix some of his amazing music for dance studios and dance teachers. If you are interested in using a Prince song for a dance routine, here is an edited version of one of his songs that has amazing funk, yet is not very well known. It’s popular with the kids these days to say “Werk it!” but more than 30 years ago, Prince was already singing “Let’s Work!”. Enjoy this edit!

Here is Let’s Go Crazy from the movie Purple Rain. This version has all objectionable lyrics omitted, has been remastered, and edited specifically to be optimized for a jazz or tap dance routine:

And for dance studios interested in a mix that pays homage to “The Purple One”, we are pleased to present this 3 minute mix that includes five of Prince’s more popular hits:

This 4:55 production mix starts with Let’s Go Crazy, and includes Let’s Work:

This 4:45 production mix is similar but starts with Purple Rain:

You can get ALL of these Prince edits and remixes for an amazing bargain price in this album:

Get more Squirrel Trench remixes at Legitmix

Importing songs from iTunes into Audacity

audacity imageFor dance teachers who need to edit their songs for length, it’s not always clear how to get songs from iTunes into Audacity. There are several ways you can do it:

  • You can drag-and-drop the song file from where it’s located in your iTunes folder onto the Audacity program icon.
  • You can choose File -> Import and then select the song you want to edit
  • You can drag-and-drop the song file icon from where it’s located in your iTunes folder straight onto the open blank Audacity edit window.

If you haven’t done so before, you will also need to download and enable the FFmpeg import/export library in order to convert the m4a file. There is no cost to do so, and it can be done quickly and easily by going to Preferences -> Libraries and clicking “Download” under the FFmpeg library listing.

If you want to export your edit as an MP3 file, you will have to download and enable the MP3 library, which can be done from the same place as mentioned in the previous paragraph, namely Preferences -> Libraries, and then click Download under the MP3 library option.

For more information, check out this Audacity Importing help page.

If you want to save the time and hassle of editing songs yourself, be sure to check out the Squirrel Trench Audio library of more than 300 edited songs and remixes (almost all of which have been cleaned of objectionable lyrics), ready for purchase and instant download on Legitmix. Below is a small sampling of what is available. Click through to the Squirrel Trench catalog on Legitmix to see more selections:

Get more Squirrel Trench remixes at Legitmix

Stand by You, Rachel Platten, Squeaky Clean

rachel platten huge smile on stageDue to popular demand, Squirrel Trench Audio is pleased to present a squeaky clean version of the new hit Stand by You by Rachel Platten. All instances of the word ‘hell’ have been replaced with the word ‘fire’. This cleaned song is available in a full-length (3:33) version as well as a 2:24 shortened version. Enjoy!

Get more Squirrel Trench remixes at Legitmix

Radioactive – a cappella

Imagine Dragons performing at the Made in America Festival. (Colin Kerrigan / Philly.com)

Imagine Dragons performing at the Made in America Festival. (Colin Kerrigan / Philly.com)

The song Radioactive by Imagine Dragons has been incredible popular ever since it was released. Scores of other musicians have covered it, including a collaboration between Pentatonix and violinist Lindsey Stirling which is also available in a 2:50 dance routine length. Below are links to an a cappella edit of the song from the original recording. This version is available in three lengths for your dance routine: 2:56, 2:42, and 2:07. This amazing tour de force performance could be used in a jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary, modern, or even a hip hop routine.

And here is the Pentatonix/Lindsey Stirling cover of this fantastic song:

Get more Squirrel Trench remixes at Legitmix

Removal of embedded tap sounds

(L to R) Richard Vida and Mark Ledbetter in “The Drowsy Chaperone,” a witty love letter to the madcap musicals of the 1920s with music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison and book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar. Directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, “The Drowsy Chaperone” is presented in a limited engagement July 8 - 20, 2008 (opening on July 9), at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre (135 N. Grand Ave. in Los Angeles). For tickets and information, call (213) 628-2772 or go to www.CenterTheatreGroup.org. Photo by Joan Marcus Press contact: CTG Press (213) 972-7376

(L to R) Richard Vida and Mark Ledbetter in “The Drowsy Chaperone. Photo by Joan Marcus Press.

Did you pick out a song that has taps in it, but now you need them removed for competition or any other performance? You are in luck. Squirrel Trench Audio now has the capability to remove embedded tap sounds in music. Click to hear a before and after sample (with taps and with taps removed) from the Drowsy Chaperone. Click here to contact us about removing embedded tap sounds from your audio.

Update: Now available is the original Broadway Cast version of 42nd Street, with taps suppressed:

Get more Squirrel Trench remixes at Legitmix

A small gift of peace

world-peace-090420wWith so much tragedy in the world today, I offer to you, this small token of peace. Please enjoy this mash-up of Aura Veris’ orchestral cover of John Lennon’s Imagine, with a poem written and performed by Suheir Hammad titled “What I Will.”

There is no cost for this mix, aside from $.99 if you don’t already own the Aura Veris cover of Imagine.

If you create a dance using this mix, I would be grateful if you captured it on video so that I can view it, and also share it here. Let’s continue to spread peace in the world.

Get more Squirrel Trench mash-ups at Legitmix