Tag Archives: songs

Selecting songs for dance competition

Looking for a fantastic song for your next dance routine? You’ve come to the right place. Check out our listings of great songs for dance routines in the styles of:  JazzTapLyricalContemporaryMusical Theater, and Kid-Friendly Hip Hop. You can also browse our Legitmix catalog below. If you have a song that needs to be edited for dance competition or recital, Squirrel Trench Audio is ready to get it done for you. Click here for a custom remix order form.

What makes a good song choice for dance competitions?

• a great beat
• appropriate tempo
• fits the dance student
• fits the style of dance
• the teacher enjoys it too (since he/she is going to hear it 500 times during rehearsals!)
• it’s not overused in dance competitions and recitals

How can you find songs that are off the beaten path? Here are several ways:

• Check out the Song Selections for various dance styles on this site
• Go to iTunes or iTunes radio, and find songs you like. Browse other songs and artists that iTunes suggests are similar
• Go to Spotify or Pandora.com and start a new “channel” with a song you like, and see what songs it puts into the playlist of that channel
• Go to dance.net and check out song ideas offered by other dance teachers, or dancemom.com

You can also find songs and unique remixes with cleaned lyrics, already edited (cut) to routine length in Squirrel Trench’s Legitmix catalog:

Get more Squirrel Trench remixes at Legitmix

Happy dancing!

Songs edited this dance season

I’ve been busy here at Squirrel Trench Audio getting songs ready for the upcoming competition season. It’s been a blast doing the music editing for this Top 10 studio, and I can’t wait to see the amazing routines this studio will do with the music this year!

The piece I am most excited for is a medley/original creation we’ve called “Pixie Hollow.” This character piece for 8-10 year olds was envisioned by dance instructor Lesley Lambert. She supplied me with several related pieces of music, including spoken voice, which I then wove together into a spritely montage. I know this is going to win some awards this year!

Other songs which I’ve edited this season include:
Jump, Jive & Wail – Brian Setzer Orchestra
Dancin’ Fool – Ballroom Orchestra
Fabulous – Chelsea Staub
Wake Me Up Before You Go Go – Three Girlzz
Let It Snow – Brian Setzer Orchestra
I Want To Go To Hollywood – Sutton Foster
Walk This Way (a fun medley which transitions from a Ballroom Orchestra swing version of the song to Aerosmith live)
Won’t You Charleston With Me? – Harvey Evans & Sandy Duncan
I Wish – Stevie Wonder
It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) – Charlotte Swing Masters
All I Want – Bobby McFerrin
One Way Or Another – Mandy Moore
Fever – A Fine Frenzy
That Old Black Magic – Jeremy Davenport
Cheek To Cheek – Eva Cassidy
The Dynamo of Volition – Jason Mraz
Gravity – Lucy Schwartz
Dynamite – Taio Cruz

All these songs will be danced at the Headliners’ competition in Lowell MA from March 11-13, Star Systems in Worcester MA from March 25-27, and at OnStage New York competition in Springfield MA from April 2-3.