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Chelsie Hightower's Music for Ballroom Keeps Students Energized

Photo courtesy of Hightower

The beloved "So You Think You Can Dance" alum and former Emmy-nominated "Dancing with the Stars" pro Chelsie Hightower discovered her passion for ballroom at a young age. She showed a natural ability for the Latin style, but she mastered the necessary versatility by studying jazz, ballet and other forms of dance. "Every style of dance builds on each other," she says, "and the more music you're exposed to, the more your rhythm and coordination is built."

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Dance Teachers Trending

Teddy Forance Is Drawn to Abstract Music for Choreography

Photo by Quinn Wharton, courtesy of Forance

While Teddy Forance admits that performing with commercial artists like Lady Gaga and Madonna, and in front of 30,000 people, is exhilarating, he is personally drawn to more abstract music when he choreographs. It's a preference that sometimes confounds his contemporaries. "Some of my friends will ask, 'How do you choreograph to music that sounds like silverware fighting?'" he says. "I just tell them one sound at a time," he says.

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Dance Teachers Trending

Derek Mitchell Gravitates Toward Classic Pop Artists for His Street Jazz Class

Photo by spinkickpictures.com, courtesy of Mitchell

"Popular music has an overall energy that lends itself to the street-jazz style," says Derek Mitchell. But over the last eight years or so, the choreographer, who also teaches contemporary, jazz funk and musical theater, has noticed a lack of great musicality and interesting lyrics. As a result, Mitchell's music searches often gravitate toward the classic hits from artists like Prince and Janet Jackson. "Rarely do I hear a new song that makes me go, 'Oh, I want to dance to that!'"

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Dance Teacher Tips

The Artistic Director of Royal Academy of Dance Asks: What Is Good Dance Teaching?

Gerard Charles, courtesy of RAD

This is a charged question that I have heard debated my entire career as a dancer, teacher and director. So why would I pose such a contentious question? Because good dance teaching is at the heart of the RAD and a core value we need to be able to define. I hope this will also promote healthy discussion between all of you who teach every day.

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Dance Teacher Tips

Andrea Giselle Schermoly Likes to Cross-Relate Music Genres

Schermoly with the Royal New Zealand Ballet. Photo by Jeremy Brick

Despite her traditional ballet training in South Africa, Andrea Giselle Schermoly has always had a wide range of music tastes and sensibilities. "There's always been this other drumbeat in my heart," says Schermoly, who's a three-time Outstanding Choreographer winner at the Youth America Grand Prix. That "other drumbeat" has become an integral layer to her creative process.

Following a series of career-ending injuries while dancing with Nederlands Dans Theater, Schermoly found a new stride choreographing competitive ballet pieces for students at the Marat Daukayev School of Ballet in Los Angeles. Since then, she's been commissioned by ballet companies all over the world, exploring all styles of music for her work. "My pieces for New York City Ballet and Royal New Zealand Ballet were primarily classical," she says, "but I used Jefferson Airplane and a very quirky rock opera for Santa Barbara Dance Theater and a Bob Dylan piece for BalletMet."

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Dance Teacher Tips

Halloween Music Your Dancers Will Love to Hear in Class This Month

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Nothing can get students excited for class quite like the sound of holiday music. There's just something special about breaking out of your regular routine and playing something fun and festive.

Sometimes finding good Halloween music can get a little tricky, but to help, we've compiled a playlist full of songs that your students will love to hear. With a little creativity, each teacher can find songs on this list that work for their classroom.

Have fun and get spoooooooky!

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Dance Teachers Trending

4 Ways d. Sabela grimes is Making the Case for Hip Hop in Higher Ed

grimes (far right), with students at the University of Southern California's Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. Photo by Rose Eichenbaum

Ask anyone at the University of Southern California's Glorya Kaufman School of Dance how they feel about assistant professor of practice, d. Sabela grimes, and they automatically begin to sing his praises. Not only is he one of the department's most beloved and dynamic educators, he is among the most respected and innovative facilitators of dance today. He teaches the foundational elements of black Afro-diasporic vernacular street-dance practices—aka hip hop. But what makes his instruction unique is that his class is not based on any one hip-hop style. It's not popping or locking, waacking or breaking. And yet, it's all of these and much, much, much more, as Rose Eichenbaum wrote about in DT's August cover feature.

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Dance Teachers Trending

Taylor Quinn’s Playlist Is Kid-Friendly AND "LIT"

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"This is what I like to call my 'PG but LIT' playlist," says Showstopper Dance Convention teacher Taylor Quinn. "That means all of these songs are great for kids 8 and under, and I get to enjoy them, too. I use this playlist for our stretch and warm-up, going across the floor and sometimes even class combos. Enjoy!"

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